Hands on: Pure Evoke Flow

IFA 2008: Pure's latest foray into internet radio
IFA 2008: Pure's latest foray into internet radio

It seems the chaps and chappettes over at Pure have decided that the old 'wood and brushed steel' look of old is so last year, and have reinvented the device with a pure black, glossy finish.

Admittedly it's not the usual reason to start writing about a device, but Pure has made itself synonymous with DAB radio thanks to its usual design, and the recent addition of internet radio has clearly brought about a rethink.

As far as internet radios go, you could be forgiven as thinking 'seen one, seen them all.' And you'd be right to a degree.

They all allow you to listen to cabaret music in Australia, or listen to the latest Afrikaans garage podcast.

The Evoke Flow has made an attempt to distance itself from the pack by adding in more search options, including audio quality and name.

Scroll bore

However, and this is a gripe common to many devices, in practice using a knob to scroll through the whole list is tiring and makes you want to give up and just turn on the TV.

Another problem with internet radio is it can take a while to connect; despite being promised industry-leading connection times, the Flow still struggled with some radio stations. Though in fairness, a crowded trade show like IFA is hardly the place to get uninterrupted WiFi coverage, so it probably would be a lot better in your own home.

And the addition of The Lounge portal helped a lot to overcome the annoying scrolling, where you can search for your favourites and set them up on your PC much more easily.

The Flow also comes with the ability to stream files from your home network or use an aux in to play an MP3 player, so there's no lack of choice for sound from the little piano-black box.

However, for £150 there might be some that struggle to justify the device; DAB and internet radio just aren't 15,000 pennies important.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.