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Internet Radio Could Drive FM Radio Away from Cars

by Caleb Johnson on May 11, 2010 at 07:20 AM

Internet Radio
When's the last time you actually sat in your room or office and listened to FM radio? Be honest. Thanks to Internet radio services like Pandora, it's probably been quite a while. According to The New York Times, drivers, too, could inch further and further from traditional radio as automakers and car stereo manufacturers partner with mobile devices and Internet radio.

The obvious draw here is the ability to have thousands of songs at your fingertips, rather than hearing the same old Top 40 hits on the local FM station. But some worry that this trend will create even more distracted drivers who are too busy fiddling with their smartphones instead of watching the road. Companies like Alpine and Pioneer now offer stereos that connect with devices, like the iPhone, and allow users to control the Pandora app via a safer (and seamless) in-dash display. Some cars even offer voice-control options for Internet radio apps; for example, Ford's 2011 Fiesta will feature voice recognition in conjunction with some BlackBerry and Android apps via its Sync technology.

The bugs still haven't been worked out, of course. Cellular networks, which are used to stream Internet radio, can often be spotty (even in a large city with a decent connection) and the services' sound quality isn't on par with CDs. So while FM radio isn't ready to die just yet, if the Internet has a say, it could have one foot in the grave soon. [From: The New York Times]

Tags: alpine, car, cartech, cellphone, InternetRadio, iphone, pandora, Pioneer, radio, SiruisRadio, top, web, XM Radio, XmRadio

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