Sonos launch the new Play:3 zone player

Big news today around the world; Sonos have finally launched their new zone player, the Play:3.

It's been hard keeping this one under wraps, firstly with the FCC leaking pictures of the prototypes last month, and then with Amazon in the US accidentally launching the product on their web site two days ago...before quickly taking it down!

So, what exactly is the Play:3? Well, firstly it probably helps to explain that Sonos are in the process of rebranding all their products. Gone are the meaningless 'code names' of the past, in are the new 'descriptive' names. The ZP90 and ZP120 will become Connect, the BR100 wll become Bridge, and the ZPS5 will become Play:5...

And of course that's where the Play:3 comes in. Effectively, its the smaller (and cheaper!) brother of the Play:5. With pretty much the same features but in a smaller box, the Play:3 has been aggressively priced at £259 for launch. Even if you need the BR100 (soon to be the Bridge!) to allow you to connect, then that's still a complete one room system for under £300

That's incredibly cheap as it brings it in line with a lot of the higher end iPod docks on the market - yet as we all know, Sonos does so much more. Even forgetting the fact you can add additional zones, the music streaming capabilities and the control of the product via your phone instantly takes it beyond the capabilities of even the most highly specified iPod docks.

It will be interesting to see what impact the Play:3 has on the iPod dock market, but we are pretty sure that it will be introducing Sonos to an entirely new market.