While HD radios are struggling to catch on, with their ability to bring you dozens of new local stations, we expect Internet radios to become much more popular. After all, they can deliver thousands of stations from around the globe, as long as you have a broadband connection.
The latest in Internet radio is the Sonoro element W. It's a compact rectangular model with European good looks. It offers both FM and Internet radio (Internet radios always seem to skip AM), and it can even stream Pandora stations. You can search from 16,000 global stations based on genre or geography. Connect to the Internet via WiFi or a LAN connection. The element W also offers 10 station presets and a battery back-up.
This is definitely a luxury radio, as the price is $499. Check the Web site for dealer information. If you're spending that much, you might as well buy the optional $79.00 iPod dock, called the eDock.
This week, hosts Brian Heater and Kyle Monson are joined by PCMag's consumer electronics senior editor, Wendy Sheehan Donnell. Wendy looks under the hood of her iPhone and shares a maintenance story when attempting to fix her broken face panel.
Brian and Kyle get into a heated debate about Apple computers and if they are superior to other PCs (or if they're just ridiculously good looking). They also talk with the inventor of the iFart iPhone app and find out what else is on his whiteboard.
Finally, we go to an interview with Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor on piracy.
You can download the podcast off of the iTunes store or listen to it directly from the PCMag.com website.
American media conglomerate Liberty Media Corp. today announced that it will invest $530 million into the nearly bankrupt Sirius XM Radio company. The first part of the loan will come in the form of a $280 million senior secured loan for Sirius, with another $150 million going toward its subsidiary, XM.
For its part, Liberty will receive 12.5 million shares of preferred stock. Shares in Sirius XM--which announced that it could file for bankruptcy as early as today--rose from $0.09 to $0.20.
Sirius XM, the troubled satellite radio provider that was the result of a merger to cut costs, may be forced to take the next step and file for Chapter 11. The New York Times reported late Tuesday that the satellite radio firm is working with Joseph A. Bondi of Alvarez & Marsal and the bankruptcy lawyer Mark Thompson of Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett to help prepare a Chapter 11 filing.
With more than $5 billion in assets, Sirius would be second-largest company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection so far this year, according to the research firm Capital IQ's database, the Times reported. Satellite television mogul Charles Ergen has also been said to be considering a bid for the company.
Areaware is a design company that makes really cool-looking products--remember that foldable bicycle from earlier today? The company was also showing off this snazzy wooden radio.
Designed by Singih Kartono, the Magno Wooden Radio is made from sustainable wood. I spoke to a rep from the company who explained that the radio is designed to have something of a "timeless" quality.
It also sounds surprisingly good. The company was blasting some music from one, and the result was rich and full. The radio also has an auxiliary input, so you can play songs from your non-wooden iPod.
Here's something cool: Internet radio for your car. mRoamer integrates the wonders of streaming Internet music into a standard car stereo alongside the standard AM/FM selections.
The mRoamer radio features more than 16,000 Internet radio stations from more than 200 countries. The system utilizes iRobot technology to improve scanning, and users can create customizable folders for presets and favorite stations on their units.
The company will also be integrating IPTV into the system in the "near future." Further software updates will also let users integrate the car stereo with premium music systems (I'm sure Rhapsody is eager to get on this bandwagon) and MP3 lockers.
Not really sure why this unit says "New Jersey" on it, but I'm sure it takes requests for anything off of Born to Run.
Given the controversy, I expected today's FCC white-spaces vote to be delayed. But I have now been listening to smooth-jazz webcast hold music in the background for 3.5 hours.
A commission meeting that will address white spaces, as well as the Verizon-Alltel and Sprint-Clearwire mergers, was set to kick off at 11 A.M. Eastern, but was later pushed to 1:45 P.M. It is now 2:45 P.M. and ... nothing but smooth jazz.
So let's talk amongst ourselves. What are white spaces? When TV stations switch from analog to digital signals in February 2009, unused spectrum--A.K.A. white spaces--will emerge, and companies such as Microsoft and Google want to use it for mobile broadband. But broadcasters, led by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), argue that such activity could disrupt TV signals.
The FCC is scheduled to vote today on a report from the agency's Office of Engineering Technology (OET) that gave conditional approval to the use of white-spaces devices. NAB, however, has demanded that the FCC open a public comment period on the report and delay today's vote.
Another day, another inbox full of white spaces-related press releases.
Election Day is just six days away, but so is a scheduled vote at the Federal Communications Commission on a white spaces rule, and both sides are up in arms. Depending on who you ask, the vote on this issue is either too premature or long overdue.
For those who have not been following the issue, white spaces are bits of unused spectrum between TV channels that Internet companies such as Google and Microsoft want to use for mobile broadband purposes. This spectrum will open up once broadcasters switch from analog to digital TV signals in February 2009, and advocates are anxious to take advantage of this powerful spectrum.
However, broadcasters, led by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), are convinced that using white spaces for broadband purposes will disrupt TV signals.
After months of testing, the FCC is not too concerned and gave conditional support to a plan that will allow certain white spaces devices to come to market in the near future. That plan will be the subject of the Nov. 4 vote.
NAB wants the FCC to delay and open up a public comment period; advocates want it to proceed immediately. Who are the latest groups, members of Congress, and entertainers to weigh in on the topic?
Just a few of those who oppose are TV set manufacturers, the MGM Mirage, and Sen. Hillary Clinton. Supporting? Cell phone and computer manufacturers, Google, and Dell.
Snippets from letters sent in the past few days to the FCC and Congress after the jump.
Every other e-mail I've received this morning is from an interest group or Internet company that either wants the FCC to take quick action on its white spaces rule--or put it on hold pending a public comment period.
What are white spaces? When TV stations switch from analog to digital signals in February 2009, unused spectrum--or white spaces--will emerge, and companies like Microsoft and Google want to use it for mobile broadband. Broadcasters, led by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), argue that such activity could disrupt TV signals.
The FCC must not "unduly jeopardize television viewing," chief executives from ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX wrote FCC Chairman Kevin Martin on Thursday.
Broadcasters are pushing the FCC to reschedule its Nov. 4 vote on the issue until after a comment period that would likely last about two months. White spaces advocates like Google and Microsoft, however, claim that enough time has passed and action is required now in order to move forward on mobile broadband technologies.
The FCC last week released a report that gave conditional support to white spaces devices, and said it would vote on a final rule on Election Day.
NAB wants that vote delayed, and a press release war was born. More banter after the jump.
BlackBerry users have a reputation for being hyper-productive business professionals that are almost pathologically tied to their smartphones. As of today, however, they can be Slackers, too. Research In Motion has announced a partnership with Slacker.com that will let BlackBerry users play Internet radio stations.
You can stream music, or even better, cache stations and individual songs on your BlackBerry's memory card, so you can listen when you have zero bars of coverage. Just listening to stations is free, but you need to subscribe to Slacker's premium service ($10 a month) to save individual songs.
As a doting owner of a Blackberry Curve 8330 and a daily listener to Slacker Radio, I am pretty psyched. This is the kind of app RIM needs, to win the hearts and thumbs of consumers and compete with the iPhone 3G. I've played with the service very briefly, and the interface looks pretty clean and easy to use. I can't speak to the audio quality yet, but I guarantee it will sound better than the music most current BlackBerry owners listen to on their phones--which is to say, none.
Just when you thought public relations couldn't get any worse for airlines, a communication breakdown is keeping airplanes grounded across the country.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a Hampton, Georgia-based flight-plan-processing facility suffered a failure causing flight delays across the US.
An FAA spokesperson told the AP that there are no safety issues to speak of, however, and pilots are still able to communicate with ground control.
The breakdown at the Georgia Facility had led to a backlog at a Salt Lake City-based facility, when it was tasked with handling the East Coast flights dropped by the former.
The FAA has a map of delay times, which can be found here. At the moment, all of the listed airports fall under the "Traffic destined to this airport is being delayed at its departure point. Check your departure airport to see if your flight may be affected" category.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will test several white spaces devices at the August 9 pre-season game between the Washington Redskins and the Buffalo Bills, to be held at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
The commission will then head to the Big Apple during the week of August 11 to test the devices during an undisclosed Broadway show.
In June, the NFL and ESPN offered up the use of their fields during game time ostensibly for "assistance and expertise," but the NFL has previously voiced its concern about the possibility of white spaces devices interfering with broadcasts of its football games, as well as the troubles some of the devices have encountered during testing.
So, now that the FCC has approved the creation of one gigantic satellite media company with the merger of Sirius and XM, it's time to begin dreaming up some clever names. We tossed a few around a few, but mostly they just ended up being weird combinations of the two companies, along the lines of Xirius, Smirius, and my personal favorite, S&XM.
Apparently the two companies are even more strapped in the creativity department than we are. After the $2.76 billion takeover, the best they could come up with was Sirius XM Radio Inc.
Sirius stocks dropped on the news of the merger from $1.55 to $1.49. I'm not saying that it's definitely due to the lame new name, but I'm certainly not ruling out the possibility.
As expected, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday evening approved the merger of XM and Sirius Satellite radio stations by a vote of 3 to 2.
"The merger is in the public interest and will provide consumers with greater flexibility and choices," chairman Kevin Martin said in a statement. "Consumers will enjoy a variety of programming at reduced prices and more diversified programming choices. It will also spur innovation and advance the development and use of interoperable radios, bringing more flexible programming options to all subscribers."
Martin and Republican Commissioners Robert McDowell and Deborah Tate reportedly voted in favor of the merger, while Democrats Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps dissented.
Martin said last month that he would support a merger of the two satellite companies after they both agreed to certain conditions regarding price restrictions and openness.
Like the rest of you, we've been patiently waiting, year after year, for the next major innovation in the world of shower radios. Waterproof satellite or HD radio? Think simpler. It turns out that the answer was right in front of our faces, all along: the taps themselves.
Leave it to the fine folks at Brando to lead the way on this one. Sure the sublimely-named Cyber Tap Radio with Suction Cup (Water Resistant) looks like a hot or cold valve for your shower (hence its red or blue color schemes), but the thing is actually a miniature radio, which plays, get this, AM and FM radio.
The Cyber Tap Radio with Suction Cup (Water Resistant) takes AA batteries and, as its subtle name hints, features a suction cup to adhere to glass or tile. It'll run you a cool $16.00, sure, but can you put a price tag on being a part of the shower radio revolution?
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Sirius XM, the troubled satellite radio provider that was the 
