While holiday shopping dont forget to check out the latest and
greatest in radio receiver technology. There are many exciting
products, some available for the first time this holiday season.
Highlights are included below along with options for making purchases
on the Internet (better prices may be available than those shown
be sure to shop around for your best deal!)
CYDLE T43H the first navigation device with a built-in
HD Radio receiver, the Cydle T43H comes with a lifetime subscription
to Clear Channels Total Traffic H D Network. This service provides
real-time traffic information using the advanced data features
of the HD Radio system, and is integrated with the navigation
map display (cities where traffic information is available are
shown on the Total Traffic Network Web site at http://totaltraffic.com/CoverageAreas/).
The T43H is a full-featured navigation device with touch screen
interface and preloaded map of U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Hawaii.
In addition to receiving HD Radio stations (both audio channels
and traffic data), the T43H also includes the Cydle media player
which supports video and audio playback, and is a photo viewer,
too. The unit has a built-in 2000 mAh rechargeable lithium battery,
as well. Available online for $249 (plus shipping) from Amazon.com
at www.amazon.com/hdradio/dp/B002UV8MFW.
Denon S-52 For the home audio enthusiast, the Denon S-52 has
all bases covered. This unit has both AM and FM HD Radio and XM
Satellite Radio receivers, a CD player, an iPod dock, and Wi-Fi
(also Ethernet) connectivity for streaming audio files stored
on your home PC or accessing Internet radio stations. Supported
audio file formats include AAC, MP3, WAV, WMA, and FLAC (FLAC
is an acronym for Free Lossless Audio Codec, an audio format similar
to MP3, but lossless, meaning that audio is compressed in FLAC
without any loss in quality. See http://flac.sourceforge.net/index.html
for additional information on FLAC.) The S-52 is available online
for $497 (with free shipping) from the Home Theater Store at www.hometheaterstore.com/Denon_Audio_System
_Ipod_S52_p/s52.htm.
Insignia NS-HD01 the first portable HD Radio receiver,
available only from consumer electronics giant Best Buy (Insignia
is the Best Buy house brand), the NS-HD01 was a big hit when released
earlier this year, selling out as fast as the store shelves could
be stocked. Features include 10 user-selectable preset memory
channels (note that HD Radio multicast channels can be set as
presets), a built-in rechargeable Lithium-ion battery with up
to 10 hours playing time (charges through the USB connector on
your PC or USB charging device), a 3.5 mm jack output for connection
to headphones or to the auxiliary input on another device, and
a 1.5" LCD full color screen which displays radio station, artist
and song. Also includes an armband so you can take the NS-HD01
with you on your morning jog. The Insignia NS-HD01 is available
online from Best Buy for $47.49 (plus shipping) at www.bestbuy.com/site/Insignia%26%23174%3B+-+HD+Radio+Portable+Player/9375071.p?id=
1218094581941&skuId=9375071.
Garmin
265WT this Garmin navigation unit has a built-in Radio Data
System (RDS) FM radio tuner allowing it to receive traffic information
from NAVTEQ Traffic, a real-time traffic service provider (sample
traffic information displays are shown below the unit at right).
The Broadcaster Traffic Consortium (BTC), an alliance of several
broadcast groups, provides traffic and other location-based information
to Navteq. A list of cities where the Navteq traffic service is
available can be found at www.navteq.com/rdstraffic/.
The 265WT comes pre-loaded with Navteq maps for the United States,
Canada and Puerto Rico, and includes Bluetooth wireless technology
for hands free calling with a compatible Bluetooth cell phone.
It supports photonavigation, allowing the user to download pictures
from the Garmin Connect Photos Web site and navigate to them.
Garmin Connect Photos is a free Web service from Garmin that allows
customers to find photos from Panoramio and send them to their
Garmin device for turn-by-turn directions (see http://connect.garmin.com/photos?username=
for additional information). Other travel tools included with
the 265WT are a JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock, automatic
time zone transition feature, currency converter, unit converter,
calculator and more. Available for $169 from The GPS Store at
www.thegpsstore.com/Garmin-Nuvi-265WT-Wide-Screen-GPS-System-P1924C1.aspx?gclid=CKjvvei5zJ4CFQk75QodDA0Epw.
Additional information on the lifetime traffic feature is available
on the Garmin Web site at http://www8.garmin.com/traffic/fm/navteq.html.
Zune HD Microsoft became the first consumer electronics
manufacturer to sell an integrated HD Radio receiver/MP3 player
with the introduction earlier this year of the Zune HD. Some of
the features of this exciting portable device include the following:
- Bright, 3.3", 16x9 organic LED (OLED) multi-touch screen interface;
Full-screen Internet browser optimized for multi-touch functionality;
- HD-compatible video (at 720p resolution); Built-in Wi-Fi allows
for browsing, streaming or downloading from Zune Marketplace;
- Full line of accessories - Zune HD and AV dock (see below),
Zune sync dock, Zune premium car pack, and others - to enhance
the Zune experience wherever you are;
- Song tagging technology allows you to buy the song playing
on the radio if you are connected to a Wi-Fi network, or to
tag it for later purchase from the Zune Marketplace;
When used with the Zune dock (a $49.99 accessory), you can use
the Zune to display HD video and photos on an HDTV or listen to
the music collection stored on the Zune HD or to HD Radio stations
through a home audio system using the provided cables. The Zune
dock also has a wireless remote control allowing you to control
the Zune player from anywhere in the room. Available online from
Newegg.com for $204 (16 Gbyte) or $289 (32 Gbyte) at www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2100080023%
2050001149%201398929748&name=OLED&nm_mc=KNC-Google
Adwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA.
LG Chocolate Touch Mobile Phone offered by Verizon, this
is a full-featured touch-screen mobile phone that includes an
analog FM tuner that supports RDS reception as well. The Chocolate
Touch phone is one of the first mobile products to incorporate
Dolby Mobile technology which promises a richer audio experience
using headphones or in otherwise low fidelity environments (for
additional information on Dolby Mobile visit the Dolby Web site
at www.dolby.com/consumer/understand/mobile/dolby-mobile-details.html.
A sampling of the features supported by this phone includes the
following:
- 3.0" Touch Screen with vibrating response
- Music player with sync capability from PC to phone; create
& manage playlists; audio formats include MP3, WMA, unprotected
AAC & unprotected AAC+
- 1GB of internal memory dedicated to music store up to 250
songs (actual formatted capacity is less)
- FM tuner (87.5107.9 MHz)with RDS support & 12 station presets
- Manual equalization (EQ) adjust EQ settings across 4 bands
- Up to 16GB microSD optional removable memory
- 3.2 megapixel camera & camcorder - shot types include normal,
panorama, intelligent and facial makeover; supported resolutions
of 2048x1536 (default), 1600x1200, 1280x960, 800x480, and 640x480
pixels
- Social network shortcut key quick access to Twitter, Facebook,
Myspace or added social network
- Tools: calculator, Z tip calculator, calendar, alarm clock,
stopwatch, world clock, and notepad
- Bluetooth - supported profiles include headset, handsfree,
dialup networking, stereo, phonebook access, basic printing,
object push for vCard and vCalendar, file transfer, basic imaging
and human interface device.
The Chocolate Touch is available from Verizon Wireless for $79.99
(with a two-year contract) but may be temporarily out-of-stock.
Also available for $349.99 (with no contract requirement) from
Best Buy at www.bestbuy.com/site/Verizon+-+LG+Chocolate+Touch+Mobile+Phone+-+Black/9561896.p?skuId=9561896&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=9561896&ref=06&loc=01&id=1218125018874.
MP3 players most MP3 players include FM radios -
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