Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Your Phone Has an FM Chip. So Why Can’t You Listen to the Radio?

wired.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

321–329 of 329 posts

Re: Your Phone Has an FM Chip. So Why Can’t You Listen to the Radio?

#321

Post by unclenoriega »

tripzilch wrote: post #319

Maybe a really stupid question, but how does this work out: > Manufacturers can activate the chip, but the decision to do so typically rests with carriers. If you’re Verizon customer, tough luck. If Verizon is the carrier, they just provide your SIM-card, right? You don't need to buy your phone along with your mobile plan. I bought my Samsung Android S4 from an online shop, my carrier had nothing to do with that. I j…

It can be more complicated with US carriers. Verizon and Sprint (the 1st and 4th biggest carriers) traditionally have used CDMA technologies without SIM cards. This is changing with LTE, but their non-LTE technologies do not use SIM cards. Furthermore, these carriers will generally refuse to activate a phone from another carrier or retailer to be used on their network. So, while you can just put a Verizon SIM in a tablet for LTE data, you can't do the same with a phone. (I'm not sure how this will work with VoLTE.)

Re: Your Phone Has an FM Chip. So Why Can’t You Listen to the Radio?

#322

Post by fit2rule »

abalone wrote: post #317
fit2rule wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consider this: Apple have been selling Internet access for decades now. They're leaders in the "hey, use this device for TCP/IP" pack.

You haven't explained how this makes them more profit than selling direct FM radio access.

They have marketing deals with vendors of TCP/IP services to provide handsets which promote broader use of TCP/IP over provider networks. Does nobody remember that Apple have had deals with ISP's since the very early days, and continue those deals as part of their overall strategy?

Re: Your Phone Has an FM Chip. So Why Can’t You Listen to the Radio?

#323

Post by jon-wood »

DigitalJack wrote: post #247
jon-wood wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When the BBC have such a wide range of music stations I can never comprehend why commercial radio is still a thing, and still so popular here. I'm probably not the target market though, since I also get irritated at the way all radio stations have about 15 minutes of music per hour, and the rest is filler from some smug DJ pretending to be your friend, and people calling in because they've got no one better to talk t…

I can't speak for the UK market, but in the US, public radio is biased left. I'm biased right, so it annoys me, but I love the stuff that isn't political, like Click'n'Clack (did that come back or is it being rebroadcast?). Commercial Radio has a non-government business benefactor, and so they cover what is of interest to them. Public Radio has government as it's benefactor, and so they cover their interests. Now it'…

There's constant talk about the BBC's bias, but looking at the numbers they get approximately the same number of complaints of bias to the left and right, which probably means they're doing a pretty good job of avoiding it.

Re: Your Phone Has an FM Chip. So Why Can’t You Listen to the Radio?

#324

Post by spacehome »

fit2rule wrote: post #322
abalone wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You haven't explained how this makes them more profit than selling direct FM radio access.

They have marketing deals with vendors of TCP/IP services to provide handsets which promote broader use of TCP/IP over provider networks. Does nobody remember that Apple have had deals with ISP's since the very early days, and continue those deals as part of their overall strategy?

Yes, yes, citation needed.

Re: Your Phone Has an FM Chip. So Why Can’t You Listen to the Radio?

#325

Post by fit2rule »

spacehome wrote: post #324
fit2rule wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have marketing deals with vendors of TCP/IP services to provide handsets which promote broader use of TCP/IP over provider networks. Does nobody remember that Apple have had deals with ISP's since the very early days, and continue those deals as part of their overall strategy?

Yes, yes, citation needed.

http://www.cnet.com/news/apple-invests-200-million-in-earthl...

&etc, &etc.

Re: Your Phone Has an FM Chip. So Why Can’t You Listen to the Radio?

#326

Post by LeoPanthera »

stuaxo wrote: post #225
julian55 wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd probably use the FM radio in my phone more if it could receive BBC Radio 6Music but that channel is only available on DAB. I'm not aware of any phones with DAB radios.

Its a shame they don't have TV tuners, I as it's also a good way to get those radio channels.

DVB-T copes very badly with a moving receiver, unfortunately.

Re: Your Phone Has an FM Chip. So Why Can’t You Listen to the Radio?

#327

Post by justinlardinois »

dragonwriter wrote: post #304
justinlardinois wrote: post #302

> So when a disaster knocks out power and takes down cell service—along with those government emergency alerts—you’re going to need a radio to know what’s going on. Remember that Paul Graham essay about how most articles that aren't about politics or war are pitched to the journalist by someone with a stake in the matter? This is almost word for word what they say in the NextRadio app's radio commercials.

> Remember that Paul Graham essay about how most articles that aren't about politics or war are pitched to the journalist by someone with a stake in the matter? Most articles about politics and war are spurred by politicians' and/or governments' press releases, leaks, etc., and so are also pitched to journalists, often en masse , by someone with a stake in the matter.

There's a difference between putting out information for general dissemination and actually contacting a journalist directly.

Not that the latter doesn't happen in politics. But government press releases are pretty likely to be newsworthy just because of what they are.

Re: Your Phone Has an FM Chip. So Why Can’t You Listen to the Radio?

#328

Post by voltagex_ »

julian55 wrote: post #174
LeoPanthera wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really depends what country you're in. In the UK, by far the most-listened-to FM stations are from the BBC, which are of course ad-free. Radio 1 (for younger people) and Radio 6 (for less-young people) are great places to listen to new music. And you can stream them over the web, for free, even if you're not British: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio

I'd probably use the FM radio in my phone more if it could receive BBC Radio 6Music but that channel is only available on DAB. I'm not aware of any phones with DAB radios.

One came out in Australia recently - http://www.lg.com/au/smartphones/lg-LGK520K-stylus-dab-plus-.... I don't know if I'd bother as DAB only works for me in metro areas with really good signal.

Re: Your Phone Has an FM Chip. So Why Can’t You Listen to the Radio?

#329

Post by MrBra »

gtirloni wrote: post #45
smegel wrote: post #39

Australian here, also find it bizarre that this is a problem in the US. Biggest problem I have in my Android phone requires the head-phones to be plugged in to listen to FM...as it acts as the aerial.

Brazilian here. Also puzzled this is a problem at all. I've had phones that needed the headphones to be plugged in, which is an annoyance but understandable. The new Moto G 4th Gen works without them so that might be changing.

If your smartphone ships with a stock Android ROM you'll notice that new versions have added the feature of letting FM radio work without headphones plugged in.

Also if you really don't want to have wires around you can buy a jack tap antenna (not sure about the naming, making it up sorry) or.. just plug in the headphones and cut the wires away from the jack (and as a precautionary measure insulate it).

Post reply on HN