Well it's obviously going to take a while but it looks like the future of car radio is going to begin a transformation this year. It was always going to happen of course but Blaupunkt are about to launch an in-car Internet radio receiver, that will mean that you will no longer be restricted by geographic location when it comes to your radio listening choice.
The device will rely on your mobile phone and bluetooth to receive the stations and will therefore be subject to your mobile phone network supplying the streaming facility. Of course in the USA this is already happening with some people and networks, although you do have to have to be reasonably savvy in the ways of technology to make it happen, but the forthcoming Blaupunkt units (and those that will ultimately follow) will streamline the process and make it a bit easier to do. At the moment it can be a little clunky to set it all up.
Of course in the UK only millionaires can currently dream of such things as the mobile companies rob us blind with call charge packages and the financial implications of choosing to listen to all of your in-car entertainment over the Internet don't bear thinking about, but obviously that will change... eventually.
Interesting times ahead then. The Blaupunkt systems will operate in conjunction with miRoamer, who, you'll be pleased to know already list Sky.fm Smooth Jazz amongst their featured stations (and all the other Sky channels for that matter).
More details on the Wired Blog, or if you Google "Blaupunkt Internet Radio" you should find plenty of dialogue about the whole thing.
Thanks for the heads up Jimi! I wonder will the Blaupunkt radios will only be available in Europe or global?
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I can get smooth jazz on my PSP too. It comes up on the radio list, you just need a wireless connection.
I think they'll probably be available in the USA first of all.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly showcased them at the fair in Las Vegas at the beginning of the year, so it's looking good for the US.