iPhone 4 - FM Radio?

plu

Is it possible to get FM radio on Iphone 4?

Not the internet type that uses data

naasrd

plu wrote: »

Is it possible to get FM radio on Iphone 4?

Not the internet type that uses data

No unfortunately.

nevaeh-2die-4

i want one to, im sure there is an attachment out there ?

JayeL

I got a Griffin iFM for my 3GS a while back as I'd held out jumping on the iPhone bandwagon for that lack of an FM radio. It plugs into the bottom and you plug your earphones in it rather than the phone. It's controlled by an app you download for free from the App Store.

However I don't use it as much as I thought I would. It's pretty hissy, reception is never as good as internet radio. I got the WunderRadio app for €5.50 and it works fine in good 3G areas, even inside and in basements - you can't do that with FM radio.

The other irritating thing about the iFM is that the app (or indeed any other hardware-controlling apps) doesn't support multi-tasking, so if you're listening to the radio and switch to Safari, the radio cuts out.

Plus it's $40 or something. Maybe try a radio app and see how you get on, it's better than you think!

Dades

plu wrote: »

Is it possible to get FM radio on Iphone 4?

It's no doubt possible but those assholes in Apple just don't want to get with the program. :pac:

Mutter grumble mumble...

Wonda-Boy

Whats wrong with downloading an app for your favorite station? I mean there are hundreds of them.....?

uRbaN

http://www.pandawill.com/fm-radio-flashlight-for-ipad-ipod-touch-iphone-3g-3gs-classic-black-875109-mhz_p34658.html

I was looking at this the other day....I wonder do they work!

uRbaN

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Whats wrong with downloading an app for your favorite station? I mean there are hundreds of them.....?

I presume its for when he/she is out of wireless coverage (on the bus/walking)

seamus

Not exactly iPhone-specific, but I have a pair of these coming to me this week. Bluetooth earphones with an FM Radio built-in. Reviews are good, all functions work with the iPhone. The only thing people seem to be saying is that if you like to listen to your music LOUD then you might be disappointed by them.

Little more expensive than the Griffin attachment (€47 on ebay), but you're getting a bluetooth headset into the bargain and you're not using your iPhone power. It also means that you're not bound to the iPhone.

Oafley Jones

uRbaN wrote: »

I presume its for when he/she is out of wireless coverage (on the bus/walking)

Also streaming radio is hopeless if you're at a sporting event and want to listen to commentary. Not to mention the data it eats up.

Wonda-Boy

uRbaN wrote: »

I presume its for when he/she is out of wireless coverage (on the bus/walking)

What about streaming through 3G its not going to use a massive amount of data...is it?

seamus

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

What about streaming through 3G its not going to use a massive amount of data...is it?

About 20MB/hour from what I calculated.

The main problem with streaming is patchiness and delays. The feed will stutter or shut off if you're switching between GPRS/Edge & 3G or you can be constantly stuck buffering if you're in really poor coverage for a few minutes. Poor coverage on FM is a bit of static. It's also on a 1 or 2 minute delay for most stations.

While I find streaming to be fine for the radio most of the time, it's not better than FM for clarity and as others say, streaming radio is useless for real-time stuff.

keane2097

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Also streaming radio is hopeless if you're at a sporting event and want to listen to commentary. Not to mention the data it eats up.

Data used is fairly minimal no?

Dades

We had radio watches in the 80's... Apple have put radios in the Nanos already... they're just being belligerent.

It's 2010 - you shouldn't have to put up with buffering, live delays and coverage dependent service.

I also like to use other 3G services while listening to the radio - and these then have to share my bandwidth.

nevaeh-2die-4

Dades wrote: »

We had radio watches in the 80's... Apple have put radios in the Nanos already... they're just being belligerent.

It's 2010 - you shouldn't have to put up with buffering, live delays and coverage dependent service.

I also like to use other 3G services while listening to the radio - and these then have to share my bandwidth.

there has to be a motive behind it why they wont implement it into the phone.

Dades

nevaeh-2die-4 wrote: »

there has to be a motive behind it why they wont implement it into the phone.

Of course there is.

They don't want anything eating into their iTunes music revenue, probably.
Or else they're saving it for a release year where they find themselves a bit low on new features.

whiterebel

Dades wrote: »

Of course there is.

They don't want anything eating into their iTunes music revenue, probably.
Or else they're saving it for a release year where they find themselves a bit low on new features.

Hallelujah, maybe now people can stop going on about it?

JayeL

I thought they could integrate iTunes with an FM radio by offering the listener a link to buy the song on the radio. But I think it's more down to Apple being stubborn and wanting their phone to be 21st century only.

Which is bizarre because the iPhone has an FM receiver in it for use with Nike+iPod so it could be as simple as an Apple app to "awaken" the FM radio capability.

aidan_walsh

I thought they could integrate iTunes with an FM radio by offering the listener a link to buy the song on the radio.

The iPods with radios do this but it requires the stations to implement a tagging system on their side for the iPod to be able to recognise it.

JayeL

See that's what I really don't get; why allow an FM radio on an iPod but not an iPhone??

seamus

seamus wrote: »

Not exactly iPhone-specific, but I have a pair of these coming to me this week. Bluetooth earphones with an FM Radio built-in. Reviews are good, all functions work with the iPhone. The only thing people seem to be saying is that if you like to listen to your music LOUD then you might be disappointed by them.

Little more expensive than the Griffin attachment (€47 on ebay), but you're getting a bluetooth headset into the bargain and you're not using your iPhone power. It also means that you're not bound to the iPhone.

Just to add to this thread, these are awesome. Voice control compatible and everything. One of the best €50 I spent this year.

Dades

JayeL wrote: »

See that's what I really don't get; why allow an FM radio on an iPod but not an iPhone??

My guess is it's because you can't use iTunes to buy music via the iPod's equipped with radios, unlike iPhones and Touches.

BrianDaly

aidan_walsh wrote: »

The iPods with radios do this but it requires the stations to implement a tagging system on their side for the iPod to be able to recognise it.

Only some stations are transmitting "now playing" info in their RDS information (sometimes referred to as RDS+). This will display the info on compatible devices.

Apple have a protocol that allows an extra piece of info to be transmitted with the RDS info that will identify the tune in iTunes and on compatible devices the listener can tag the track so when the next dock their device a wishlist of tunes they heard on the radio.

They are following the lead of Microsoft Zune on this one except that the Zune can use the "raw" RDS info and doesn't require any other information to be included. It then does a best match against it's Zune store.

Adding an FM tuner to iPhones would increase iTunes sales. On the other hand, they would lose the vast amount of free publicity worldwide created by stations promoting their bespoke apps - apps created to compensate for the lack of a tuner in the first place.

Dman001

Hopefully Jailbreakers will eventually be able to create an App that exploits the FM chip in the phone. They were successful with the Droid X.

talkin

so if i download radio apps from itunes will i be charged internet usage to listen to them?

BrianDaly

All radio apps are essentially streaming data which means that data is being consumed as you listen.

Whether you are charged depends on a couple of things. If you are listening via wifi you won't incurr any mobile data charges. If you are listening on a mobile phone network then you should check what data plan that you have. The data used while listening to a radio app will come out of your monthly allowance.

Deep Thought

seamus wrote: »

Just to add to this thread, these are awesome. Voice control compatible and everything. One of the best €50 I spent this year.

So you can plug in any headset and either listen to the radio via the device or listen to itunes from your iphone via Bluetooth??

Sounds sweet

seamus

Deep Thought wrote: »

So you can plug in any headset and either listen to the radio via the device or listen to itunes from your iphone via Bluetooth??

Sounds sweet

Exactly. It's frickin great, I can't get enough of it

If you're an uber-nerd gamer type who listens to their computer over bluetooth, it has dual input, effectively - you can listen to the laptop over bluetooth and answer calls from your phone without having to do any fancy switching.