Technology360

Internet to the dashboard

Broadcasting consultant Mark Ramsey comments on a report from Harve Alan that Volkswagen and Intel are partnering to bring internet services to the dashboard of the former's vehicles, saying:

The thing you need to understand about this (inevitable) technology is this: Anything that occupies space with a radio and consumes the same attention and time as a radio competes with a radio and substitutes for a radio.

Link:  hear2.o.  Amen.

Along these same lines, NPR's Mike Starling provided me with a link to Azentek's entry into this space.  Azentek describes itself as "an automotive OEM specializing in onboard computer technology tailored for safe use in your vehicle.  Link:  Azentek.

And Consumer Reports has a report on Blaupunkt's entry.  Link:  Consumer Reports.

Of course, if you have an iPhone, or one of Nokia's media-enabled phones, or any of dozens of others that support audio and IP access, you already have this in your car.  I've written in this space a number of times about my mobile IP listening.  With the iPhone and any of a number of radio apps available for it such as the Public Radio Tuner (later post), it couldn't be easier.

And I continued to be tantalized by the USB connector on my Jeep's nav/sound system.  There's no reason why we couldn't have one of those 3G wireless sticks with a hybrid HD Radio and IP radio tuner on board that would plug into the dashboard unit.  I'm tempted to say, if it can be done, it will be done.  But the CES and broadcasting industries need to think out of the box for that to happen.

--Dennis

Radio tunes out Google (and vice versa)

Having already gotten out of the newspaper ad business, the Wall Street Journal reported today that it's also getting out of the radio ad business.  Jessica E. Vascellaro writes:

... radio tripped up Google. The company is pulling the plug on its attempt to automate radio-ad sales on May 31, exposing how far Google is from its goal of grabbing a big chunk of the multibillion-dollar business of off-line ad sales.  ¶  A look at what went wrong shows that Google misjudged the capacity of its technology to work beyond the Web, and underestimated the human side of the business. Radio stations refused to turn over airtime to a computer algorithm that set prices far lower than their own rates. Big advertisers steered clear.

Link:  Wall Street Journal.  The radio industry, for some reason not enthused about the "dollar a holler" financial return, didn't buy in.

For more analysis, see Charlene Li, Why Google's One-Trick Pony Struggles to Learn New Tricks.  She writes:

But Google faces a tough situation in that, in 2008, 97% of its revenues come from Web advertising, and 68% of that advertising is on its own Web sites. That's down only slightly from 69% in 2007. This is a problem because while Google has been on a torrid growth pace for the past few years, it's essentially a one-trick pony: search advertising. Make no mistake, it's a very nice trick, but one that has little upside outside of organic growth. And Google isn't likely to grow much more in search advertising given its dominance, especially in advertising-rich markets like the United States.

Link:  Harvard Business Publishing.  --Dennis

Twitter feed added

Just added the widget for Twitter, so my five most recent tweets are in the lower left.  --Dennis

The Infinite Dial 2009: Radio's Digital Platforms (video info, too)

I'm beginning to think of my iPhone with its free Public Radio Tuner app as my "infinite dial," having just had the experience yesterday morning of an early drive from Baltimore to Washington listening to WSIU in Carbondale, IL by simply plugging my iPhone into my car's sound system.  [Hint to pubcasters:  WSIU's signal that morning was very reliable and sounded great, but the higher bitrates some stations are using contribute no fidelity that you can detect in a car and have many, many more dropouts.]

However, in this case, it refers to a study of this name from Edison Research and Arbitron:

We update the status of radio's new digital platforms (online radio, satellite radio, HD Radio, and podcasting among others), social networks, online video, iPhones, and implications for broadcasters, advertisers, and media planners.

They say, for example, that an estimated 69 million Americans listened to online radio in the last month and that weekly online listening (42 million) is up by one-third year over year.  The same number of people who listen to internet radio in a month watch internet video in a week (69MM).  For satellite and HD Radio, there are awareness data only.  Finally, in spite of the rapid growth in internet radio listening, 80% of people say yes to, "In the future, you will continue to listen to AM/FM radio as much as you do now, despite increasing advancements in technology?"

A rich study.  Link:  Edison Research.  --Dennis