Tech Talk

To truly appreciate a winner, you can’t forget the losers — or else the triumph of victory won’t seem as significant.

But in our society, we too often forget those who were only second best.  And so I was elated when I found CNET’s “Decade’s 25 biggest tech flop slideshow.”

Among those items featured:

• Dreamcast (Too bad it didn’t have a wider game selection)
• Standalone DVD players (They might have been more successful if not for Tivo and the built in feature in many cable plans.)
• The Segway (So much for changing the way we live…)
• Microsoft SPOT Watches (Perhaps they weren’t smart enough… or maybe just too dang expensive?)
• HD DVD (Though, you’ve got to give it credit, it really was neck-and-neck for a number of years.)

However, I disagree with two of the items featured on the list:

• Satellite radio
• HD Radio

While these radio systems are not yet widespread, the number of users on each is continuing to rise.  As a person who enjoys, and utilizes, both radios, I am biased, but hopeful that enough folks take advantage of these services before they join the ranks of the Dreamcast.

What are your thoughts?  Did CNET miss anything?  And am I just totally missing the boat with the satellite and HD Radio?  As always, your feedback is appreciated.

A low-cost battery-powered pocket-sized HD radio has finally hit the market.

Similar in look  and size to an old MP3 player, CNET describes the Insignia NS-HD01 as a radio tuner that could pull in analog and Hybrid Digital stations on the FM band, and makes things easier with 10 programmable presets.  The sound quality is described as “good but not spectacular.”

The tech site describes the functionality of the site as “pretty straightforward, though you might need to consult the manual to figure out how to lock in the presets.”

The radio is powered by a rechargeable, non user-replaceable, lithium-ion battery rated for 10 hours of playback, which could be recharged by a mini-USB connection — like many cellular phones and iPods.  And while a USB cable is included, a wall charger is not, CNET warns. 

Like an iPod, CNET writes that a “requisite pair of subpar earbuds” are included, as well as a Velcro armband. 

The two big selling points, according to CNET, are:
1. There’s no subscription fee, like satellite radio
2. The access the digital subchannels that aren’t available on the analog band.  In Fairfield County, Connecticut, for example, listeners should be able to access a Jack FM (which temporarily replaced the listener-favorite WCBS-FM 101.1 out of Manhattan.  There is also a bonus country station on 97.5 WALK-FM out of Long Island, as well as many other music and talk bonus choices.  Click here to see a complete HD Radio list.

CNET’s primary complaints about the radio are its complicated control layout, and lack of memory for an MP3 player for use when folks are not in an area of good reception.

I have enjoyed having HD Radio in my car for several months. It offers a rich listening experience and opens up additional selections — from difficult to find music genres to clearer news selections. 

Judging from CNET’s review of this radio, it sounds like the folks at Insignia have done a good job at giving consumers access to a good product at a very reasonable price. 

The radio could be purchased for $49.99 at Best Buy.

What do you think?