According to the results of a recent web poll survey of 25,000 respondents, 43 percent of iPod owners want the next model to include an FM tuner. And who conducted this survey? Jacobs Media, “the largest Rock radio consulting firm in America” who also “created the Classic Rock format, and works with Alternative, Active Rock, and Triple A formatted stations.”
Whoa! A company that provides research and consulting services to major radio broadcasting companies found that iPod owners want to have built-in radio capability! So maybe instead of headlining the results “iPod Owners Want FM Tuners,” they should have written “FM stations want iPods to have FM tuners so they won’t keep losing listeners.”
Their findings note that “Of course, FM radios are available in Microsoft Zune’s and SanDisk players, for example, but they are not built into Apple branded products, such as Nano, Shuffle, or video iPods.”
So if 43 percent of iPod owners want an FM tuner, why haven’t the Zune and SanDisk players been successful?
“Clearly, this is a great opportunity for Apple to better serve its millions of iPod customers, while keeping ahead of its growing competition.”
So Apple can keep ahead of its competition by adding in features that its competitors already have? The logic is making my head hurt.
Also note the reference to the iPod nano and shuffle. Considering how large the Zune and SanDisk players are that include an FM tuner, wouldn’t this added hardware make the nano and shuffle larger than customers prefer? Yet that doesn’t stop Jacobs from noting in the first paragraph “But iPod owners – in particular – want an FM radio in that next Nano or Shuffle.”
And they also found that “The best settings to use an iPod-like device are while working out (61%), walking (42%),” which are the types of setting best suited to an iPod nano or shuffle.
“It’s a no-brainer,” notes Jacobs. “If Apple truly wishes to make the most versatile, user-friendly personal mp3 devices, an FM tuner should be standard equipment.”
I’m starting to think that Jacobs should look in the mirror if they’re looking for a no-brainer.
They’re not the first critics to point out the iPod’s lack of built-in radio tuner, but according to Steve Jobs, customers aren’t making much noise about it. “We don’t get a lot of customers asking for it,” he said to Macworld in September 2005.
Although there are certainly those who have wanted the iPod to gain FM tuner capabilities, I thought those voices would be silenced after Apple released the iPod Radio Remote in January 2006.
Wait, what? Apple has an official FM tuner for the iPod already? Yes, if you have an iPod nano or an iPod that supports video, you can “listen to FM radio on your iPod and control everything with a convenient wired remote. You also get a set of earphones with a shorter cable that’s a perfect fit for the remote.”
All this for only $49. Plus, it’s integrated with the iPod’s built-in software (check your Settings to see the hidden functionality) and doesn’t require any batteries because it’s powered by the iPod.
So if iPod users really want an FM tuner, why aren’t they just getting it?
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