Maybe it is just me. For several years, people have been saying that HD will finally capture the market when it is available on portable radios.
Really?
Has anyone actually tried to buy a portable radio recently? These days you’ll find more of them at a drug store than you will in most large electronic stores. At least that seems to be the case in my recent visits trying to buy a half-way decent pocket size radio. My casual observation is the current choices are slim.
You can find a “Coby” at the check out counter of Walgeen’s, but if you want something better, you may need to visit someone on-line like C Crane & Co. I don’t think “Joe the plumber” has ever heard of C. Crane, but I’ll bet he goes to Best Buy and Circuit City, or maybe even Radio Shack. It appears the big box stores aren't stocking very many portable radios, period. Will they actually stock a version with HD on it? I guess we'll find out.
In my shopping for just a decent FM stereo radio that is easy to carry, I could find several MP3 players with FM capability. They are a bit of over-kill for my needs. You can even buy an after-market adapter to put FM (only) on your ipod. Of course you’ll find that most stores have an entire aisle full of ipod docking stations, many of which do have FM capability. Most of those don’t seem to be portable though. There are also a few (very few) table radios, three or four boom boxes (which you could carry around if you are a weight lifter) and several compact stereos to choose from. If you want a pocket size radio with FM on it, you may have to look elsewhere. In fact, the entire “radio” department in most stores is pretty small. My neighborhood Best Buy has devoted more floor space to GPS devices than portable radios. Did I mention that if you want AM as well, the search may be even longer? AM seems to really be an endangered species in the land of consumer radios.
I’m going to make the presumption that the mass retailers aren’t stocking simple portable radios because either:
1. They aren’t selling.
2. Or they don’t provide enough profit margin to bother with.
Either way it looks like the public isn’t all that interested in portable RADIO. They obviously are interested in portable devices that play music. Some of those used to be called “cell phones.” I don’t see too many FM tuners in those either…
Really?
Has anyone actually tried to buy a portable radio recently? These days you’ll find more of them at a drug store than you will in most large electronic stores. At least that seems to be the case in my recent visits trying to buy a half-way decent pocket size radio. My casual observation is the current choices are slim.
You can find a “Coby” at the check out counter of Walgeen’s, but if you want something better, you may need to visit someone on-line like C Crane & Co. I don’t think “Joe the plumber” has ever heard of C. Crane, but I’ll bet he goes to Best Buy and Circuit City, or maybe even Radio Shack. It appears the big box stores aren't stocking very many portable radios, period. Will they actually stock a version with HD on it? I guess we'll find out.
In my shopping for just a decent FM stereo radio that is easy to carry, I could find several MP3 players with FM capability. They are a bit of over-kill for my needs. You can even buy an after-market adapter to put FM (only) on your ipod. Of course you’ll find that most stores have an entire aisle full of ipod docking stations, many of which do have FM capability. Most of those don’t seem to be portable though. There are also a few (very few) table radios, three or four boom boxes (which you could carry around if you are a weight lifter) and several compact stereos to choose from. If you want a pocket size radio with FM on it, you may have to look elsewhere. In fact, the entire “radio” department in most stores is pretty small. My neighborhood Best Buy has devoted more floor space to GPS devices than portable radios. Did I mention that if you want AM as well, the search may be even longer? AM seems to really be an endangered species in the land of consumer radios.
I’m going to make the presumption that the mass retailers aren’t stocking simple portable radios because either:
1. They aren’t selling.
2. Or they don’t provide enough profit margin to bother with.
Either way it looks like the public isn’t all that interested in portable RADIO. They obviously are interested in portable devices that play music. Some of those used to be called “cell phones.” I don’t see too many FM tuners in those either…
