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November 9, 2009 11:18 AM PST

Gigaware remote adds HD radio to the iPhone and iPod Touch

by Jasmine France
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The iPhone gets HD radio.

(Credit: RadioShack)

Staying competitive in an iPod-ruled marketplace is a challenge, and not just because of the player's built-in virtues (or Apple's massive marketing budget). The reigning king of the MP3 players has an advantage simply because it resides at the top of the heap, and that advantage comes in the form of feature-adding third-party accessories. Case in point: the Gigaware In-Line Remote with HD Radio, an $80 add-on for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

That's right, kids...that would be the iPod addressing a major selling point and advantage of the Zune HD. Please don't act surprised. You knew this day was coming. And yes, the Gigaware remote does allow display of track information on the iPod screen as well as song tagging, which let's you find songs easily for later purchase.

So let's recap: 32GB Zune HD costs $289; 32GB iPod Touch with HD radio addition costs $379. Not exactly apples to apples, but which one do you find more attractive? Does HD radio even matter? Discuss.

For more than five years, Jasmine France has covered a variety of tech products for CNET--from scanners to keyboards to GPS devices--but she's happiest where she is now: sitting atop a pile of MP3 players, "testing" every music service known to man, and jamming a variety of earbuds in every shape and color into her absurdly small ears. E-mail Jasmine.
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Add a Comment (Log in or register) (21 Comments)
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by timwood0 November 9, 2009 12:04 PM PST
Does it have analog AM & FM too? (I don't see a link to the product page.) Digital-only is a curiosity; compatibility with the installed base makes it new *and* useful.
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by barolobacchus November 9, 2009 1:48 PM PST
Yes, it has regular(analog) FM too. Everywhere that digital radio (HD Radio) exists, so does the analog.
by timwood0 November 9, 2009 1:55 PM PST
Barolo: Lights, camera, confusion. Jasmine herself tells me: "No AM and likely no analog FM, though I'm not sure why you would even need analog FM in such a device as HD pretty much covers all the bases there. "

HD may travel on the broadcast FM band, but if the device isn't build to detect analog, it won't. And the product page doesn't say it does. You would expect them to say if it did, to reassure people like me about compatibility who may not fully understand HD.
by StrangeRover November 9, 2009 12:07 PM PST
let's s/b lets.
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by libertyforall1776 November 9, 2009 12:10 PM PST
Yea, so why no AM radio?! and AM HD?!
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by CCCCnetttt November 10, 2009 9:17 AM PST
AM radio requires a relative large anttenna. If you open up an AM radio you will see a black rod as thick as a pencil wrapped in coil wire. It would just be too big. AM is primarily talk radio and I think most folks think of it as an older technology that isn't worth the cost and heft of supporting. Clearly you differ and it is unfortunate that the market doesn't have the choice for you.
by andrew-carter November 9, 2009 12:25 PM PST
Can any one explain to me the difference between HD radio and regular radio?
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by barolobacchus November 9, 2009 1:52 PM PST
The differences between regular radio and HD Radio are these: (1) better sound quality of existing stations - both AM and FM. The FM sounds like CD with no static, no hiss, no fades. (2) More FM stations - on the same frequency, there are now over 1000 new stations (all Free). (3) the digital transmittion allows for more new features like iTunes Tagging, data, and more. Every digital radio (HD Radio) is also "regular radio".
by gosmith7590 November 14, 2009 7:22 AM PST
Don't buy into HD Radio. The other review sounds like it was written by an iNiquity representative. HD Radio simply doesn;t work well, and never will. Actually, the review loks like a cut-and-pate off iNiquity's website. Go to my blog for the truth: http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com when's the last time your FM signal suffered from fading and static - FM doesn't! HD Radio is a front to jam out airways by the larger radio stations - iNiquity investors.
by hellhound63 November 14, 2009 9:48 PM PST
gosmith you are exactly right, although im not sure about the never will. i have the zune hd and was pretty excited to get hd radio, i thought it was going to be the killer app for lack of a better term, but i am very disappointed. the stations are always cutting out, id much rather have the hiss every once in a while than mis a few seconds of my favorite morning show! good thing the zune hd excels in other ways or it would be back on the shelf of bestbuy!
by kenchan211 November 9, 2009 12:33 PM PST
Seems kind of pricey for HD radio.
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by thebigshowaz November 9, 2009 1:12 PM PST
Or I could just buy WunderRadio and listen to lots of different HD Radio stations from all over America plus thousands of other stations from all over the world.
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by bchamp747 November 9, 2009 3:49 PM PST
I purchased this product 2 days ago. In spite of all of the Great Features of HD Radio, this accessory does not measure up!! When the remote is connected to my iPod touch, it does indeed pick up HD broadcasts, but the sound quality is horrific...it's like listening to a poorly encoded MP3 file! Other issues are nominal amounts of background noise and lack of higer volume control!
Reply to this comment
by LwBrown5 November 9, 2009 6:09 PM PST
Must depend on location - in DC there's not a single HD radio station worth listening to - was a royal waste of $ to get an HD tuner...
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by DarkHawke November 9, 2009 10:34 PM PST
The radio receivers already IN my iPhone suit me just fine. Pandora streams CD-quality audio without commercials and I get to boot anything I don't like, either for the moment or forever. No regular radio station I've ever heard of gives you THAT much control! If you want something for breaking news or in case of emergencies, get a cheap AM radio to pack along with you and have done with it.
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by djstewpac November 10, 2009 10:08 AM PST
then this is not for you!
by libertyforall1776 November 10, 2009 10:00 AM PST
Apple needs to just build this in, who wants a separate dongle?! Not me.
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by David_G. November 11, 2009 9:52 AM PST
HD radio is not at all useful for me. I prefer my own music... If I wanted to listen to the radio, I'd just buy a walkman, it has the best sound and it's playing radio. HD or not? You're kidding me right? How can you see the difference, it's SOUND it's not a video! more than 128k is useless, you will never notice the difference...
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by November 11, 2009 4:51 PM PST
Man, I'm so glad that I don't need ANOTHER ADD-ON like this to use HD Radio on my Zune HD.
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by gosmith7590 November 14, 2009 7:16 AM PST
I'll give Apple creadit for doing their homework on this farce called HD Radio. Reception is horrible and some stations have turned off HD. This baby must be a real power hog, and if directly included in Apple products would have cost Apple millions for licensing and chipset fees from iNiquity. Struble is a con-man and HD Radio is a joke - no one would buy this POS with Internet Radio available over the iPhone. Struble is only in the market to sell his fraudulant chipsets, not giving consumers what they want:

http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com
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by jakemochas November 14, 2009 3:24 PM PST
ZUNE HD! it's cheaper and its not an add-on! built in is the best
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