Sometime next year, handset manufacturers will implement an HD radio chip in every smartphone. That's what ABI Research senior analyst Sam Rosen predicts in a new report. The chip would move streaming digital audio from the carrier's network to the public spectrum the radio stations use. With the implementation of an HD radio chip, smartphones will be able to hear the digital over-the-air stations. The ABI report says that by 2015, digital radio will reach 200 million people. The report calls this a boon to users as music is data-heavy and carriers have started phasing out unlimited data plans in favor of tiered pricing...
"Everyone followed the news this spring when AT&T adopted tiered data usage plans. That ultimately came about because they couldn't handle the data traffic to a sustainable point. A study in the U.K. showed they could only handle 4-5 million streaming audio listeners. Providers like AT&T want to give customers a good user experience with the content they want on their phone, but they (AT&T) don't have infinite network bandwidth", Rosen says. According to Rosen, current radio streaming on smartphones can cost approximately 35 cents an hour. An HD radio chip in smartphones will take the burden off of AT&T's network. Users would also not be at risk of going over data caps...
"You could download apps that would allow you to see what stations there are. Or because of the ability of the electronic programming guide, you could see what songs are on every station. You could have the artist alert, which is what Sirius XM does. It tells you when your favorite artist has a song on. These features are all possible on high-end smartphones" Rosen says. If you're wondering how much of a threat a smartphone listening explosion would create for Satellite radio, Rosen says as long as Sirius XM has personalities like Howard Stern and Martha Stewart, "it's unlikely that many people would completely leave the satellite service provider." Rosen believes that HD radio on smartphones will be appealing for people looking to listen to their favorite local station. Local radio will love that prediction...
10 Timeline Memories:
1.1948] The Babe goes down swinging: Babe Ruth loses his battle with throat cancer at 53. His body lies in state at Yankee Stadium as thousands pay their respects...
2.1954] On the cover of Sports Illustrated: Milwaukee slugger Eddie Matthews as SI debuts...
3.1977] The King is dead: Elvis Presley dies suddenly at home in Memphis. Cause of death is listed as "coronary arrhythmia." The King was just 42. The world mourns...
4.1983] Wedding Bells: Paul Simon and Carrie Fisher tie the knot...1985] Madonna and Sean Penn marry. What were they thinking? ...
5.1987] Sole survivor: Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes on take off from a Detroit airport killing 156. The sole survivor is a 4-year-old girl...
6.1987] Peace, love and harmony: Thousands worldwide begin a two-day celebration of the "harmonic convergence," which believers call the start of a new, purer age of humankind...
7.1988] Vote for me: Vice President George H.W. Bush picks Indiana Senator Dan Quayle to be his running mate on the Republican ticket...2000] Delegates to the Democratic National Convention nominate VP Al Gore for President...
8.1993] Rescue me: A 68-year old manufacturer of tuxedos, Harvey Weinstein, is found buried alive in a bunker near the Hudson River after being kidnapped 12 days earlier. Ransomed for $2 million, the money and suspects are arrested including a longtime employee of the victim...
9.2003] Busted: A car driven by U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow runs a stop sign on a rural road in South Dakota, collides with a motorcyclist who dies in the accident. Janklow will be convicted of manslaughter and forced to resign from Congress...
10.2008] Record-breaker: Michael Phelps wins the 100-meter butterfly by a hundredth of a second for his 7th gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, tying Mark Spitz's 1972 record...
Music Memories:
•1962] Musical chairs: Ringo Starr replaces Pete Best as Beatles drummer...
•1966] Released on this date: "Last Train To Clarksville" - Monkees...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Rumer Willis (22), Sports interviewer Bonnie Bernstein (40), Steve Carell (48), Timothy Hutton (50), Madonna (52), 'Titanic' & 'Avatar' director James Cameron (56), J.T. Taylor (Kool and The Gang) (57), Kathie Lee Gifford (57), Leslie Ann Warren (64), Julie Newmar (77), Eydie Gorme (79), Frank Gifford (80) & Ann Blyth (82)...
Timeline Countdown: 21 days until Labor Day, 24 days until the NFL opener (Minn. @ New Orleans) & 38 days until autumn arrives...
