iPod FM Radio Remote
Apple iPod FM Radio Remote - A review
My Apple iPod is gorgeous. It can hold about a trillion mp3 tracks, it plays videos, podcasts and I can even walk around with Ricky Gervais in my ear-holes, but can I tune into X FM or pirate radio on it? Not a chance. So like many other iPodaholics, I have been hoping that Apple would pack a Radio into the iPod. In my opinion they could very easily have done that, along with a microphone while they are at it. They didn't though, the Apple Marketing guru's have probably decided that they could squeeze a few more dollars from us. My first and second iPod came with a remote, and the second came with a dock too. The fifth generation iPod comes with neither. There have been a few third-party FM tuners you can bolt on to your iPod, but this is the first Apple Radio
Wires and Headphones
On opening the Apple Radio Remote, I was struck by two things: lots of wires and an extra pair of white Apple headphones.
Tune In
After plugging the dock end into my iPod, a new menu item appears - Radio. Tuning is easy enough, until I tried to tune into KISS 100, the closest I could get was 100.1MHZ. Swearing a little, I consulted the manual and found that I should set the iPod's Radio Region to Europe (under the Settings Menu - it defaults to USA). This proved invaluable as I can now tune into most UK stations. I live in a bad area for radio reception, and I have mixed results with regards to the quality of the signal. It's not bad, but it is nothing to write home about either.
The "Free" Headphones
The free Apple buds are there for at least two reasons. They come with a shorter lead length, which helps keep the tangles to a minimum, as you have extra wire length with the remote. I think they are tuned to the remote too, in other words they form part of the FM radio antenna. When I tried my normal buds, I got poor reception. So this means you have to use these headphones, with the radio. This is a bummer if you have replaced the stock buds with your preferred brand, then you will need to take two pairs of headphones along with the iPod Radio. This sucks, it really reminds me of why I like the iPod anyway - the lack of wires. It is this minimal quality that I am sure Jonathan Ive and Crew work hard at achieving in their design, it seems that this Apple Radio Remote is the most un-Apple like thing I have ever bought from Cupertino.
Radio Remote Conclusion
The Apple iPod Radio Remote may lack a little Apple polish, you can't use it in your dock, you have to use the bundled phones and you have to carry more wires with you, it doesn't do AM radio and only comes in white. It is a way of getting radio onto your iPod though, so if you just have to have FM, then this may keep you tuned in and happy.