Pure Contour digital, internet and FM radio with iPhone dock

We have mixed feelings about touch-sensitive controls. Manufacturers put them on products because they're fashionable, they look stylish, they don't disrupt the lines of the design and, in theory, fewer moving parts means less wear and tear.

But they don't always work properly. Pure's Contour radio is, unfortunately, a case in point. The Contour fits in Pure's Flow line of products that tune into internet radio stations as well as conventional ones. It works with DAB (digital) radio, FM stations and internet channels.

It can stream music and other sound files stored on other computers on your home network, and there's a pop-out iPod dock at the front so you can listen to audio from iPods and iPhones too.

In terms of features it's exactly the same as the earlier Avanti Flow, but the design is radically different. The oval-shaped base curves upwards, with the entire front panel forming a speaker, with other bass speaker sections pointing downwards beneath the device.

But where the Avanti Flow had physical buttons which worked well, the Contour has no physical controls at all. Instead everything is done using touch-sensitive panels, of which there are four on top - for power, volume up and down and muting.

On the front panel next to the screen – which isn't itself touch-sensitive – are more panels for accessing features. We found these buttons hard to press and unresponsive, though they light up to show where they are. A small remote control is supplied, which worked better.

From time to time the buttons would fade and become completely unresponsive, which meant we had to switch the radio off and on and wait a few minutes for it to start up again.

Pure sent us two Contour units, both of which had the same problems, but it was unable to replicate the problems we found.