FM Radio on Phones

[landtuna]

And so few radios have it. For a time some home receivers had it built-in like Denon and Yamaha but that's now history. iBiquity keeping a closed source system didn't help. All about the greed!

I have a 2020 Moto Power cell with FM (and a headphone jack) and it has beautiful (for my ears) sound. I don't listen very often because there are so many other sources. I do listen to the HD radio in my Toyota van and it has great sound as well although to be honest I can't really tell the difference between normal FM and HD.

 

[davideduardo]

Power requirements and/or battery life?

Real battery drainer. That is why we never saw portable radios with either satellite or HD radio (except for rare specialty items).

Back in the early 2000's when I was programming the 5 Spanish language channels on XM, I got a portable headset satellite radio. At the time, I was doing weekend hiking and bicycle trips and I found that the batteries died long before my hike or ride was done... pretty useless.

 

[MVB13]

Apple's phones, with market penetration of 56% in the United States, do not have an FM tuner in their phones. Some android phones do have FM tuners, certainly not all.

The NextRadio app was discontinued 3 years ago because they ran out of money. It is still listed on the Android store, but was last updated January 2019. Its days are probably numbered.

The Next Radio app doesn't work I tried in 2021.

 

[Mrtejano]

And how long did that device last? And did they sell more than a few dozen?

Probably only sold one, 😂. The one I purchased. The. I returned it, I couldn’t download any music to it. It was so hard to add music music on it. So I just went back to Conns and returned it.

 

[Mrtejano]

I have a 2020 Moto Power cell with FM (and a headphone jack) and it has beautiful (for my ears) sound. I don't listen very often because there are so many other sources. I do listen to the HD radio in my Toyota van and it has great sound as well although to be honest I can't really tell the difference between normal FM and HD.

I Can, the sound is very noticeable when it’s only analog vs hd especially in Houston with KQQK you can hear the BASS louder when you have HD on.

 

[Casey]

The Zune was trying to create differentiation from the iPod. It didn't work, and that experience back then probably harms any case you might be able to make for Samsung or Nokia to invest in an HD Radio chip today.

The Zune did not fail because it had an HD Radio tuner. It failed because Microsoft was unable to gain marketshare due to the iron grip Apple had on the market with the tight integration of the iTunes Store and the iPod. Ironically the thing that did break Apple's dominance was a music subscription service, which Zune did offer but they completely failed to market it to the masses.

I have actually heard a lot of good reviews about the HD Radio tuner in the Zune HD over the years. More than anything else the product offered.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

The Zune did not fail because it had an HD Radio tuner. It failed because Microsoft was unable to gain marketshare due to the iron grip Apple had on the market with the tight integration of the iTunes Store and the iPod.

I didn't mean to imply that the Zune failed *because* of the tuner. It failed in spite of being more feature rich than the iPods of the time. But the first generation iPhone came to market a few months after the first generation Zune launched, and the smartphone crushed the portable music player market pretty quickly.

 

[TheBigA]

But the first generation iPhone came to market a few months after the first generation Zune launched, and the smartphone crushed the portable music player market pretty quickly.

Correct, because the iPhone had a music player built in. This is where the electronics industry failed the radio industry. Had there been a portable FM radio that included an iPod or some form of digital music player, it would have been a hit. Consumers like combo devices. Instead there was a complete stoppage of fun new portable devices that included FM radio.

 

[Mikey Radio]

This is where the electronics industry failed the radio industry. Had there been a portable FM radio that included an iPod or some form of digital music player, it would have been a hit.

I actually remember a few "also ran" MP3 players back in the day that also had FM tuners in them. However, they were from companies like COBY which are sometimes found in closeout stores like Big Lots and they weren't taken seriously. Also, at that point most everyone wanted an iPod, not an MP3 player from just any brand. If you do a search at Amazon for MP3 players with FM radios, there are actually a ton of them available and some are quite stylish:

https://www.amazon.com/ZOOAOXO-Bluetooth-Recorder-Earphones-Included/dp/B09M77ZX54/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=mp3+player+with+fm+radio&qid=1665337926&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI2LjcwIiwicXNhIjoiNi40MiIsInFzcCI6IjUuODcifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-5