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Fuzzy Logic Sony Ericsson releases world’s first AM/FM radio in mobile phone
Fuzzy Logic Sony Ericsson releases world’s first AM/FM radio in mobile phone | Sony Ericsson releases world’s first AM/FM radio in mobile phone |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Friday, 17 October 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 3 What I wish this development indicated was AM/FM radio becoming standard on mobile phones and radio-equipped mp3 players, there’s no guarantee it will. Featured Whitepaper
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The R306 was announced in January this year, and shipments were predicted to start in Q3 2008. It’s a clamshell phone, with an R300 model available overseas that is a candy bar, but that doesn’t seem to have made it to Australia. So, what are some more details on this radio phone, and seeing as my review model hasn’t arrived yet (but the phone has been well reviewed overseas), what is the verdict on using the phone, and importantly, listening to the radio? On the listening experience, the phone has a “volume boost” mode and stereo speakers on its front, making it actually look and sound like a radio. Sadly there is one catch, the aforementioned sort-of “gotcha”. While the phone will, according to overseas reviews, actually go into radio mode without the headphones plugged in to act as an antenna, without that “antenna” you can’t really pick up any stations, which sort of defeats the purpose. So, plug in the headphones you must, after which the sound can then be directed to the loudspeakers, as is the case with FM radio equipped phones today – but at least the volume boost and the stereo speakers means nice, loud sound – if you want it, along with 27 hours of radio-listening battery life (if you made and received no phone calls). The other drawback to the headphones is the massive plug that connects to the side – not the bottom – of the phone. Why it couldn’t be just a standard 3.5mm plug is beyond me, although one of the overseas reviews suggested it was because extra antenna-y stuff was in the plug for AM reception. While you can record radio broadcasts to the phone if you want, there’s only a tiny 5MB of inbuilt memory, and no Sony Memory Stick Duo socket. At least the recordings are done in low bitrate mp3 format, but that memory will be shared with your camera, voice recorder and everything else the phone does. There’s also SE’s “Track ID” feature letting you record a sample of audio playing from someone else’s radio or speakers, and then sending it over the Internet to be identified for you, but sadly, this feature doesn’t work with the inbuilt radio, which seems to be a bit of an oversight. The radio does support RDS, which tells you the station name, but the phone’s external screen doesn’t show this detail – it’s only available on the internal screen. The external screen isn’t easily readable in direct light either, and while there are 20 presets, that’s 20 presets for both AM and FM stations in total, although it should be enough. If you use the phone as an “alarm clock”, you can choose to wake up to your favourite AM or FM station, if desired – just remember to have those headphones plugged in to the phone before you go to bed! What do SE have to say about their new radio phone, what are the specs and other included features, and how much does it cost? Please read on to page 3. |
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