Twilight Universe

Apple gives iPod Radio, Finally.

Posted in blog by Gregory on the January 12th, 2006

iPod RadioAfter realising the iPod would be good with video playback, Apple seem to have also decided that one of the more requested features is also a good idea.

Radio.

Yes, Apple now has an offical radio ipod accessory that you can spend your money on. It’s about bloody time!

However the interesting part of this for me is that the iPod displays all the data on it’s screen: which means the software to run this is already in the iPod itself, or at least the newer iPods that will use this. I’m guessing that the extra few bits of electronics that the radio needs couldn’t quite fit into the new, slimline, 5G and certainly not into the iPod Nano.

Either way it is a bit of a slap in the face to companies like Griffin, who have been making a tidy sum with their iFM product. The real question I think is: will Apple allow other companies to expose the internal radio software, and so allow real accessory competition? I’m guessing no, but I hope I’m wrong.

5 Responses to 'Apple gives iPod Radio, Finally.'

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  1. monkeypup said,

    on January 13th, 2006 at 0:27

    The technology looks keen, but personally, I got an ipod to escape from FM radio. I only listen as a last resort, since my sis got me the 20gb pod.

    Thanks to podcasts and my 4,500 songs, I haven’t missed radio a bit.

  2. Alan said,

    on January 13th, 2006 at 12:01

    Picked one up yesterday - last one in the shop! Rather overpriced when all I wanted was a remote control, but seems to do what it says on the tin. The radio software seems to have been installed at the last firmware update released after Steve’s keynote. Since the hacking work on the 5G serial interface seems to be going well, and Griffin are already using an on-screen tuner for their new iTrip, I’m pretty sure that they’ll be upgrading their iFM pretty soon.

  3. Craig Hartel said,

    on February 10th, 2006 at 17:37

    I think I would be more intrigued by having a satellite radio receiver for the iPod, rather than an FM receiver. There aren’t a lot of choices of FM stations around here, anyway, so I think I’ll save my money for some other accessory!

  4. Gregory said,

    on February 10th, 2006 at 20:07

    Good point. I’d prefer Digital Radio (DAB) over satelite, but broadly the same idea.

    However I’d be surprised if the software wasn’t capable of that, it’s just an FM reciver is really simple and cheap! I could build one with the crud in my parents shed ;)

  5. Lee said,

    on May 19th, 2006 at 21:01

    Love your blog! Keep it up.

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