Dear Microsoft, Please bring back my Radio

[Jordan Miera]

What?! So it's been confirmed that Windows Phones won't have FM radio? What a shame...that was one of the things that drew me to Windows Phone 7 in the first place. Don't really know what I'm going to do. I still love the OS, but one of its perks has been taken away. I have nothing against the other OSes either...I'll have to wait to compare the next generation of phones in person, I suppose.

 

[socialcarpet]

It's really weird to see people on here making fun of other people for wanting a feature like FM radio that most other phones (smart or otherwise) have.

Most phones do NOT have FM radio.

Another point that everyone seems to be missing here is that FM radio requires HARDWARE.

The OEM's have decided to opt out of including the HARDWARE used to receive FM radio broadcasts, likely because there is so little demand for it and space is a precious commodity inside a modern smartphone.

So it's not Microsoft's fault.

I thought the FM radio was kind of a cool feature, though I rarely used it, the idea of listening without using bandwidth/data is appealing, though all local radio is generally crap, there's always NPR.

I'd like to have FM radio just for the **** of it, but I can't say I'm really going to miss it all that much. If there was a way to listen to it over the speaker instead of headphones and they supported HD radio broadcasts instead of the old staticky junk, I'd been a little more interested.

The bottom line is most people don't care about this feature, that's the truth. Sometimes people here get a little caught up in thinking that something that is really important to them is/should be important to everyone. It's just not always the case. Trust me when I tell you 99% of the smartphone market, in the U.S. at least, could not give any less of a **** about FM radio being included.

 

[Laura Knotek]

These articles do a good job of explaining the decline of terrestrial radio in the US. Why Terrestrial Radio Will Never Be Great Again - DailyFinance

Turn on radio for new tunes? Young listeners say iWon’t - The Boston Globe

 

[mlm1950]

I'd like to have FM radio just for the **** of it, but I can't say I'm really going to miss it all that much. If there was a way to listen to it over the speaker instead of headphones and they supported HD radio broadcasts instead of the old staticky junk, I'd been a little more interested.

The fact that you need to plug in headphones, to act as an antenna, kills it for me.

 

[CSJr1]

I understand I am in the minority. Maybe even a 1 per center. I appreciate all forms of audio consumption, this is not just about music. I have used FM Radio in conditions where it is impossible for internet radio. I can think of another situation where FM would be vital. Like some of you who could care less about FM, my individuality prevents me from following along with what is best for others. But I respect your opinion.

But what puzzles me is the staunch defense of FM's departure as I thought more would give pause about the loss of choice, the loss of freedom and the loss of functionality.

But when all is said and done, this is just one voice expressed on an internet forum.

 

[Munkeyphyst]

I understand I am in the minority. Maybe even a 1 per center. I appreciate all forms of audio consumption, this is not just about music. I have used FM Radio in conditions where it is impossible for internet radio. I can think of another situation where FM would be vital. Like some of you who could care less about FM, my individuality prevents me from following along with what is best for others. But I respect your opinion.

But what puzzles me is the staunch defense of FM's departure as I thought more would give pause about the loss of choice, the loss of freedom and the loss of functionality.

But when all is said and done, this is just one voice expressed on an internet forum.

the headphone requirement killed the possibility of me using the FM as well. It wasn't something I used, but kinda lame to take away that function when the phone obviously still supports it.

 

[firstness]

I found these statistics on radio listeners which I found interesting:
Audio: By the Numbers | State of the Media

It seems radio is still more popular than I thought. Total radio listeners have remained fairly constant but more are switching away from traditional AM/FM broadcasts towards digital streams on their phones/cars/computers.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I understand I am in the minority. Maybe even a 1 per center. I appreciate all forms of audio consumption, this is not just about music. I have used FM Radio in conditions where it is impossible for internet radio. I can think of another situation where FM would be vital. Like some of you who could care less about FM, my individuality prevents me from following along with what is best for others. But I respect your opinion.

But what puzzles me is the staunch defense of FM's departure as I thought more would give pause about the loss of choice, the loss of freedom and the loss of functionality.

But when all is said and done, this is just one voice expressed on an internet forum.

I can understand your point. However, in terms of "vital situations", I would rather have AM than FM. The last time I remember hearing anything crucial related to news on FM was on 9/11. Where I live, FM radio plays crummy music. If one wants news, he needs to switch to AM.