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All posts tagged "fm"


Wednesday, April 4, 2007

News Flash: 33% of Listeners Want FM Tuners

Posted by Damion Chaplin in "Zune Talk" @ 10:00 AM

http://www.powerpage.org/2007/04/survey_finds_33_of_users_wanting_fm_playback_on_mp3_devices.html

"In a Jacobs Media survey conducted between late February and March of 2007, approximately 33% of respondents in a survey consisting of over 25,000 listeners of various rock stations around the United States cited that they'd like FM radio playback on current or future iPods. Jacobs Media operates as a radio consulting firm within the United States. The poll also established that an FM playback ability seemed more important to users than an increased storage capacity, larger screen or video playback according to Macworld UK. To date, Apple has never included a built-in FM receiver with its iPod devices, leaving third-party firms to provide these features. Microsoft's Zune MP3 player, which debuted in late 2006, made a point of including FM radio support and marketing this as a missing feature not found on the iPod."

Wait a second here, 33% of radio listeners want radio tuners in their MP3 players? Shocking. Actually, I'm amazed that percentage is so low. Why would radio listeners not want an FM tuner in their player? Do they think it adds considerable cost to the device? Many manufacturers (namely everyone but Apple) proved that wrong long ago. So what's Apple's stubbornness here? Why is it they don't want people listening to the radio on their iPod? Because then they won't be interested in buying more tunes from iTunes? I suspect that's part of the reason, but as usual Apple's true motivations remain obscure.

Tags: ipod, fm, radio, tuner

Thursday, February 22, 2007

DLO Expands Zune Offerings

Posted by Aaron Roma in "Zune Accessories" @ 11:30 AM

http://www.cliczune.com/2007/02/new_zune_access.html

"We already like DLO’s Zune cases but we might simply love their new Zune charger and FM transmitter. The company is expanding their Zune accessory line with a car charger and a Zune FM transmitter."

DLO has added a FM transmitter and a car charger to their line of Zune compatible accessories. The FM transmitter is a tethered solution, unlike the Zune branded transmitter (which attaches directly to the Zune). One nice feature of this tethered solution is the cable is actually removable and can be used as a charge and sync cable. Check out the above link to get a rundown of these new accessories from Cliczune.


Sunday, January 28, 2007

Belkin Releases the TuneCast 3

Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune Accessories" @ 09:00 AM

http://www.cliczune.com/2007/01/belkins_tunecas.html



Belkin's latest universal FM transmitter, the TuneCast 3, is now available in North America for $49.99, and will be hitting Asia, Australia, and Europe before too long. Being universal, it's good for your Zune, iPod, and just about any device with a 3.5mm line out / headphone port. Of course, if you're after a more elegant, powered Zune-only solution, then you may want to wait for Belkin's TuneBase FM Transmitter for Zune.


Thursday, December 14, 2006

AHRA Tax Rears It's Head, Looks at Zune

Posted by Damion Chaplin in "Thoughts Media Off Topic" @ 09:00 PM

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/14/microsoft_zune_royalties/

"Microsoft's private deal with Universal Music to pay the record label a voluntary royalty of $1 for every Zune player it sells has raised eyebrows across both the technology and music industries. But it might not be the last payment Redmond owes from Zune, we've discovered. Recently, Steve Gordon, entertainment attorney and Reg music columnist, took a skeptical look at where Universal's Zune dollar might end up. He reminded us of a little known US tax, which harks back to the "Home Taping Is Killing Music" era. Under the Audio Home Recording Act of 1982, recording devices carry a small royalty which is then divvied up between the performing artists involved. The royalty is administered by the Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies, AARC. You don't hear too much about AHRA or AARC, because as a consequence of a 1999 court settlement over the Diamond Rio player, it's generally assumed that all MP3 players are exempt. But not so fast, AARC's executive director Linda Bocchi reminded us. "People tend to throw that Rio decision around a little haphazardly," she told us. "Rio didn't say that all MP3 players are exempt. The decision was based on the fact the Rio could not record unless via the hard drive of your computer. But Zune is going in another direction. People can record off of FM radio, and share from one Zune player to another. It's moving away from the direction set by the iPod, and it's a grey area.""

Wait a second here... The Zune doesn't record music from the radio, does it? I thought that was a big no, with a maybe in a future firmware upgrade. Until that happens, Microsoft doesn't have anything to worry about. And the WiFi sharing feature is only good for 3 days or 3 plays, so it's not exactly a permanent acquisition of copyrighted music. Besides, even if they did have to pay said tax (unlikely), I think Microsoft can afford it... Now what MS should really do if they want to stick it to the iPod is allow us to record FM into WMA, pay the AHRA tax and wait to see if Apple can do the same...

Tags: fm, royalties, ahra, aarc

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