Neil Hughes at AppleInsider is reporting on a patent application by Apple for a device that would add HD Radio to future. Gigaware already makes such a device for the iPhone that's pretty cool for the current state of HD Radio (I own one), but it looks like the Apple patent would permit extending HD Radio's capabilities significantly. Joe Aimonetti at CNet has more.
I've been arguing since late 2006 (though not with a great deal of frequency or success) that the real power of HD Radio isn't its audio fidelity or even iTunes tagging or multi-channel capabilities, but rather its ability to morph into a seamless hybrid broadcast/IP radio. That has the power to disrupt. Recent developments with RadioDNS and now this one from Apple give me hope that someone smarter than I will figure this out.
Update 22 June 2010:
Sean Ross makes my point in a different way in, If HD Radio WERE On the iPhone. Link: The Infinite Dial. --Dennis
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