«With car makers moving to integrate iPod technology into the dash, Lehman Brothers analyst Anthony DiClemente sees a growing threat to in-car radio listening. He theorizes that iPod integration in cars could accelerate a decline in radio TSL [TIme Spending Listening], particularly in younger demos. "While traditional listening to CDs and cassettes was always a competitor to radio for listeners' ears, the robust nature of iPod integration amplifies the differentiation," DiClemente said in a note to clients. At a recent conference in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said 70% of new cars sold in the US by the end of 2007 will offer iPod connectivity as an option. "The concern to broadcasters is that iPod integration into automobile manufacturing could fragment an audience that, until now, has had few alternatives to radio in the car, especially during 'Morning Drive' and 'Afternoon Drive.' An estimated 74% of MP3 owners are between ages 18-54. In conjunction with slowdowns in car listenership among this targeted group for advertisers, the predominant ownership of iPods in this demographic could signal a shift in listening patterns that would translate to the car with this newly introduced iPod functionality," DiClemente said. The Lehman Brothers analyst, who has a Negative indication for the radio sector, sees further erosion of what had been AM and FM radio's prime venue, the car, as listeners shift to iPods/MP3 players and satellite radio. "If ratings prove to show declines at a more accelerated rate than they are already doing and car listenership begins to show declining trends, terrestrial radio may find itself losing market share in a space where radio has traditionally achieved its highest rates for advertising, and as a result, may find that advertisers are less likely to pay premiums for spots in these time slots, thereby having a negative impact on revenues for radio broadcasters," he concludes. »

Excertos de um texto da BBCNews sobre os problemas criados pelo iTrip (desenvolvimento destes textos):

«(...) As these gadgets have to be tuned to an FM frequency, using one in the congested airwaves of a major city disrupts the user's listening pleasure. Chris Price, publisher to Techdigest.tv, used to have an iTrip to listen to his iPod while driving. But for a year it has languished unused - he grew fed up with local and pirate radio stations cutting in as he drove around London. It's completely useless in London as there are so many FM frequencies in use. I kept having to retune the thing each time to find a free FM frequency. Sometimes I'd get snippets of a station, sometimes it just took over. Obviously this is less of an issue if you live in the back of beyond." (...) "If I stopped at the lights next to someone with their iTrip using the same frequency, I could overhear the other driver's music or simply static. But it's not that likely - it would have to be the exact same frequency, and there are about 100 to choose from," says Mr Price. And by the same token, they can disrupt ordinary radio broadcasts. Many users tune into low or high FM frequencies, well away from major radio stations. But these ends of the dial are commonly used by public radio, given over to talk and news programming.»

fonte: «Transmission Breakdown», BBCNews, 20/7/06

PS - tenho os mesmo problemas no Porto com o iTrip, uma vez que as frequencias padrão estão ocupadas; alguém tem uma solução?

Para a industria do rádio via satélite nos EUA e Canadá:

«In a potentially devastating blow for satellite radio operators, drivers will be able to plug iPods directly into the stereo systems of a majority of 2007 models of Ford, GM and Mazda vehicles in the United States. Satellite radio operators XM and Sirius have developed their subscription businesses largely through people who buy cars with factory-installed equipment. Carl Bayard, an analyst at Desjardins Securities in Toronto who tracks the satellite radio business, called the development of "seamless" integration of the popular portable iPod device and car stereos "a major negative blow for the entire satellite radio industry." In February, Mr. Bayard highlighted the iPod as the "most worrisome" substitute to satellite radio because, he says, "it offers users better control over music selection."»

E o contra-ataque:

«In an attempt to adapt to the iPod world, the satellite radio services are building MP3 music players into their receiver equipment, and have begun to avoid the hardware altogether by selling their unique sports, talk and music packages to cellphone and cable operators. XM Canada, for example, recently forged a deal with Telus Corp. Still, Mr. Bayard told clients he sees "no upside" for the parent company's stock, "given the overwhelmingly negative recent news flowing from the U.S."»

A resposta de Mark Ramsey: «(...) Besides, much of the most popular programming on satellite is non-music programming - and some of it is exclusive to satellite. And little to none of this will be available on even the most packed-full iPod. (...) So will easy and attractive hook-ups for iPods affect radio and satellite radio? Absolutely. But it won't kill either. It will, howevever, be another speed-bump out of the starting gate for HD. And another nail in the coffin for CD's».

«Listening to an iPod over a car stereo may be easier in the future, judging by an invention Apple Computer is trying to patent. Apple's patent application (No. 20050286481), which the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office made public recently, describes "a method, apparatus, and system" that wirelessly plays iPod audio files over an FM radio receiver, such as a car radio. The invention, described as a "method for data transmission utilizing a portable multimedia device," also taps an FM radio technology known as the Radio Data System (RDS) to wirelessly transmit data, such as artist and song title, to a receiver. Several gadget blogs have speculated that Apple will build the technology into future versions of the iPod, putting pressure on companies that sell iPod add-ons that deliver similar capabilities, such as the popular iTrip from Griffin Technologies (...)»

fonte: «iPod to get built-in iTrip?», By Alorie Gilbert, CNET News.com, January 10, 2006, 3:54 PM PST

«Devices that play music held on iPods over FM radios are set to become legal in the UK, as a law that bans such devices is about to be overturned. Communications regulator Ofcom has announced that it wishes to lift Britain's ban on the use of such devices.

By "such devices", we are referring to gadgets such as Griffin Technology's iTrip, which allows users to listen to digital music in cars or around the home. They are very popular in the US and Europe, but are illegal in the UK. They work by allowing car radios or household stereos to tune in to iPod signals and play music, and were outlawed because it was feared that they would interfere with commercial radio, despite the fact that their range is only a few metres. Even once the ban was in place, thousands of people continued to use their iTrip or Belkin's TuneCast wireless transmitter to listen to their music whilst out and about.»

Fonte: Techspot, «iPod radio transmitters to become legal in the UK», By Derek Sooman, TechSpot.com, Published: July 16, 2006, 5:27 AM EST

Mais:

fonte: «Apple fecha acordos para conectar iPod a novos modelos de carro», Reuters Brasil, Quinta-feira 3 de Agosto, 2006 4:49 GMT-

Mais: «No caso da GM, prevê-se que os 56 modelos que a marca pretende lançar, em 2007, nos EUA já estejam equipados para a conexão com o famoso leitor de MP3 da Apple. Na Mazda, o acordo prevê que todos os modelos lançados pela companhia no mundo já disponham de uma conexão para o iPod. O iPod pode conectar-se aos sistemas de som dos automóveis através de um pequeno compartimento específico. Além da tradicional escuta, a conexão vai permitir carregar e descarregar músicas entre iPod e o “auto-rádio” do automóvel.»

Mais: «Apple Computer announced at its 2005 Macworld Expo on Tuesday that this year, legendary sports car maker Ferrari and four other automobile manufacturers plan to offer kits that meld its iPod music player with their car stereo systems. Mercedes-Benz USA and Volvo, the first two companies to detail their plans for the U.S. market, will offer iPod adapters for several of their models. The adapters will allow drivers to access songs stored on their iPods via their car stereo controls, including steering-wheel-mounted buttons. Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Nissan will announce their respective iPod adapter plans later in the year, Apple said in a statement. Mercedes, Volvo and the others are following a trend started by BMW in 2004. BMW now builds several car models whose steering wheels incorporate iPod controls; it also offers a 9 iPod-stereo adapter for several of its car models. Several car stereo manufacturers have also begun offering adapters that connect iPods directly to their respective car stereo models. Alpine offers the KCA-420i adapter, which costs about 0 and can connect iPod and iPod Mini players to several Alpine-brand stereos.» Cnet News