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My iPod Touch needs an FM radio

I really like my iPod touch. Its been so much nicer to use than my old hard disk based iPod that died more times than I care to remember. I never would have thought that video would matter to me on an iPod but it does. Email, Calendar and Contacts are huge for me. Web Surfing is nice too. And there are some 3rd party applications that I often use. But something important is missing: Radio.

I listen to CBC Radio (NPR’s rough equivalent here in Canada), and NPR stations coming across the border from Washington state when I’m at home or in the car. I want to be able to enjoy this material when I’m away from my home or car.

I’ve tried to live with the Podcasts that CBC and NPR produce and they go some distance to solving the problem, but in the end they are unsatisfying. I want to listen to what’s on these radio stations now.

I’m sure Apple’s marketing folks have made the calculation that things like compasses and better Exchange support are going to sell more units and they may be right. But so far nothing has tempted me to upgrade my 1st generation 32GB iPod touch. An FM receiver built into a iPod would make me look at dropping more money on a new iPod.

And before someone suggests a hardware add-on, I only want to carry on object in my backpack. And internet radio does not do it as I’m not near free WiFi often enough to make that work.

2 Comments

  1. H H

    I’m curious why you have an iPod touch instead of an iPhone.

  2. At the time when I bought my iPod touch, the iPhone was not offered in Canada. Later on, when the iPhone finally become available (I seem to recall that it took almost a year for the iPhone to come to Canada), I felt the price of the plan offered here was too high. Also, at that time, 16BG was the largest iPhone available and that was not sufficient for my needs. Downsizing from my old iPod to the 32GB iPod touch was enough of a problem.

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