Whether you’re an amateur radio operator or a radio listening enthusiast, you probably know that software defined radios are the wave of the future. Software defined radios use software based algorithms to demodulate and decode radio signals making SDR the most flexible radio solution out there.

The problem today is that most software defined radios are at least semi-permanent installations. They often go hand in hand with big setups in someone’s HAM radio shack or basement. Handheld radios don’t typically offer the same algorithmic computing power as SDRs making portable SDRs nearly impossible. Until now.

A German company called Xivero has created the XiOne the portable software defined radio.

XiOne looks like a small black box with an antenna which is the hardware portion of the SDR. The XiOne connects to a tablet or smartphone via wi-fi or USB and can connect to a laptop via ethernet. All of the network connections are made over standard TCP which makes the XiOne an extremely flexible piece of hardware.  Simply connect via Wifi or Ethernet to the XiOne-Network or even use the USB-Port, which acts as a network interface too. The built-in router function actually allows parallel access to attached networks like the internet.

The XiOne has a battery that lasts up to two hours and can charge via USB making it easy to hook up to any USB battery pack.

The XiOne hardware is used to pick up signals from 100mhz to 1.7ghz and everything in between. This spectrum covers everything from most US FM stations to worldwide shortwave and even aircraft and ships, receiving AIS and ADS-B broadcasts.

The magic happens in the apps that will be available at launch to smartphone and tablet operating systems. Everything from spectrum analyzers to apps for AIS, ADS and receiving just about any kind of radio signal you can imagine. The XiOne offers unheard of flexibility in a portable package.

The company is also opening a developers toolkit with API access and an SDK so that developers can create any kind of app that they would like. XiVero is calling on the maker community to create amazing applications.

You can preorder the XiOne now complete for just $179 and that includes worldwide shipping.