Gigaware adapter brings HD Radio to iPod touch and iPhone for $80
By Darren Murph 
posted Nov 9th 2009 12:29PM
posted Nov 9th 2009 12:29PM
iBiquity has made its first foray into the mobile market and it's third in the portable market (Best Buy's Insignia NS-HD01 and Microsoft's Zune HD). Introducing the Gigaware Navigation Control HD Radio Receiver accessory and the HD Radio application. The accessory/app combination enables iPhone and iPod touch devices to tune into HD Radio broadcasts for the first time!
Adding HD Radio Technology to the iPhone and iPod touch (compatible with models updated with 3.0 software) is an easy two-step process:
▪ Step 1: Buy the Gigaware HD Radio accessory, designed for and sold exclusively at RadioShack for an MSRP of $79.99.
▪ Step 2: Download the FREE application by clicking on the Apple App Store icon on the actual device or though the iTunes' App Store link (under the Music category) in the top left column.
The application software, features an intuitive, user-friendly interface; a manual tune wheel or auto-seek option; and the ability to connect with friends through e-mail, Twitter and Facebook. Users can also preview content currently airing and directly select a main station or multicast channel stream, in addition bookmarking their favorite stations and multicast channels. An iTunes Tagging button on the Gigaware navigation accessory also allows users to "tag" songs for future review and purchase via iTunes.
Now, iPhone and iPod touch users can now enjoy the CD-like digital quality, crystal-clear sound from more than 2,000 HD Radio stations on the air, and 1,000+ new FM multicast channels (HD2/HD3).
Adding HD Radio Technology to the iPhone and iPod touch (compatible with models updated with 3.0 software) is an easy two-step process:
▪ Step 1: Buy the Gigaware HD Radio accessory, designed for and sold exclusively at RadioShack for an MSRP of $79.99.
▪ Step 2: Download the FREE application by clicking on the Apple App Store icon on the actual device or though the iTunes' App Store link (under the Music category) in the top left column.
The application software, features an intuitive, user-friendly interface; a manual tune wheel or auto-seek option; and the ability to connect with friends through e-mail, Twitter and Facebook. Users can also preview content currently airing and directly select a main station or multicast channel stream, in addition bookmarking their favorite stations and multicast channels. An iTunes Tagging button on the Gigaware navigation accessory also allows users to "tag" songs for future review and purchase via iTunes.
Now, iPhone and iPod touch users can now enjoy the CD-like digital quality, crystal-clear sound from more than 2,000 HD Radio stations on the air, and 1,000+ new FM multicast channels (HD2/HD3).
woah, he gots to be trollin! xD
I wonder y they didn't make this for Zune HD. Wonder y ?????
You can tag songs from HD radio on the Zune HD for the Zune Marketplace as well.
Word, please smash your computer with a hammer so we don't have to read your asinine postings ever again. Thanks.
What the fuck kind of drugs are you on?
You know how all your comments end up white? Natural selection. Survival ofbtge fittest strongest.
The French ones...
Why on earth would you want to tag a song for, what I think you mean because Windows Media Player doesn't have a music store, the Zune Marketplace when you are on an iPhone/iPod Touch? I guess since they sync so magnificently with the software. Anyway, like was already said, Zune has had the ability to tag songs on the radio for over a year and WinMo devices had Shazam long before the iPhone/iPod Touch had it that tagged songs/ringtones for purchase on the device.
Really awesome Idea... just two things...
1: Bring it down to $50
2: Sell it everywhere (or at least Best Buy & Walmart)
An even better idea would be for Apple to just include a radio in the first place, HD or not.
Gigaware is a RadioShack brand. Most likely another brand will release a $50 version and RadioShack will get buried for being obsolete... again.
I agree, but I think the pricepoint should be half of what it is now. $39.99 would get people interested, and like another commenter said, not many people want to pay for radio, HD or not.
I mean, what's the margin on this kind of thing? At $80, they seem to be marking this thing up like 1000%. I know they have to recoup the cost of developing the software, but the hardware has to be cheap to produce. I say $39.99 MSRP, and cheaper on sale, and you can make money with this thing.
Most people are not interested in radio on their iPod, which is why Apple didn't include it. There have been regular radio tuners available for the iPod for a long time now, and now there's this, which is great for the people who want it, and great for the people who don't.
obviously people are interested in radio on their ipods. which is why companies are making fm tuners for ipod since the beginning of ipod. heck, even the OP wants an HD one if it was sold for $50!
apple will never ever include radio because it's a door out of their ipod music universe.
If this were ~$30 I would get it today. At $50 I would seriously consider getting it. At >$70 I will still want but definitely not be purchasing.
@Jack
Actually nobody is interested, until Apple releases a device with it and it is the greatest invention ever - just as they did with the Nano.
Darkstar - If people wanted radios on the iPod, don't you think that would have shown up in Apple's market studies? The fact is that most people don't want a radio on their iPod, which is exactly what I said in my last post. Note the use of the word "MOST". Apple made the decision not to include radio based on the results of their studies.
Third party radio attachments are not there because everybody wants a radio. They're there for the miniscule number of people that want a radio.
Potential for a discount if you buy your iPhone at RadioShack next year?
At the most $50. Gigaware normally has some pretty decent electronics for cheap. The MP3 players they sell have some decent features, for a lower price than competitors.
So, $80? That's crazy. $40 would be optimal, or $30. Personally, I have no want or need for this, so that may be skewing my opinion.
@Jake
RadioShack likes to over-mark everything in the store by at least 100%.
@ Jack
I disagree that most people don't want a radio in their PMP. First, there is a big difference between "don't want" and "don't need."
For example, I would like a PMP that has a built-in radio tuner, but I don't need it, so the lack of a radio tuner is not a deal breaker for me. I suspect it is similar for many people.
And this may be obvious, but there is also a big difference between not actively wanting and actively not wanting. For example, as I said above, I would like a radio tuner, but I don't *WANT* one. But, all other things being equal, I would buy a PMP with the tuner over the one without every time, even if it cost a little more.
Finally, I don't believe that Apple did any kind of market research when it decided to not include a radio tuner. More likely in my eyes is they figured it wasn't a deal breaker for most consumers, so leaving it out allowed them to charge a little less for the iPod and still make money off people who really want them through the licensing fees they collect for "Made for iPod" accessories.
Is HD radio on the iPhone incredibly slow?
/sarcasm
@Jack
I wonder how Apple does their market research because I think more than a few people were not happy to see the absence of a camera on the iTouch refresh. However Lord Jobs explained that its a 'gaming platform' and that's why they left out the camera. Evidently Nintendo should drop the camera from the DSi because it has no place on a game system, oh and Microsoft and Sony should stop selling camera add-ons too.
Having any kind of radio is not worth $80
cellular radio, what now?
Still no
Cue ad with Justin Long taping an HD radio to his forehead.
Your avatar is EFFING GENIUS.
The dongle looks cool but will probably just get in the way..
Is HD radio even that big of a deal? I've never even listened.
HD radio is nice if you can get it. It's better quality than plain FM radio and multiple channels per station are nice. The problem is, regulations limit the power of the digital signal to a fraction of the analog signal, so the range is terrible. I can get the HD signal at home, but when I go to work in a suburb that's not that far out, all I can get is the analog.
I won a really nice HD Radio about a year ago. It's still in the box. No HD Radio in my market, or the next one over even.
The "HD" monitor is obviously bogus for being applied to audio, but also because HD Radio is compressed to hell. Sound & Vision did an article about it a few years ago and found that it basically sucks.
MONIKER, that is.
HD radio is a joke. AM/FM is even worse.
so you hate radio in general? its friggin free. you can't really complain.
"It's a novel idea"
No, it's not.
nov⋅el
–adjective
of a new kind; different from anything seen or known before: a novel idea.
Going by that, I'd say you are correct sir. There is nothing novel about this idea.
Okay.
At first I thought the person posting the definition was right, but then I read his last sentence.
It's the first HD radio adaptor for portable devices that don't have HD radio built in. Going strictly by the definition, it most certainly IS a novel idea. No one has ever done it before.
It's not the first HD radio with tagging.
It's not the first HD radio for portable devices.
It's not the first digital radio dongle for an iPod. See: DAB dongles.
It is the first dongle specifically for the brand of digital radio approved by the FCC.
Seems to me the definition is getting a little narrow for the term "novel", but I suppose technically nobody ever has created this exact device before.
You might be right, I admit I did little to no research to back up my statement that it is not a novel idea. I just assumed that by now, some company would have made and sold HD radio receivers that can be jacked into a smartphone...
Neat. I gave up on radio like 6 years ago but neat anyway :)
Is it just me, or is anyone else feeling iPhone accessory overload?
Who listens to the radio anymore?
I do, it's the only way to actually hear new, original music.
whats with all the hate for radio? i love radio. why would anyone complain about free music?
Radio sucks! New, original music? You're correct if you think hearing Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" twice an hour is considered new and original.
Triple j in Australia is good
I still listen to radio sometimes, there's some good stations still left in Chicago. LOL!
@Lloyd "You're correct if you think hearing Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face' twice an hour is considered new and original."
There are radio stations other than the crappy Top 40 stations. I'm talking about actual independent radio... the kind that Apple is killing with iTunes. My favorite local station (http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/the_current/) plays absolutely awesome music that I would never discover if I didn't listen to their station.
I'm sorry that the radio you listen to sucks, but some of us are smart enough to actually twist the dial and look for other stations.