Rehr Asks Apple To Add FM To iPods
WASHINGTON -- April 13, 2009: Nearly all MP3 players and an ever-growing number of cellphones can receive over-the-air FM radio, but Apple continues to be a high-profile holdout. Now NAB President/CEO David Rehr has written to Apple COO Timothy Cook to urge the electronics maker, "as a recognized leader in both the mobile phone and portable music player arenas," to begin including FM radio capability in iPhones and iPods.
Rehr notes that some mobile phones now include an integrated FM antenna and don't need a wired headset or connections to external speakers, and that some Bluetooth circuits now include FM radio capability, meaning there's no need to make room for an FM receiver in the mobile phone's case. He also points out that the NAB will be demonstrating the new Motorola ROKR EM35, with an integrated FM antenna, at the NAB Show this month in Las Vegas.
As he has done in letters to other mobile execs, Rehr spells out for Cook some of the benefits of including FM radio in devices, saying it is a "value-added and low-cost feature" that consumers appreciate; a source of incremental revenue from song tagging that leads to sales; a source for emergency alerts that doesn't involve the mobile infrastructure; and a potential source of promotion for new phones and media players with FM capability.
Rehr says the U.S. lags behind the rest of the world in mobile phones sold with FM Radio, but tells Cook, "With Apple as our partner, I am confident that we will be successful in convincing the U.S. mobile network carriers and their customers that FM radio is an indispensable feature for their mobile phones. Also, the radio industry would enthusiastically provide significant public promotion of FM-enabled Apple iPhones and iPods."
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(4/14/2009 10:45:30 PM) Why, oh why, would I want radio on the iPhone when it would add more taxes and fees and cost to the iPhone? That is absurd. The iPod and iPhone kill radio. Move on. There is nothing to be seen from this request. |
| - james katt |
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(4/14/2009 8:18:37 PM) The iPod already supports FM, it is a $49 add on and it works great. You can find them at your local Apple Store, online or mortar. |
| - Steve |
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(4/14/2009 4:08:57 PM) Adding an FM tuner to the iPhone would increase the monthly iPhone bill around the world by $8 to $15, since many governments (e.g. Germany) charge you a monthly fee if you can listen to broadcast radio. It doesn't matter whether you actually use the radio --- if you have the ability to listen to broadcast radio, then you have to pay up. Of course, many already pay the tax (e.g., if you have a car, the regulators can easily peer in the car and verify whether you have a radio). I say keep a tuner out of the iPhone for this reason alone. |
| - Josh |
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(4/14/2009 3:48:06 PM) As HM points out. No one is considering the effect that using FM would have on battery life. Simply turning on the Wi-Fi feature on an iPhone or iPod touch saps the battery so much faster. Even more important is that the iPod is not successful because it is a media player, it is successful because it was the first device that eased the acquisition of music legally and to date retains that title. The iTunes store is the business that Apple wants to maintain and the iPod/iPhone devices are the means by which it does so. By offering commercial radio, it would be hurting its business model. Apple is a business, they create great products and they have a faithful following, but they are not our family. They need to make money in order to exist and to create new and better products. FM radio is a dinosaur. The same way that CDs and DVD/Blu-Ray are old technologies that will pass into memory, so will FM Radio (as it exists today anyway). |
| - MetroRip |
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(4/14/2009 2:56:06 PM) Low price fm devices abound. It is absurd to waste the limited (300) number of battery charge cycles on an ipod just to listen to radio. Radio on an ipod is not in the consumer's best interest. |
| - HM |
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