UBC brings downloads to DAB radio

First announced way back in April of last year, UBC Media is set to finally bring music downloads to a DAB radios in the U.K., starting with a trial run next month by Chrysalis Radio station Heart. The service will let listeners download the track they're currently listening to at the push of a button -- at a cost, naturally; a fairly hefty £1.25 ( or about $2.27 US). In addition to saving the track to a DAB-compatible player, that price will also buy you a copy of the track in a web-accessible music library, from which you can download it to your PC and transfer it to a portable music player (providing it supports the necessary DRM). The service itself works by broadcasting music files along with the audio stream, storing them in the device just long enough to give listeners a chance to grab it or let it disappear -- until it's played again, and again, and again. This first trial is really limited, however -- just 100 users in Birmingham get to check it out.