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DavidCL23

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 14, 2001
383
0
NJ
Why is it taking so long for either a 3rd party or apple to put fm radio into the ipod? I will not purchase an ipod until then. Anyone know if apple is going to release a special ipod with fm radio?
 
Re: why no FM radio on ipod yet?

Originally posted by DavidCL23
Why is it taking so long for either a 3rd party or apple to put fm radio into the ipod? I will not purchase an ipod until then. Anyone know if apple is going to release a special ipod with fm radio?

Why is it taking them so long? Becuase they're not going to do it. Don't wait up.

Radio sucks. It would add unecessary bulk to the iPod. Why would anyone listen to a radio if they have all the music they like at their disposal?

(I hope) Most people that buy an iPod have all but abolished radio from their lives.
 
i never listen to the radio for music..

the occasional sports game or news/weather might be nice. but that's mostly when i'm in the car anyways, so no need for it in the pod.

overall, i'd think the addition of the radio would not be something that they could just pop in there. it'd have to be reworked entirely, which won't happen. for a long time.
 
really? I thought radio was very simple and small to implement. It also uses very little battery life and uses the headphones as an antenna. I still can't understand why apple didn't include radio, it might cost them $5-$10 extra for each ipod, big deal, its a $400-$500 player!
 
well i don't know the specifics of what it would take to add radio function to the current ipod, but i would guess it wouldn't be too simple. i think if they'd done it at the beginning it'd have been relatively easier, but perhaps they tried and found it wouldn't fit the form factor or something.. i don't know.

i think at this point it would take a remodeling though, and that won't happen for a while.

someone who knows more about the mechanics of such devices: shed some light on this for me.
 
I'm not too sure it would requere a remodeling, I've seen some really tiny radios, and most of the internal space on those small radios were the battery compartment and battery. Also since it uses the headphones as an antenna there is no need to worry about the ipod being build out of medal (in case that crossed someone's mind ---> it crossed mine, but my friend told me that it wouldn't matter).
 
radio is so 1990

that was the year i took the radio out of my truck. crummy reception and audio quality and i rarely heard anything new. not to sound harsh but you can get a radio "walkman" for $20 bucks-thats the only option you have. (unless you record the radio and convert it to an mp3)

apple will never add one to the ipod. never ever, ever .
 
Do you think it might have something to do with the whole "internet radio" fiasco that's going on right now. (Huge licensing fees for internet radio)??

I mean, if you put a radio on an iPod, what's to keep a user from then digitally recording the radio signals? I'm sure the music industry wouldn't look kindly on that.
 
Originally posted by DavidCL23
really? I thought radio was very simple and small to implement. It also uses very little battery life and uses the headphones as an antenna.

Depends if the radio's AM/FM or not. FM antennas, as you say, can utilize the headphones wire as an antenna, but an AM antenna has to be a good-sized bar of ferrite. Reception is everything in a radio, and the small sized radios, from my experience, get weak reception.

I still can't understand why apple didn't include radio, it might cost them $5-$10 extra for each ipod, big deal, its a $400-$500 player!

An AM/FM radio with decent reception would ruin their current form factor. Since I've had my iPod, the radio holds little value for me anymore (radio=advertisments).

My opinon is that the iPod will never have a radio. Everything from FM you can get online, and listen to w/o advertisements. That's the benfit of owning an iPod.

AM sportscasts would be nice...but I wouldn't find myself using that function very often.
 
Originally posted by mcrain
I mean, if you put a radio on an iPod, what's to keep a user from then digitally recording the radio signals? I'm sure the music industry wouldn't look kindly on that.

From the advent of tapes, radio has been mass recorded. I don't think it's an issue anymore.

The music industry can kiss my illegal mp3's too (they charge way too much for music). Same idea, but better quality than recorded from a broadcasted signal.
 
Originally posted by mc68k
Depends if the radio's AM/FM or not. FM antennas, as you say, can utilize the headphones wire as an antenna, but an AM antenna has to be a good-sized bar of ferrite. Reception is everything in a radio, and the small sized radios, from my experience, get weak reception.

AM sportscasts would be nice...but I wouldn't find myself using that function very often.

well in that case, i'd never have a use for such a radio... i mean, like i said i'd only really want the AM side and since that requires the bigger antenna, then forget it.

maybe someday technology will change some more to allow this, but i'm in no rush for it.
 
Originally posted by jelloshotsrule
well in that case, i'd never have a use for such a radio... i mean, like i said i'd only really want the AM side and since that requires the bigger antenna, then forget it.

Well, you could always walk around with an AM Loop antenna around your neck. :D Who knows, maybe Apple will move into wearable trinkets next. :D
 
hmmmm . . . I think Radio still has lots of value in it! I have never been a music-radio fan, but how about news, and sports scrores, etc. NPR is a great way to stay informed about the world. I say go for it, put it in as an option!
 
I a couple of years you'll start seeing XMSatellite Radio walkmans. This will be the best possible 'radio' device. I have a XM radio in my car and I don't know how I ever got through a comute without it. Putting a radio on the iPod is taking a step backward. I don't think you'll ever see that on there.

Think about it, you can have upto 10 gigs of songs on the iPod! Tell me you're going to get bored listening to that? Why would you even want FM for your music?
 
How bout an IPOD with XMRadio built in. Probably not physically possible, but can you imagine having 100's of radio channels all over the country with sports, news, etc...
 
One more thing, with the 3g wireless systems being nearing completion (up to 128k speeds of always on internet connection I think), maybe the iPod could have some sort of internet radio feature that picks up the signal through the wireless internet. With a 128k speed, you could get pretty decent quality (not great, but not bad)
 
Radio

I don't think I would ever use it to listen to music, but I listen to NPR every day, as well. For over a month after September 11, each time I went to the gym I picked out which TV had the coverage I liked and tuned my Walkman to that station (as the TV broadcasts the sound on a particular FM frequency). As time passed, I watched news a bit less. However, there are still days now when I go to the gym and wish I could turn off my music and listen to the news.

Also, I agree that Apple is not likely to make this move, but (as originally pointed out) a 3rd party could. If a (very tiny) universal remote can be made to fit in the headphones port, why not a radio? Of course, it would also have to accommodate the headphones, but it still seems possible.

Besides, other MP3 players have this capacity. It is a selling point for some people.

Chris
 
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