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satellite radio
Sirius/XM iPhone App Is Now Live
As promised, the Sirius/XM iPhone app is finally live and available to download. It's got a 7-day free trial, but the app'll cost $3 a month if you want to keep it any longer. [Thanks, everyone!] -
xbox 360
More Details on the Xbox 360's Last.fm Implementation
The news of Last.fm arriving on the Xbox 360 got kind of buried at E3 by, well, more exciting news. But that doesn't mean it's not exciting in its own right! More » -
belkin
Belkin's TuneCast GPS-Assisted FM Transmitter Is Like Putting a DVR Into a VHS Player
Much like putting a DVR into a VHS player, Belkin's TuneCast Auto Live utilizes really good technology to support something that isn't all that great. More specifically, it uses GPS coordinates and the iPhone (3.0) to identify the best FM frequencies. More » -
zune hd
Sad: Zune HD Won't Get Last.fm
The Xbox 360's updated Zune-branded video store and support for Last.fm got some folks' hopes up: the streaming radio service would be a great fit for the upcoming Wi-Fi Zune HD, and since Microsoft has already brokered a relationship with the company, such a feature isn't just desirable—it seems plausible. So BBG asked! And Microsoft answered. [BBG] -
listening test
Handmade Playlist: The Greatest Mixtape I Ever Made
In 1994, I painstakingly crafted the greatest hip-hop mixtape cassette I would ever make, comprised solely of songs on the radio at the time. I was 9. More » -
audio
Thank You, Italy, For Making the Brionvega RR227 Radio
The world of retro AM/FM nightstand radios is large, and some do have the looks, but the one I think I want now is the Brionvega RR227, a re-make of a 1960s Italian classic. More » -
design
Concept Gives Mac Mini a Dockable Desktop Radio Friend
This concept by designer Sebastian Sauvage basically takes the iPod dock concept and maximizes it for the Mac Mini, with a stackable (and coolly retro) radio receiver module and two Mini-esque speakers. More » -
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vudu
Vudu Players Can Now Stream Pandora Internet Radio
Vudu expanded upon its Rich Internet Application (RIA) platform today with a little music, as the popular, personalized Pandora Internet radio service is now immediately available to customers. More » -
toys
Bath Battleship Radio Will Match My Submarine
Can't wait for my new HMS Battleship Radio FM. I don't listen to FM radio, but I will finally be able to sink a Royal Navy ship with my Spanish submarine. [Red5 via Red Approved] -
diy
How to Make a Wi-Fi Internet Radio Classy (Stuff It Inside a Vintage Radio)
Wi-Fi internet radios are usually more function than form oriented, their plastic and metal bodies lacking the elegance or charm of a vintage radio. Solution: Reanimate a classy vintage corpse with a modern soul. More » -
space
Canadian Students Call Astronauts With Hand-Built Radio
Four students at the Humber Institute of Technology just completed their term project: to build a radio from scratch and call the International Space Station. You know, in space. More » -
automotive
This Car Bluetooth Speaker Squeezes Inside Your Steering Wheel
In case your car isn't new or nice enough to have Bluetooth integration, this Steering Wheel Bluetooth Adapter seems like the perfect solution, save for one catch. More » -
radios
The Thumbs Up Radio Doesn't Clamour For Your Approval
Forget about your fancy MP3 player. Back in the day, if you wanted a stand-out audio device, it had to be shaped funny. More » -
app store
Slacker Radio Now Available for the iPhone
We knew it was coming, but now the Slacker internet radio app is officially available on the iPhone. More » -
alpine
Alpine's iXA-W404 Touchscreen iPhone Compatible Car Receiver Hands On
Alpine's iXA-W404 with its 4.3-inch QVGA touchscreen and iPhone compatibility is fully capable of navigating all your iPhone's music, movies, tv shows, and more by the touch of your finger. More » -
mods
Beautiful Walnut Radio Is Actually Artful PC Casemod
I've always wanted an old radio, like this 1946 Stromberg Carlson recreation. But it would just be something that I looked at, like, "ooh, neat...now what?" But old tyme modder Jeffrey Stephenson has another idea. -
Sirius XM
The Complete New XM Sirius Channel Listing (Sorry XM Fans)
The spawn of the XM Sirius fusion emerges tomorrow, and Orbitcast has picked up the complete channel listing for XM subscribers that goes into effect in less than 24 hours. It's fairly grim for some diehard XM fans—a lot of rock stations have been erased (bye bye punk channel) or are being replaced by Sirius pseudo-equivalents. Hit the jump for the full list, but it might not be pretty. Makes those new la carte XM plans sound pretty good, right? More » -
clock dock
Grooveneo iPhone Clock Dock Good For Wake-Ups, Myopia
We've seen iPhone/iPod alarm-clock docks before, but something about the simplicity of the Cygnett Grooveneo's design struck me. Could be that massive LED display like the best of 1980's radio-alarms, could be the sleek curved edges. It's got 2.75-inch stereo speakers, iPod dock connector, integrated AM/FM tuner, alarm function and you can even wake to proper 1980's radio alarm buzzer sound. It's touch-controlled, and has a remote, and it's out now for $90. [TFTS] -
net radio
New Net Radio Royalty Compromise Sorta Finished, Sorta Sucks
After being saved by a near-miraculous act of Congress, net radio operators are busy negotiating new rates with royalty-collection mobsters SoundExchange that hopefully won't put them out of business. Pandora CEO Tim Westergren says that while the final deal isn't expected until next year, “the hard stuff has been done.” He won't say what the new rates are, just that they're still “tremendously unfair." Good to know some things are still the same. [All Things D] -
silence
UK Trains Get Quieter As Window Film Blocks Cellphone Signals
UK train operator C2C has taken the neat step of actually enforcing its "quiet zone" train carriages with a system than blocks cellphone signals. It's a technique borrowed from the defense industry where a transparent conductive film is placed over windows to stop electronic signals from sensitive equipment "leaking" out (it's dubbed TEMPEST). Basically C2C is turning the quiet carriages into Faraday cages so you won't be bothered by undesired cellphone chatter, and thus creating little zones of sanity in our otherwise loud and electronically cluttered lives. And in case you think there'd still be that irritating high-pitch chittering from iPod headphones—there isn't: MP3 players are banned. [DailyMail via Newlaunches] -
mods
1942 Philco Radio
Depending on your point of view, gutting a vintage 1942 Philco radio to install a Mac Mini, 17-inch Sony touchscreen, a Sony DVD/CD/receiver with a 2.1 speaker system, and EyeTV for recording shows could be considered an upgrade or an unforgivable sin. Either way, Grandma will have the most badass system in the retirement home. [TUAW]ViolatedUpgraded Into Mac Mini Media Center -
Sirius XM
Sirius Coming Out With New Satellite Radio Boombox
For those of you aspiring to be the next Satellite Radio Raheem, here's a few newly leaked photos of the upcoming Sirius SUB-X2 Boombox. Much like the current SUB-X1, the new music player will sport a front-panel headphone jack, auxiliary input for other MP3 players, and a universal docking system. I wonder if that docking system will support XM radios as well, now that they're married and all. Prices and more detailed specs have yet to be announced, though it shouldn't cost you too much more than its last iteration. More » -
design
Ceramic Kitchen Radio Is Good with Morning Coffee
This Ceramic Kitchen Radio is so cute and simple that is worthy of Dieter Rams. Easy to clean, easy to transport, and easy to use: Just turn the the lid to tune into your favorite station. And it will go perfectly with your morning china: More » -
radios
Areaware 2B Radio: Minimalist Design and Features For Your Stylish Grampa
Kids these days, with their baggy jeans and their MTV and their fancy networked booming boxes, they don't know the joy of sitting around the old-timey radio and listening to the soothing stories. The Areaware 2B radio just might be the bridge to these whippersnappers: its visible vacuum tubes have a cool retro feel, not to mention a warm sound, and the minimalistic design is hip with the Apple generation. And thank god, this radio is only a radio, without any wifi, 3G, DRM, or any of those other scary acronyms. The 2B will ship in November for a price of $550, but what's a few hundred dollars for such comforting simplicity? [Apartment Therapy] -
reviews
Lightning Review: Slacker G2 Portable Radio
The Gadget: Slacker G2, a slimmer, updated version of the original Slacker portable internet radio player. More » -
XMp3
PopSci Gets Grubby Paws All Over Upcoming XMp3 Satellite Radio Player
All we have is a blurb in Popular Science magazine this afternoon, but it would appear there's a first look of sorts going down today with the XMp3. The portable device is an XM Radio player that can record up to five satellite stations at once. "Other portable players save only one channel," PopSci notes, "but the XMp3 can decode five incoming streams to snag multiple songs whether it's in the dock or in your pocket." That's it for now. Expect more soon or whenever XM decides to give up more info. [Orbitcast] -
music
Slacker Internet Radio Comes to BlackBerry for Lazy-Ass Music Lovers
Slacker, the Pandora-esque internet radio service, will release a free app for BlackBerry phones next month. It's remarkably similar to their own hardware—users choose pre-programmed stations or build their own, and songs are downloaded directly to the phone's memory card, so they don't require Wi-Fi or a cell connection to play. Telling Slacker what songs you like and don't like tailors the stations to your tastes, almost like getting a Genius Playlist of songs you don't have to pay for or otherwise acquire. Up to 8GB of free music that changes all the time? Almost sounds too good to be true. [Slacker] -
ipod dock
Fusion CA-1P500 Is the First Head Unit That Hides, Docks Your iPod
We can't believe it, but Fusion CA-1P500 is apparently the first head unit that allows you to dock and hide your iPod directly inside the face. The thing costs £149.99 ($278), which isn't too bad for a head unit that has an OLED menu, a knob that corresponds to the iPod's scroll wheel, and SRS Wow. It fits the classic, touch and nano, but supposedly not the iPhone. Weird, aren't the touch and iPhone about the same? In any case, what we'd love is for it to take in the iPhone and give us full handsfree calling capabilities through a mic in the head and output through the speakers. [Fusion via T3] -
sprinklers
Police Radio Keeps Disrupting Sprinklers, Local Residents Get FCC Involved
The police around Cedar Hill, DeSoto and Duncanville Texas have a fancy new communications system that broadcasts their 10-4s and 187s up to 30 miles, which coincidentally enough is screwing up a fancy radio-controlled networked sprinkler system in that general area. Turning off the sprinklers may not sound like it does anything except for making the grass die, but that's exactly what local residents are pissed off about—pissed off enough to get the FCC involved. Too bad for residents that the precedent for FCC decisions on cases where two frequencies overlap is to award use to public safety. If they don't, those same residents would be enjoying that fresh, green lawn when they're burning to death. [Dallas News] -
radio
KitRadio Teaches Electronics By Turning Components into Diorama
From Samuel Rhoads-Clarke, KitRadio is part DIY radio, part mini-artwork diorama. It's designed to teach you about the inner workings of a gizmo that we take for granted as a "black box" item nowadays, or "become familiar with the technology behind the product" as Samuel puts it. To that end, the wooden box and components with brass images attached are self-assembly, and create a tiny urban- or farm-scene diorama when they're completed. Sounds totally bizarre, and slightly cute at the same time... just the right thing to get techy kids interested. No word on whether it'll become a product rather than a prototype. [Dezeen] -
cuntblocker
Cuntblocker 5000, If Ron Popeil Were a Total Prude
Thank goodness the brightest television inventors of our generation aren't the prudish sorts who will pull words like "cunt" from our morning weather report. Because then even the sunniest days would be filled with the subfusc clouds of rain. More » -
xm sirius
CEO: Fully Merged Sirius XM Devices To Hit Shelves In Q1 2009
When Sirius and XM finished their merger dance it was said that they would be able to offer interoperable radios—that is units that work with the full lineups of both XM and Sirus—within a year of the merger. Then they told the FCC they'd have devices within nine months. Now Mel Karmazin, CEO of the new merged company, has said that we can expect merged receivers "a number of months" before that deadline, likely in the first quarter of 2009. This is both good and bad news for the consumers. It's good because they'll get the full benefits of the merged systems, but it's bad because to get those benefits they'll have to purchase another receiver. Karmazin also said that "a la carte" radios—those that would offer a full lineup of either XM or Sirius and individual channels from the other service—will be here for the holidays, but we'd hold off.[OrbitCast] -
satellite radio
FCC Chairman Backs Sirius/XM Merger
It's not official yet, but FCC Chairman Kevin Martin (one of five relevant votes) has decided to allow the merge between Sirius and XM satellite radio providers. However, there are a few caveats that the companies would need to accept—but it's all good news for the consumer. More » -
vampires
XM and EMI Settle Portable Recording Radio Lawsuit
XM Satellite Radio and EMI Music have settled the lawsuit over the recording of digital songs by XM users. Nobody knows the terms of the deal, but it probably involves virgins and kittens' blood. [Reuters] -
radio
Brando's Cyber Tap Radios Suck (Onto Your Shower Cubicle)
Brando's Cyber Tap bath-time radio is not massively high-tech, sure, but its cuteness is undeniable. Stick its 4.7-inch sucker onto tiles or glass, adjust FM/AM frequency and twirl the volume tap to boogie away to showertime music. Is the red one more suited to Hot Gossip while the blue one's best for Coldplay? Who knows, but after a bad joke like that you'll be pleased to know the water-resistant, battery-powered Cyber Tap costs $16. [Brando] -
vintage boombox
Spirit of St Louis Boombox Gives Your iPod Retro Aviation Chic
Forget the boringly-plastic iPod boomboxes we've shown you before: I want one of these. It's in period aviation "Spirit of St Loius" style: wooden cabinet, shiny dials and satisfyingly chunky switches, meant to look like a WWII battlefield radio. Inside there's an iPod dock, CD player and AM-FM radio that's also an alarm clock. It's powered by 8 "D" batteries, so you can haul it along to picnics in the park, and measures 19 x 8.7 x 7.9-inches. The one drawback: its price is also satisfyingly chunky at $586. [Product via BBGadgets] -
headset
Brando BTM-118 Bluetooth Headset Squeezes in FM Radio, Display
I kind of like the BTM-118 from Brando, with its weird fusion of Bluetooth headset and FM radio in one gizmo. Maybe because I use a similar clip-on headset (partly to avoid fashion geekiness.) I guess this might be useful if you're into radio but your cellphone doesn't do it: most ones with built-in radio use the earphone wires as part of the antenna circuit, don't they? Anyhow, the BTM-118 will give you 12 hours of FM, 10 hours of talk and 200 hours of standby. It's Bluetooth v2.0 and is available in black or white for $53. [Brando] -
nasa
Phoenix to NASA: "Houston, We Have a Prob*static*"
Just two days after touchdown, NASA'sPhoenix Mars LanderMars Reconnaissance Orbiter is having problems with their UHF radio, which was used more than a hundred times before but now is refusing to work. Without it, you can't give orders to the spacecraft, but don't fret: fortunately they can use theorbiterOdyssey to relay signals, as well as activating the secondary radio unit available on board. NASA said the problem was caused by a "transient event." What does that mean? They don't know for sure, and that means we can pick our own. Update: my bad, I misread. The problem is with the MRO UHF radio, not with Phoenix, which is working just fine. More » -
usb
Smart Dog USB Hub Has Four Paws, Four Ports and a Radio
This Smart Dog USB hub is a bit of a three-in-one marvel. As well as the four USB ports, the bow-wow acts as a shonky computer speaker. Then, if you rip the head off this iridescent puppy, you've got yourself a portable radio with autoscan capability. Cost is $19.15. [Gearlog via UberGizmo]



































