C. Crane Witness AM / FM DAP will make you wish Wolfman Jack was still on the air

AM radio often gets left in the dust in this here digital age -- we can't remember too many PMPs that bothered supporting it -- but the C. Crane "Witness" is here to tell you it's not dead yet. Sure, it looks like a clunky old DAP, has a monochromatic screen and only two measly GB of memory. Yes, it's true, you can't even make an MP3 playlist on it, but it's got built-in AM and FM tuners and you can definitely schedule it to record Coast to Coast AM hours and hours in advance. It's a pricy $229 but we have a good feeling that some of your um... relatives will think the Witness is totally awesome.

[Via DAPreview]

[DudeManDude @ Nov 11th 2008 11:35AM]

awesome! I've been wanting an AM addition to PMP's since the beginning! finally! Although, with flycast or aol radio my iphone has some access, it doesn't record and selection of AM stations is limited for certain programs, (Coast to Coast, Michael Savage, and everyone's favorite Hush Bimbo) which sorta kills the fun for me. I love oddball media and AM radio has it in spades, hopefully others will begin to add AM functionality. I've purchased a few items from C Crane company before and have been happy with the quality, which you will pay for as they are pricey. Gotta love the CC Radio + tho!

[marc @ Nov 11th 2008 11:53AM]

"awesome! I've been wanting an AM addition to PMP's since the beginning!"

Leave it to C Crane to remember us AM folks in the digital age.

[LC @ Nov 11th 2008 5:30PM]

FYI, Radioyourway has had an AM/FM recorder a few years ago, but were discontinued. It's good to see that another company has put one of these out and improved on it.

www.radioyourway.com

[computer.dude.28 @ Nov 11th 2008 6:41PM]

They don't need to put AM on PMPs, they need to put AM on FM. The only problem is FM bands are usually pretty packed in large cities.

[mediumsizedrob @ Nov 11th 2008 11:35AM]

I think it's a good idea, whenever I do bother to listen to the radio it's usually not for music so I'd rather have AM than FM anyways.

[Ray @ Nov 11th 2008 11:37AM]

I only listen to am for traffic and news, maybe some gospel. Its just such a bad quality when compared to everything else.

[billiam247 @ Nov 11th 2008 12:01PM]

Finally. The only things I listen to on the radio are sports and sports talk which, at least in Chicago, are both on AM stations.

[Cubfan786 @ Nov 11th 2008 12:38PM]

know what you mean
WGN, The Score, WBBM and ESPN 1000 are all AM.

[xman @ Nov 11th 2008 12:19PM]

WOW!!
I can't believe a company finally did this! I know a few people who walk around with portable CD players that have built in AM radio and have yet to get a DAP b/c of the lack of an AM frequency. Well this thing is pricey so I'm not sure if it is a good option yet.

[cdr @ Nov 11th 2008 12:27PM]

my DE1123 came for about 40 bucks and threw in shortwave and a speaker - perfect for the 80s-boombox style of annoying anyone in the vicinity with nonrepetitive beats...

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Nov 11th 2008 12:56PM]

Great, now my dad won't miss a minute of ranting loony left-wing radio. Granted, it's better than the right-wing variety, but only by a very very small margin.

[Kate @ Nov 11th 2008 1:11PM]

Honestly, I don't understand why FM radio is the preferred frequency of PMPs. As a baseball fan in Philadelphia, the coverage is all on AM radio, which includes the game broadcasts by a very locally popular announcer. I believe the hockey games are also covered on AM. Tuning in to baseball games is pretty much the only reason I turn on a radio these days, and I have wished many times I could use my FM-radio enabled mp3 player for this purpose.

[Matthew Boehm @ Nov 11th 2008 1:13PM]

Seems like a crappy MP3 player though... If you really care about AM, I'd get a portable radio tuner that doesn't play MP3's: http://www.google.com/products?q=portable+AM+radio+&btnG=Search+Products.

If you just want MP3 and an FM tuner I'd recommend the Zune =).

It really is a shame that no really good mp3 player integrates an AM radio though...

[Jon Acheson @ Nov 11th 2008 1:16PM]

AM Radio is great, particularly if it uses a high-quality AM tuner/antenna setup.

But $200 is still too much money.


What I really want is for my $35 Sony AM/FM Walkman (SRF-M37V, the best pocket radio on the market for its price) to play MP3s.

[wompa164 @ Nov 11th 2008 1:28PM]

IF I'M LYIN, I'M DYIN!!!

[Brian @ Nov 11th 2008 1:41PM]

A Coast to Coast reference. Not made much in our digital age.

[Cassini @ Nov 11th 2008 2:19PM]

Wolfman Jack? LOL, good grief! I don't know what's worse, the fact that Engadget mentioned Wolfman Jack, or that I briefly remember who he was.

[Technojeff @ Nov 11th 2008 2:27PM]

According to FAQ on this DAP ID3 tags are supported if enabled.

This makes it a little more desirable.

[bangladeshiluv @ Nov 11th 2008 2:28PM]

finally an AM tuner. now i can practice my spanish.

[adrian @ Nov 11th 2008 2:40PM]

I heard that sometime in the future some radio stations in europe may use AM technology to transmit digital radio signals across different countries as it is a more robust signal. Is this true?.

[bangladeshiluv @ Nov 11th 2008 2:44PM]

why do you care if youre not in europe.

[Fslade @ Nov 11th 2008 3:34PM]

@ bangladeshiluv

Cuz this is blog about technologies/gadgets?

Stop being a jerk.

[bartoron @ Nov 11th 2008 2:43PM]

I hate Wolfman Jack so much.

[Fslade @ Nov 11th 2008 3:39PM]

@ bangladeshiluv


By the way, I assume you don't know the symbol "?".

Try using it. It's very useful, as you'll see.

[Reiyano @ Nov 11th 2008 4:20PM]

Wolfman Jack says someone's at the frontdoor baby!

[Information Central @ Nov 11th 2008 5:26PM]

"make you wish Wolfman Jack was still on the air"

...WERE still on the air

[CA @ Nov 12th 2008 2:07AM]

Regarding this "InformationCentral" blathering....

'make you wish Wolfman Jack was still on the air'

"...WERE still on the air"

Wrong.

~WAS~ still on the air. WERE is for the plural: make you wish the dead IDIOTS WERE still on the air."

Versus "make you wish the dead idiot was still on the air."

The exception being, WERE is used with the singular subject in a conjunctive statement, as in "If Wolfman Jack were broadcasting again."

Grammar's obviously not your area of expertise and you should not be correcting anyone other than yourself. I could direct you to several sources to verify my claim, but try using your fancy computer. You might learn something.

[Information Central @ Nov 14th 2008 5:45PM]

Well, now you've really embarrassed yourself. The rule at work here is SUBJUNCTIVE, not "conjunctive." It applies whenever you're discussing something hypothetical, contrary to fact, or wishful thinking. It holds true in many languages, not just English. Subjunctive takes the THIRD-PERSON PLURAL form and applies it even to SINGULAR nouns.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive#To_express_a_wish) - note the use of "were" with a singular object:

To express a wish

The past subjunctive is used after the verb to wish: I wish he were here or I wished he were there. This use of the subjunctive is sometimes known as the "volitional" subjunctive:

* Oh, I wish I were in the land of cotton.


Don't you wish you were literate?

[DarkLight @ Nov 11th 2008 5:28PM]

Well, I thought I was going to be the first one to say it, but nearly everyone beat me to it :-D

Frickin' finally AM radio, FM on a DAP is useless.... Why listen to the utter crap FM music, when you have YOUR music right away?

AM, on the other hand, there's news, sports, the talk stuff you don't have in .mp3

So, now just on to wait this appears on cheaper, better DAPs..

[DarkLight @ Nov 11th 2008 5:28PM]

Er, "wait for this to appear"

[James @ Nov 11th 2008 5:39PM]

If it were $30 I'd say cool, but over $200? For a player with a mono screen and only 2 gigs? I'll stick with an ipod and dig out one of my pocket radios when I want broadcast AM. It's funny, once PMPs came out, FM radio suddenly seemed obsolete, but I still listen to AM to catch the traffic reports in the car.

[thiel @ Nov 11th 2008 8:54PM]

Finally! But wasn't there some technical reason that PMP's couldn't handle AM due to interference or something?

[Ras Thavas @ Nov 12th 2008 8:57AM]

I dial it in and tune the station
They talk about the U.S. inflation
I understand just a little
No comprende, it's a riddle

[CA @ Nov 27th 2008 4:01AM]

Information Central is still blathering on and on. From the very same page he linked to is this quote: "Through the years, some have advocated the formal extinguishment of the subjunctive. W. Somerset Maugham said, "The subjunctive mood is in its death throes, and the best thing to do is to put it out of its misery as soon as possible."

Yet he insists on clarifying that the headline is subject to SUBJUNCTIVE classification.

Like the subjunctive, IC should be put out of his misery as soon as possible. Uptight hack writer he be. GET A JOB at a newspaper if you are so.... "literate." I suppose he thinks himself superior to Mr. Maugham. (laughing self sick)

WAS! WAS! WAS! WAS! is correct because we are speaking of the deceased.

Don't you wish YOU literate? If you were dead, it would then be Don't you wish you WAS literate... PAST TENSE.... if I am speaking to you in a seance.

You're also gay.