The Hidden FM Radio Inside Your Pocket, And Why You Can't Use It

[yekim54]

Originally Posted by Atunah

My MotoG 1st gen has FM radio. Works pretty good. Have only used it a couple of times.

Yep, my MotoG 2nd gen also has a working FM radio.

[tomsem]

I was in Korea recently. It is not uncommon there to have smartphones with HDTV. One of our taxi drivers multitasked by watching what appeared to be a soap opera as he maneuvered in traffic, interrupted only by our passage through a tunnel.

[Ricky D'Angelo]

Originally Posted by yekim54

Yep, my MotoG 2nd gen also has a working FM radio.

My LG Chocolate Touch has FM radio. It also has Dolby Mobile Sound which provides excellent sound quality when listening to music on it.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

As for AM requiring longer antennas, that's true. However, people are plugging in headphones as antenna's anyhow.

Most of my phones had an FM radio built in, and as far as I remember, all needed a headset plugged in as an antenna and would not work otherwise. I know my current one ( a Huawei Ascend G700) does.

[PandathePanda]

Originally Posted by hardcastle

I would assume the FM radio is turned off because it'd have to be tested - or might affect wi-fi or bluetooth antennas. Phones are a vibrating mash of electronics, carefully crafted to avoid any problems.

Then why does the same phone have FM in certain parts of the world, and in other they don't?

My sis blackberry curve (australian bought and used) don't have FM, yet mine (south african) does have FM. And yes it's the same model.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by PandathePanda

Then why does the same phone have FM in certain parts of the world, and in other they don't?

Different national or regional certification requirements? An FM radio may perhaps make certification a more difficult process.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Different national or regional certification requirements? An FM radio may perhaps make certification a more difficult process.

As I recall it's hazy EU legislation regarding not being allowed to record FM radio.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

As I recall it's hazy EU legislation regarding not being allowed to record FM radio.

Interesting - there are many radios on the market in the UK with recording capabilities; I have one myself.

EDIT: Actually, I believe my radio will only record DAB digital radio, not FM. Perhaps that's why?

[Teknikal]

Here in the UK all the phones I've bought have had the FM radio my last three were the Galaxy S Advance, the S4 Mini, and my current G3 has it as well.

But there are downsides the main one being they need to use the headphone cord as an aerial so I just use the App Tunein Radio Pro it gives me all my local stations and stations from around the world all over internet and I prefer it for the choice and the fact it gives a lot more info on what's actually playing at the time.

I guess the FM radio is something that may come in handy for some people but I really wouldn't miss it to be honest, that said I see no reason for phone networks to ever disable it that's just not right.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by harriska2

A little off topic but you can buy an $80 10 foot home antenna and get free over the air TV in digital (most places) if you are within 60 or so miles from repeaters. Saves us money and we can record using a wintv adapter with eyetv software for mac.

In the US
The main HD channels are in the UHF band
FM is in the middle (between ch6 and 7) of the old VHF TV band

Getting the Signal from outside a structure is best

The upper antenna (Arial to you folk across the pond) is a UHF HD (8-bay, directional)
The lower is a FM 'turnstile' omnidirectional
A clear 'line-o-sight' path to the transmission is preferred for UHF signals.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by mbovenka

I remember, all needed a headset plugged in as an antenna and would not work otherwise. I know my current one ( a Huawei Ascend G700) does.

That is why my old Moto (with FM) would not play on the Bluetooth
My newer LG Tracfone hides FM (if it has it)

[LazyScot]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Interesting - there are many radios on the market in the UK with recording capabilities; I have one myself.

EDIT: Actually, I believe my radio will only record DAB digital radio, not FM. Perhaps that's why?

Might be as DAB is already digital whereas FM is analogue, and the suitable digitiser (or the rights to the software to do it) and encode it for recording would increase the cost and complexity more than was considered worthwhile.

I find the need for the extra aerial on the phones to be too much trouble. Streaming over wifi is much easier and usually about the same quality, at least to my ageing ears; I suspect that the same would often be true with streaming over mobile/3G.

I don't know if there are any requirements for RDS support in any countries that might also cause problems...

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by cromag

Cell phone companies make money on streaming. They'd rather you not listen to (free) FM.

I presume you mean the provider. And not the company that makes the phone.

My current provider didn't supply my phone so why would they tell me what I can and cannot do? And last year, almost half the mobile connections were sim-only (which means the people bought their own phone) and rising.

[Shane R]

Probably a battery life issue. No need to look for conspiracies where they don't exist.

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I presume you mean the provider. And not the company that makes the phone.

My current provider didn't supply my phone so why would they tell me what I can and cannot do? And last year, almost half the mobile connections were sim-only (which means the people bought their own phone) and rising.

Some phone companies (Apple, Samsung) also make money off of streaming services pre-installed on the phone. However, it is probably the providers who are making the bulk of money from streaming services.