We've always wanted to take our electronics with us. It started with vacuum tube radios. Even if they used three heavy batteries and the housing was a big suitcase, they had a handle, and that made them portable. Then came radios in cars, handheld transistor radios, and the Sony Walkman. Today we have the iPod, Game Boys, and the RAZR. More music players, game systems, and cell phones are on the way with features and forms for every taste. These advances are possible now that everything has been digitized.
Retro Radio Still Hot Believe it or not, traditional analog AM and FM radio are still popular and widely used. There's no doubt they will continue to thrive, even with the growing use of satellite and HD Radio. One key trend is the inclusion of single-chip FM radio chips in MP3 players, audio headsets, and cell phones. FM radio is even available on a plug-in USB dongle for laptops.
Satellite radio from Sirius and XM has been around for a few years, and it continues to grow. Most new cars and trucks now include a satellite radio option, and dozens of aftermarket radios are additionally available. Tabletop radios haven't been as popular, but they're still out there. Even handheld satellite radios are on the market, though they need a clear line of sight to the satellite for good performance.
One of these handhelds, Pioneer's Inno, lets users download XM Radio songs and store them for playback on its internal MP3 player. The music industry has sued XM, since it doesn't like the Inno's ability to record digital music. Meanwhile, Sirius' S50 can store and play up to 50 hours of recorded audio content.
HD Radio is an established technology, even though it's still relatively unknown. Over 700 U.S. stations offer HD AM and FM service, yet few radios have found their way to consumers. Most consumers don't even know that it exists. It's available in aftermarket car radios and in some tabletops. Portable radios will be available as well. It will become more popular once the automobile manufacturers start including it as an option.
It took years for satellite radio manufacturers to get their products into cars, so don't hold your breath waiting for HD Radio to turn up in your local showroom. It will happen eventually. But given the competition with satellite and conventional AM/FM radios, HD Radio may have to wait until combined AM/FM/satellite/HD auto units come around.
Audio: The King Of Mobile Media For the last couple of years, Apple's iPod has been the must-have electronic gadget. Now, lots of accessories are available to make the listening experience much more convenient. Docking stations with amps and speakers extend the music beyond those white bud earphones. Some wireless devices let users pump their iPod tunes through their car's sound system via FM or Bluetooth signals. Expect more music sources and larger flash and hard drives in the future.
Also, MP3 players are appearing in other products, like Pioneer's Inno. But they're especially migrating toward cell phones, like Motorola's ROKR. Samsung's SGH-i310 cell phone has an 8-Gbyte hard drive for music storage (Fig. 1). And, Sony Ericsson's smash hit Walkman-Phone tripled the company's first quarter profits.
But Apple is holding its own with additional iPod features. The small color LCD screen on the nano lets users view digital photos, music videos, and even segments of TV shows. Now that they have big hard drives, they can accommodate video just as easily as audio.
Video: The Eventual Mobile Media Victor Mobile video has always been difficult. Thanks to smaller and faster processors, bigger and cheaper memory devices, and brilliant LCD screens, it's now relatively easy. The main issue is video content. Conventional TV shows, movies, and other video programs just aren't made for the small screen. Yet new content is being developed with small dimensions in mind.
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