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Streaming. For those in the know, it's nothing to do with gurgling brooks and forest streams, nor even with streamlining. Rather, it refers to the transfer of digital media over a network, whether that's wired or wireless. There are many devices that do this for video, but recently, dedicated music streamers have become ever more popular.

With music systems that incorporate wireless technology usually starting in the £400 range, what if you've already got a perfectly decent stereo system and just lack that wireless functionality? In that case, you'd be better off looking at something like the Logitech Squeezebox Duet Network Music System. However, since this little box comes in at the £260 line, it's not exactly the most affordable solution. Today we're looking at the Philips NP1100 Streamium Network Music Player, a device that essentially offers largely comparable functionality, but for less than half the price.

The front of the unit is gorgeously minimalistic. The 4in (10cm) LCD screen is framed by a very thick glossy black bezel, and this in turn is framed by a transparent plastic frame that extends around the unit's sides. The effect is similar to the styling on many of the company's other products, such as its Philips Cineos LCD TVs or HTS8140 Ambisound Home Cinema System, and is altogether rather attractive.

Its elegance is broken only by the 'Philips' logo in silver, the Streamium brand name and tiny Wi-Fi logo in white. The unit's sides and back are also silver. At the top resides the small power button, which switches the unit between standby and on.