use iPhone to listen FM radio without streaming internet data

In a word, no.

Did you see anywhere in the iPhone materials supplied with the phone, the iPhone pages on the Apple web site or the User Guide that suggested that the phone has an FM receiver? Do you think Apple would have failed to mention it?

I've never seen a cell phone with a built in FM tuner so I'm guessing that this is probably something that is more common outside the US.

iPhone missed a sales point on this issue.

I guess with only 30+ million iPhones sold in 2 years, Apple definitely needs to find another sales point...

No smartphone can be all things to all people, and still be remotely affordable. The more complex a device is, the more failure points there are. Good engineering requires not piling on "features" of marginal utility.

Can any of the "a lot of mobile phones" that you claim have FM tuners (I don't know of any ) do the things the iPhone does? You pays your money and takes your choice.

the only phone i know that doesnt have FM Tuner is iphone and blackberry. i consider blackberry as a business devices. so people wont bother if their BB doesnt has tuner. iphone is considered an entertainment phone. so i think FM tuner should be an advantage.

well, as i already use i phone now.. so i consider it...

An amusement phone, hahahahahahahaaa....

For those of you who have never heard of a phone having an fm radio, you must have been hiding under a rock for the past several years. I recently got an iphone 3gs and I love it, it's the best phone out there, but I wish it had a fm tuner. My last 2 phones over the past 4 years had tuners. Companies like Sony Ericsson, Blackberry, and Samsung put them on a lot of their models. And for those of you say it makes the device a lot more complicated, it really doesn't too much. A digital fm tuner can be made super small, cheap, and reliable. Much less complicated than a digital camera and accelerometer.

Really? Can you name a single Blackberry model (or any specific smartphone model) with an FM tuner?

Do you have the engineering knowledge to say adding the FM hardware to an iPhone would have no impact on the rest of the phone's functionality, usability and cost?

The crappy FM reception in devices without an external FM antenna isn't worth an extra 50 cents.

No smartphone can be all things to all people, and still be remotely affordable. The more complex a device is, the more failure points there are. Good engineering requires not piling on "features" of marginal utility.

I thought those guys

http://www.strandreports.com/sw3896.asp

where exaggerating but this statement is a good example for this "Stockholm-Syndrom" 😉 There is no excuse at all for Apple to miss this common and cheap feature!

- Yes, I was aware of this before buying
- Yes, I bought one nevertheless because of other priorities

Yet another example of uncritical dittohead thinking - accepting as gospel the undiluted BS rantings of a narcissistic blogger who can offer not one scintilla of documented evidence supporting his claims. It seems to work even better when they use ridiculous inflammatory, conspiracy theory slogans like "Stockholm Syndrome." (Do you even know what that really is?)

Try not to lap up the "Proclamations of the Truth" without critially investigating the facts, particularly the undisclosed financial incentives of the blogger.

http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2009/12/15/strand-consult-denmarks-illegitimate-ip hone-angry-pundit-nutter/

BTW, did you ever listen to a cell phone or MP3 player with an FM tuner and without a 3 foot long external antenna, when more than 5 miles from the FM transmitter?

I'm sure this feature would be popular with middle schoolers - Apple sure missed the boat here!

Message was edited by: modular747

The crappy FM reception in devices without an external FM antenna isn't worth an extra 50 cents.

Phones with an FM receiver use the headphone cable as an antenna, so reception is perfectly good.

Every Sony Ericsson phone I've owned in the past 5 or 6 years has had an FM receiver. It's pretty much a standard feature on phones in Europe. Even the cheapest ($30) phones have it:

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/mobile-phones/SONY-ERIC-K330/PPAY

Do you have the engineering knowledge to say adding the FM hardware to an iPhone would have no impact on the rest of the phone's functionality, usability and cost?

FM reception is often included in the combined WiFi, Bluetooth chip, so there's no added cost or complexity. The 3rd gen iPod touch chip has FM transmitter and receiver (but it is not enabled). The iPhone 3GS has an FM transmitter (but is also not enabled).

Phones with an FM receiver use the headphone cable as an antenna, so reception is perfectly good.

Not too helpful when you have a BT headset...

FM reception is often included in the combined WiFi, Bluetooth chip, so there's no added cost or complexity. The 3rd gen iPod touch chip has FM transmitter and receiver (but it is not enabled). The iPhone 3GS has an FM transmitter (but is also not enabled).

The capacities of the chip are only 1 aspect of the design and interactions of the various RF funtions of the phone. What do you think the impact on battery reserve would be with the phone simultaneously receiving/transmitting cell network, WiFi, Bluetooth, FM and possibly Nike+? Your Sony Ericsson didn't have to do all that.

The blazing FM performance of the Zune contributed to its glorious success. I tried a Zune and 2 other MP3 players with FM, as well as one of the plug-in recievers for an iPhone. I never was able to get more than 3 stations where I live. The FM band in Europe covers different frequencies than in the US.

Message was edited by: modular747

Not too helpful when you have a BT headset...

Not everybody has a BT headset - that's an additional purchase, whereas everyone has a wired headset. If you wanted to listen to FM, you'd use that.

What do you think the impact on battery reserve would be with the phone simultaneously receiving/transmitting cell network, WiFi, Bluetooth, FM and possibly Nike+?

Be realistic! Nobody would ever be on the phone, using WiFi, using Bluetooth, using Nike+ AND listening to the radio all at the same time. Everybody knows that using multiple wireless technologies at the same time has an impact on battery life, so you can choose to use them or not. Why would that be any different for FM?

The blazing FM performance of the Zune contributed to its glorious success.

Nobody is suggesting having FM radio would hugely increase the iPhone's success. However, the fact that it is included in so many European phones, suggests that it is a feature many consumers do consider and use otherwise phone manufacturers simply wouldn't bother including it at all.

There are things already included in the iPhone that are unlikely to have had a major effect on its overall success (the Stocks app for instance), but it didn't stop Apple including them, for those people that do find them useful.

I never was able to get more than 3 stations where I live.

So, just because you couldn't get FM where you live, that's a good enough reason for Apple not to include the feature for anyone at all? You are not everyone.

The FM band in Europe covers different frequencies than in the US.

No it doesn't. It's the same ~87.5Mhz to ~108.0Mhz. FM radio is the same worldwide with the exception of Japan and a few former Eastern Bloc countries.

Personally, I have little use for FM radio on my iPhone, but I'm not so narrow minded to assume that that means nobody would want it. I don't use every single feature on my current iPhone, but that doesn't mean I think those unused features should not exist.

modular747 wrote:
Yet another example of uncritical ...

Thanks for demonstrating very clearly that you are running out of arguments. But relax, I still like my iPhone despite its:

- missing FM Tuner
- old fashioned cable syncing
- non-replaceable battery

just to name my personal top-annoyances with this device. Its personal but you should accept that your personal perception might not be shared by others.. even if they loyal Apple users otherwise.

Not everybody has a BT headset - that's an additional purchase, whereas everyone has a wired headset. If you wanted to listen to FM, you'd use that.

It makes no sense to "add" a feature that precludes using existing ones, including the built in iPhone speaker - no purchase needed.

Be realistic! Nobody would ever be on the phone, using WiFi, using Bluetooth, using Nike+ AND listening to the radio all at the same time. Everybody knows that using multiple wireless

Nobody... Everybody.... You can't be serious! You do read the posts in this forum?

However, the fact that it is included in so many European phones, suggests that it is a feature many consumers do consider and use otherwise phone manufacturers simply wouldn't bother including it at all.

Do you see it in any European smartphones that can internet stream FM stations, even though it's much more common to have data limited plans in Europe than the US?

No it doesn't. It's the same ~87.5Mhz to ~108.0Mhz. FM radio is the same worldwide with the exception of Japan and a few former Eastern Bloc countries.

Actually, I misspoke. I was thinking of digital radio, which many stations are now supporting and is gaining some popularity (as far as broadcast radio goes) in the US.

FM radio is a dying breed in the US, not just because of MP3, but because FM stations have been hijacked by corporate radio (i.e. Clear Channel) which limits stations to tightly playlist controlled "formats" - Emetic Easy Listening, Soporific Soft Rock, Headache Metal, Un-hip Hip-Hop, The-Same-30-Songs-You-Heared-3000-Times Classic Rock...

Personally, I have little use for FM radio on my iPhone,

There you have it! The iPhone isn't a cheap cell phone. It makes little sense that an archaic technology would be added, incompatible with existing features, when much of the best of the FM format is available already via internet streaming

Message was edited by: modular747