Thumbs Down review for Insignia portable HD radio

[TSL2]

On the surface Insignia 2 looks cool. Bigger screen plus artist content and album art.

But according to Cnet for the price point of $69.00 it lacks all the other features gadget fans will want!
$69.00 for a portable radio way overpriced. Besides Iphone, Smart phone or whatever Droid will do all this and much more!

Maybe the Insignia2 should come with a phone, they need to pack more value into their gadget.


http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20019350-1.html


The retail price to $69, which seems flat-out ridiculous for a portable radio. The device doesn't offer MP3 playback, photos, video, voice recording, or any of the conveniences we'd expect from a portable media player. The meager 8-hour battery life doesn't help things, either.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20019350-1.html#ixzz12dBqxPEk

I guess they thought HD radio alone would wow customers. They forgot consumers are demanding the ability to pick their own content when they want, heck they're creating their own content too. Time has moved on, a standalone radio is one of the 70's and a niche product category today.

 

[radiogooroo]

What do you expect? It's a niche product, sort of.

Unfortunately, my iPhone won't do everything this little radio will do because it has no radio at all! (Well, actually it does, but Steve Jobs refuses to activate it for users.) I absolutely, positively can't listen to the TV audio transmitted on part 15 FM devices at the gym with my iPhone. I can't listen to internet radio on it at my gym for that matter because my gym is located in a NIMBY area, and the only cell service I can usually get there is very spotty 2G service. (It will occasionally switch to 3G.) This is in the suburbs of a top 10 market.

I do agree with one assessment a commenter makes though, if you're going to plunk down $69 for this, you might as well go ahead and get a Zune HD. I've played with one and the Zune HD has a very fine FM/HD FM tuner in it.

Nice to see the review highjacking nutjobs have already left their mark too with some poorly thought out hijacks, probably leaving most readers to wonder what a "Struble" is.

 

[tomservo]

Considering the amount of self interference my two old Insignia HD radios have, I can only imagine what a touch screen adds to the mix.

 

[audioguy]

For listening to the radio at the gym, you can get an inexpensive (under $20) SRF-59 Sony Walkman receiver that runs for about 140 hours on one AA cell. That's a lot of workouts! And if you destroy it, a replacement is not going to break the bank. I've watched many cell phones and iPods fly off the Stairmaster and hit the floor, never to work again.

 

[radiogooroo]

For listening to the radio at the gym, you can get an inexpensive (under $20) SRF-59 Sony Walkman receiver that runs for about 140 hours on one AA cell. That's a lot of workouts! And if you destroy it, a replacement is not going to break the bank. I've watched many cell phones and iPods fly off the Stairmaster and hit the floor, never to work again.

When you're on call 24/7, leaving your iPhone in the locker isn't an option. Personally, I wish they'd just enable the tuner in it, but since they won't, I have to carry something else around with it. The first gen Insignia works great, plus it receives a couple of the big talk stations in town on the HD3s of some sister FMs.

 

[BRNout]

What do you expect? It's a niche product, sort of.

Unfortunately, my iPhone won't do everything this little radio will do because it has no radio at all! (Well, actually it does, but Steve Jobs refuses to activate it for users.) I absolutely, positively can't listen to the TV audio transmitted on part 15 FM devices at the gym with my iPhone. I can't listen to internet radio on it at my gym for that matter because my gym is located in a NIMBY area, and the only cell service I can usually get there is very spotty 2G service. (It will occasionally switch to 3G.) This is in the suburbs of a top 10 market.

OK, your iPhone complaint has to do with your specific circumstances and is not something that will bother 99.9% of other iPhone users. I recently got an iPhone 4 and love it. While its true that there's no FM radio option activated (and I wish there were), I rarely miss it.Why?Because, using apps from Clear Channel, CBS and others, I can stream radio stations from around the world into my iPhone.With the headphones, this streaming audio actually sounds better than what I can get locally with my Insignia HD portable. When I am home, I don't even sweat whether there's 3G or not because it lets you connect to your wireless network - I'd imagine that the data streamed at home doesn't even count against whatever plan you have.

And, most damning to the whole HD concept, the options available via your iPhone are staggering. Literally thousands of stations are there using FREE apps. Even more if you care to pay and subscribe to something like Pandora. Personally, I enjoy old school R&B music and from my location in IL, I can listen to classic dance music streamed from London and R&B oldies shows streamed from stations in Philly, LA and nearby Chicago. The latter sounds better on the iPhone than it does on my Insignia where the HD pops in and out.

While listening to whatever I want, I can also surf the web or check email. Fact is, the iPhone (and it's contemporaries from other manufacturers) offer the kind of multimedia experience that people expect now. On Friday afternoon, I plugged my iPhone into the aux jack in my truck and listened to Club Classics on Heart 106.2 from London. The audio was as good as (or actually crisper than) OTA radio and the signal did not drop out even once during my 25-minute commute home from work. Now THAT is great technology.

On the other hand, this new portable HD radio is a very pale substitute that has a lame "me too" air about it. And, frankly, so does the entire HD concept. Again, this is a 1990's solution to a 2010's problem for radio. It's time passed well before it became operational. Multiple streaming platforms is where radio is headed - not HD/digital. Believe me, the marketplace will determine that long before greedy corporate d-bags like Strubel do.

 

[tomservo]

I know HD has little value in today's world, but I'll be damned if I'm giving Apple $500 for that phone and paying AT&T $80/month for the privilege of streaming radio stations with commercials.

At least before Uncle Mel took over XM, I felt my $10/month (grandfathered) was well worth commercial free music and O&A, even if it was dialup audio quality.

I am, however, glad to hear it doesn't drop out during a long commute. That has been one of my worries about streaming while mobile. My experience on T-Mobile and AT&T EDGE (no 3G here) has been less than stellar.

 

[radiogooroo]

OK, your iPhone complaint has to do with your specific circumstances and is not something that will bother 99.9% of other iPhone users. I recently got an iPhone 4 and love it. While its true that there's no FM radio option activated (and I wish there were), I rarely miss it.Why?Because, using apps from Clear Channel, CBS and others, I can stream radio stations from around the world into my iPhone.With the headphones, this streaming audio actually sounds better than what I can get locally with my Insignia HD portable. When I am home, I don't even sweat whether there's 3G or not because it lets you connect to your wireless network - I'd imagine that the data streamed at home doesn't even count against whatever plan you have.

Really? Going to the gym is really that rare? I wish someone would tell that to all the other people who are on the hundred or so treadmills when I get to my gym every day!

AT&T signal and capacity problems are that rare? Puhleez! Their signal problems are legendary! There's such a problem that they stopped offering unlimited data plans and dangled tethering as a carrot to get a lot of us off ours.

And, most damning to the whole HD concept, the options available via your iPhone are staggering. Literally thousands of stations are there using FREE apps. Even more if you care to pay and subscribe to something like Pandora. Personally, I enjoy old school R&B music and from my location in IL, I can listen to classic dance music streamed from London and R&B oldies shows streamed from stations in Philly, LA and nearby Chicago. The latter sounds better on the iPhone than it does on my Insignia where the HD pops in and out.

Lucky you! Wish that worked for me here! Wireless is pretty much maxed out. They just don't have the bandwidth to deploy this kind of entertainment to millions of additional users. It only kinda, sorta works now. Ask a New Yorker how that iPhone is working out for them.

While listening to whatever I want, I can also surf the web or check email. Fact is, the iPhone (and it's contemporaries from other manufacturers) offer the kind of multimedia experience that people expect now. On Friday afternoon, I plugged my iPhone into the aux jack in my truck and listened to Club Classics on Heart 106.2 from London. The audio was as good as (or actually crisper than) OTA radio and the signal did not drop out even once during my 25-minute commute home from work. Now THAT is great technology.

It can sound great, but it can also sound like hammered doggie doo, just like radio.

On the other hand, this new portable HD radio is a very pale substitute that has a lame "me too" air about it. And, frankly, so does the entire HD concept. Again, this is a 1990's solution to a 2010's problem for radio. It's time passed well before it became operational. Multiple streaming platforms is where radio is headed - not HD/digital. Believe me, the marketplace will determine that long before greedy corporate d-bags like Strubel do.

Eh. I believe in radio as a platform - period. It's old technology, but it has the ability to deliver where AT&T can't. AT&T can't reliably handle my phone calls, much less become my end all, be all entertainment device.

 

[BRNout]

Really? Going to the gym is really that rare? I wish someone would tell that to all the other people who are on the hundred or so treadmills when I get to my gym every day!

AT&T signal and capacity problems are that rare? Puhleez! Their signal problems are legendary! There's such a problem that they stopped offering unlimited data plans and dangled tethering as a carrot to get a lot of us off ours.

Boo hoo hoo, I go to the gym and I dwop my wadio waaaahh!! Going to the gym isn't rare - your specific complaint is. And yes, you're whining about the kind of thing that almost nobody else will care about.

As for AT&T's 3G coverage, it is fine for me where I live and it will only be expanding. Don't like AT&T? Verizon has more coverage and offers smart phones that have the same streaming capability (and soon the iPhone too). I dropped them because they were a-holes to deal with and lost our family's business as a result. But that is a different story.

And, that misses the point - which is that data streaming via personal devices is the future.

Lucky you! Wish that worked for me here! Wireless is pretty much maxed out. They just don't have the bandwidth to deploy this kind of entertainment to millions of additional users. It only kinda, sorta works now. Ask a New Yorker how that iPhone is working out for them.

Works fine for me here and I only hear complaints from those who spend time way out in the hinterlands somewhere. But building an infrastructure always takes time. Don't kid yourself, signal improvements are being made every day.

It can sound great, but it can also sound like hammered doggie doo, just like radio.

I have yet to experience that issue. Perhaps I live a charmed life, but not one of the streams I've accessed has sounded that way. Some are less crisp than others, but those that are streamed at a decent bitrate sound fantastic.

Eh. I believe in radio as a platform - period. It's old technology, but it has the ability to deliver where AT&T can't. AT&T can't reliably handle my phone calls, much less become my end all, be all entertainment device.

Radio, yes. HD, on the other hand, is a bad investment. Horrible ROI. Radio can adapt itself to multiple platforms - including streaming. Also, I am not sure why you have all the hate for AT&T. Frankly, I could do the same thing on a 3G/4G enabled smartphone with Verizon, US Cellular, T-Mobile or Sprint. People (especially younger people) do every day.

I know HD has little value in today's world, but I'll be damned if I'm giving Apple $500 for that phone and paying AT&T $80/month for the privilege of streaming radio stations with commercials.

I am, however, glad to hear it doesn't drop out during a long commute. That has been one of my worries about streaming while mobile. My experience on T-Mobile and AT&T EDGE (no 3G here) has been less than stellar.

Your estimate is off by quite a bit. With a contract, my 16GB iPhone cost less than half of what you have there.
And that's not the point because, at home or at work, I could just as easily use a Zune or an iPod Touch to portably stream audio. There are now in-car internet radio receivers and with regional wi fi networks being developed (such as Clear here near Chicago), these options will only increase in number and availability.

The comment about ads is just silly. If you don't want ads, just stream a 'station' that doesn't have them. There are literally thousands. I still like radio - just more of a variety than is available locally - so that's what I stream. You can stream whatever you want. And that is the point.

 

[radiogooroo]

You must not spend much time in a gym. Treadmills and ellipticals are dreadfully boring without the TVs. The TV audio is delivered via part 15 FM transmitters.

BRNout, I'm glad you have trouble free usage of your iPhone. I have an iPhone 4 and love it. I don't love the frequent dropped calls I get driving down the main streets and highways of one of America's largest cities. AT&T's woes here aren't what they are in NYC or San Francisco, but they're far from perfect. I've had an iPhone since the first generation 2G device came out, then the 3G and now a 4. That's over 3 years ago. The problem with dropped calls in my area has yet to see any improvement. Forgive me if I seem skeptical that AT&T will improve significantly anytime soon.

You say streaming data is the future. Is it part of the future? Yes, of course, but a lot of people greatly overestimate what can be done with it. If all 230,000,000 radio listeners were spending their radio time with Verizon and AT&T devices, they'd both choke. It just can't happen, and it won't. These companies recognize that they have a problem, so it's a little surprising that you don't. Verizon doesn't offer unlimited data plans anymore. Neither does AT&T. AT&T imposes a 64k limit for internet radio streaming apps on the iPhone.

Available spectrum is finite. Given the way the wireless carriers have slowly been ratcheting things back and allowing us less and less, I suspect we'll someday come to regard this time as the good ol' days of cheap mobile internet. The wireless carriers want vacant TV channels. I have a bunch of useless wireless mics in the 700 MHz range now because the Commission decided to auction it off.

Even if the wireless carriers do manage to snap up every bit of available spectrum, and require broadcast TV to go away completely as they want, there still won't be enough spectrum available to support the streaming entertainment of another 230,000,000 Americans.

Why do you think GPS manufacturers are using HD Radio to deliver their real time traffic info instead of cellular?

 

[BRNout]

You say streaming data is the future. Is it part of the future? Yes, of course, but a lot of people greatly overestimate what can be done with it. If all 230,000,000 radio listeners were spending their radio time with Verizon and AT&T devices, they'd both choke. It just can't happen, and it won't. These companies recognize that they have a problem, so it's a little surprising that you don't. Verizon doesn't offer unlimited data plans anymore. Neither does AT&T. AT&T imposes a 64k limit for internet radio streaming apps on the iPhone.

Available spectrum is finite. Given the way the wireless carriers have slowly been ratcheting things back and allowing us less and less, I suspect we'll someday come to regard this time as the good ol' days of cheap mobile internet. The wireless carriers want vacant TV channels. I have a bunch of useless wireless mics in the 700 MHz range now because the Commission decided to auction it off.

Even if the wireless carriers do manage to snap up every bit of available spectrum, and require broadcast TV to go away completely as they want, there still won't be enough spectrum available to support the streaming entertainment of another 230,000,000 Americans.

I disagree and would characterize the issue under the heading of "growing pains". There are already new technologies emerging to supply wireless internet access to more and more people in more and more places.

Also, your comments about Verizon not offering an unlimited plan are interesting - clearly they are following everyone else because they can. It was just a few weeks ago that we talked to them and they still had unlimited data plans. Now they cap it at 5 GB. AT&T caps it at 2 GB per month, which is still quite a bit. It's more than we use, as a lot of my use of streaming audio/video is done in places (like home) where I am able to utilize wifi rather than the AT&T network. Sooner or later, the caps will be increased because they inevitably will have to. And competition will insist on it.

On a similar note, I will tell you that in my travels to places like downtown Chicago, Boston and San Francisco, I have yet to have an issue with my coverage. Oddly, I was favorably impressed with AT&T's coverage around the Bay Area. Not saying that I disbelieve you (as I don't live there), but I have not had an issue when traveling to those places.

Technology will rapidly progress to the point where more than 300,000,000 heavy data users will all be accommodated wirelessly - and sooner than you might think. Your comments remind me of those I saw regarding cellular phone use - circa 1985.

Look, I am a big (huge) booster of old fashioned analog radio. It is the most effective means of broadcasting to a large audience. However, my point is that HD Radio misses the mark. The audience at which it's aimed has already moved on. They are using the likes of iPhones, Droid, Imagio, and players like iTouch, Zune, PS, etc. They use them for streaming audio/video, gaming, playing MP3s/iTunes, etc. HD radio, for the under 30 crowd, is a huge step backward and is not worth the hassle of bothering with. For the rest of us, it's just not worth bothering with.

I must reiterate: HD Radio is a 1990s answer to a 2010s problem.

 

[Savage]

Or, a little more precisely: "HD Radio is a 1990s answer to an IMAGINARY problem. As in: a problem which has never really existed. Not in 2010...not in 2002....never."

IBOC is a cynical and fraudluent pursuit of a mirage. It's endless brute-force promotion of a glaringly defective concept to a target audience which has utterly no interest in it. E.G.....a loser in concept, execution and marketing.

 

[Carmine5]

HD Radio may not be getting any new AM stations on board but Ibiquity is picking up more investigations from law firms. In this case, it's Galex Wolf who is working along with the Keefe Bartels firm.

http://www.galexwolf.com/sub/Galex-Wolf-HD-Radio.jsp

Is it just me or is there something wrong with this ratio from a business perspective; losing stations while gaining investigations of consumer complaints?

 

[TSL2]

Another thought, after reading the article It then dawned on me something was missing? Duh, no raving reviews on the outstanding HD sound quality or now being able to receive double the amount of "new" radio stations. I guess the author was so disheartened with the price point and lack of value, the sound quality wasn't that important.

 

[radiogooroo]

HD Radio may not be getting any new AM stations on board but Ibiquity is picking up more investigations from law firms. In this case, it's Galex Wolf who is working along with the Keefe Bartels firm.

http://www.galexwolf.com/sub/Galex-Wolf-HD-Radio.jsp

Is it just me or is there something wrong with this ratio from a business perspective; losing stations while gaining investigations of consumer complaints?

There's something wrong with the legal system in our country. We desperately need tort reform to keep B.S. like this out of the courts.

I recently got a notice that my old gym had been sued for something, and I was a big winner in that class action settlement. The attorneys got millions. As one of the people who was supposedly wronged, I got 3 months free at a gym I no longer have any use for. No cash option.

The saddest part? I don't have the slightest clue of how this gym supposedly screwed me. In the end, I suspect lots of BMW owners will be enjoying their free Happy Meal at McDonalds with their big winnings and be just as clueless about how BMW and iBiquity screwed them.

 

[radiogooroo]

Also, your comments about Verizon not offering an unlimited plan are interesting - clearly they are following everyone else because they can. It was just a few weeks ago that we talked to them and they still had unlimited data plans. Now they cap it at 5 GB. AT&T caps it at 2 GB per month, which is still quite a bit. It's more than we use, as a lot of my use of streaming audio/video is done in places (like home) where I am able to utilize wifi rather than the AT&T network. Sooner or later, the caps will be increased because they inevitably will have to. And competition will insist on it.

That is interesting, especially since Verizon stopped offering unlimited plans here a few years ago. I'm surprised they kept them in your area this long.

And they aren't doing it just because they can. Sprint, Clear and some other carriers offer unlimited data plans here. There is unlimited competition, for now anyway. Someday as these carriers pick up customers, they'll follow in the footsteps of the big boys and cap their usage.

 

[KB1OKL]

HD Radio may not be getting any new AM stations on board but Ibiquity is picking up more investigations from law firms. In this case, it's Galex Wolf who is working along with the Keefe Bartels firm.

http://www.galexwolf.com/sub/Galex-Wolf-HD-Radio.jsp

Is it just me or is there something wrong with this ratio from a business perspective; losing stations while gaining investigations of consumer complaints?

There's something wrong with the legal system in our country. We desperately need tort reform to keep B.S. like this out of the courts.

I recently got a notice that my old gym had been sued for something, and I was a big winner in that class action settlement. The attorneys got millions. As one of the people who was supposedly wronged, I got 3 months free at a gym I no longer have any use for. No cash option.

The saddest part? I don't have the slightest clue of how this gym supposedly screwed me. In the end, I suspect lots of BMW owners will be enjoying their free Happy Meal at McDonalds with their big winnings and be just as clueless about how BMW and iBiquity screwed them.

Of course not, they will blame the radio itself and think it is defective instead of realizing that they are the victim of junk technology.

 

[BRNout]

That is interesting, especially since Verizon stopped offering unlimited plans here a few years ago. I'm surprised they kept them in your area this long.

And they aren't doing it just because they can. Sprint, Clear and some other carriers offer unlimited data plans here. There is unlimited competition, for now anyway. Someday as these carriers pick up customers, they'll follow in the footsteps of the big boys and cap their usage.

Not so. We had been with Verizon for years and went in to get new phones. They were arrogant jerks to deal with and showed no appreciation for our business. But they made a huge point of knocking AT&T's 2GB cap and touting their unlimited data plan. I assure you that it was national. It has since been changed. And, by since, I mean since the end of last month. AT&T may actually end up lifting their cap to 5GB at some point to keep from getting pummeled by Verizon over it.

Sprint does do this - but they aren't 'real' competition for AT&T or Verizon because their coverage sucks so badly. Quite limited to big cities only. So neither of the big 2 feel the need to match them. Clear is NOT a wireless phone provider, it is a wireless internet provider. Google it.

 

[radiogooroo]

Not so. We had been with Verizon for years and went in to get new phones. They were arrogant jerks to deal with and showed no appreciation for our business. But they made a huge point of knocking AT&T's 2GB cap and touting their unlimited data plan. I assure you that it was national. It has since been changed. And, by since, I mean since the end of last month. AT&T may actually end up lifting their cap to 5GB at some point to keep from getting pummeled by Verizon over it.

Sprint does do this - but they aren't 'real' competition for AT&T or Verizon because their coverage sucks so badly. Quite limited to big cities only. So neither of the big 2 feel the need to match them. Clear is NOT a wireless phone provider, it is a wireless internet provider. Google it.

Verizon stopped selling new unlimited data plans here years ago. At the time, if you had an existing plan, you could keep it. I used to be on one of their unlimited data plans with a laptop adaptor. When I went in to upgrade the adaptor, they switched me from an unlimited plan to a 5GB plan. I raised hell and got them to switch it back, but ended up dropping them anyway soon thereafter.

I have a couple of their wireless adaptors at work that were signed up shortly after this. Neither has unlimited data.

Sprint is limited to big cities only? Just what do you consider a "big" city? Sprint has superb coverage over lots of cities around here with less than 100,000 people.

Clear is a mobile internet provider, and they actively market their service as a way to improve the speed and quality of other wireless devices. You could sign up for a mobile hot spot with Clear and buy an iPod Touch to get the entertainment benefits you claim are going to take over the world much cheaper than you could get an iPhone and data plan. Clear's service is currently unlimited.

Here, we also have Cricket. They are a wireless provider and offer unlimited data plans. There are at least two providers offering unlimited mobile internet here, probably more. Verizon and AT&T have competition apart from each other.

 

[BRNout]

Verizon stopped selling new unlimited data plans here years ago. At the time, if you had an existing plan, you could keep it. I used to be on one of their unlimited data plans with a laptop adaptor. When I went in to upgrade the adaptor, they switched me from an unlimited plan to a 5GB plan. I raised hell and got them to switch it back, but ended up dropping them anyway soon thereafter.

I have a couple of their wireless adaptors at work that were signed up shortly after this. Neither has unlimited data.

Sprint is limited to big cities only? Just what do you consider a "big" city? Sprint has superb coverage over lots of cities around here with less than 100,000 people.

Clear is a mobile internet provider, and they actively market their service as a way to improve the speed and quality of other wireless devices. You could sign up for a mobile hot spot with Clear and buy an iPod Touch to get the entertainment benefits you claim are going to take over the world much cheaper than you could get an iPhone and data plan. Clear's service is currently unlimited.

Here, we also have Cricket. They are a wireless provider and offer unlimited data plans. There are at least two providers offering unlimited mobile internet here, probably more. Verizon and AT&T have competition apart from each other.

Clear competes with AT&T and T-Mobile, but in the mobile internet market - not in the cell phone market. Different divisions of AT&T and T-Mobile are involved than we were discussing. Verizon has a toe in that water too, but is behind the others.

By the way, I don't "claim" that those entertainment platforms are going to take over the world - they just are. And you need to accept it. Your comment is the equivalent of blaming the weatherman for a rainy weekend when he tells you about it the day before.

Sprint is NOT enough of a competitor for AT&T or Verizon for them to change business strategies. Sprint's service is like swiss cheese in the more populated areas and is non-existent across huge swaths of the USA. Leave an interstate or big city in most of the south and you lose Sprint service. Upstate NY and central/western PA have next to nothing from Sprint and there's no service at all in most of SD, NE, NV and huge areas of other western states. The unstated fact from their coverage map is that they are light on cell coverage even where they supposedly offer it - fine perhaps in the cities, but weak in many suburbs. And that is in areas that are supposedly their strong markets.

Cricket uses the networks of Metro PCS and Sprint. Again, not a serious competitor of the big 2. T-Mobile is probably the closest thing to competition that AT&T and Verizon have in the wireless marketplace and it still has a long way to go. Basically it is a head to head competition with everyone else looking for the leftovers.

By the way, your comments about 'mandated' HD Radios are waaaaaay off! Honestly, this idea of the government forcing unfunded mandates on industries and consumers has gone far enough. Leave the government out of it! If the marketplace wants it, it will flourish; if not, it will die. As the latter thing is happening, you don't like it. Nor do you care for the example I have given of technology that is in growth mode.

Face it: NOBODY (with the exception of a few geeks here) CARES ABOUT HD RADIO!! Nobody. That's why it doesn't sell. That's why Apple sells more iTouch players in a day than Ibiquity sells HD Radios in a month.

But, if you insist on living in a place where market-driven demands are trumped by the whims of a small cabal of government leaders, there always is Venezuela.