FM RemoteI'm a fan of the iPod, and judging by the sales numbers, many other people are fans as well. I'm particularly excited about the rumors of upcoming flash-based video iPods, touchscreen capability, and of course wireless. The iPod is getting all sorts of new capabilities, but the ability to receive FM radio is curiously, and my opinion, inexcusably absent.
I'm apparently not the only one who thinks so, either. A recent survey conducted by Jacobs Media, asked 25,000 listeners of 69 rock radio stations what new features they'd like to see out of the next version of the iPod. 43 percent of current iPod owners and 33 percent of general MP3 player owners said that they would like their devices to have FM radio capabilities. 20 percent also wanted more storage, and there were requests for larger screens.
Jacobs Media suggests that the market for MP3 players is growing, and that saturation among the respondents is only 47 percent. Finally, among the rock listeners, 57 percent used an iPod, so maybe those multicolored commercials of people rocking out could really happen.
The demand for FM radio may be somewhat expected, given that the survey was given to radio listeners. But the survey does suggest to Apple and other manufacturers that they should pause for a moment before packing their devices full of features. Exciting features are all well and good, but make sure the basic features are there first.
http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/04/03/study-ipod-owners-still-want-fm-radio
