Internet radio opens up a whole world of radio listening. You can listen to thousands of stations broadcasting from countries around the world. Internet radios and wireless wi-fi internet radios use your broadband internet connection to enable you to listen to live radio without switching on your computer. Many internet radios have DAB digital radio tuners built-in -- and nearly all have FM, allowing you to tune in to existing stations such as BBC Radio 4 and Classic FM, making them a one-stop radio listening solution.

Wi-fi internet radios make listening to internet radio easier and more convenient, since you don't need to power up your PC or MAC every time you want to listen to radio stations broadcasting online.

Wi-fi radios require a router and broadband internet access; some radios do not have an ethernet socket to connect the radio via a cable to the router and therefore require a wireless router to work. Wi-fi radios are more convenient as they allow you to move the radio around the house without being physically connected to a router by a cable. Nearly all, however, require mains power to work.

Setting up an internet radio receiver is as easy as entering your network's name and security key using the controls on the front of the wifi radio receiver unit to connect. Those radios that have an ethernet socket and can connect directly via a cable to the router are noted as such under the "key features" summary.

You can also buy wi-fi radios with iPod docks and wifi internet radios with integrated DAB digital tuners for a complete system capable of playing a wide variety of digital media. These are also listed on this page under different headings.