Headline: Apple sold more than 8 million iPods during its recent quarter.
Headline: The #1 feature that teens would like to have in their iPods is an FM radio, according to a recent Ipsos study.
So what’s going on here? We’re certainly not surprised that iPods are still a very hot item. Our two Technology Polls have absolutely confirmed ongoing interest in these portable Mp3 players.
But FM radios? For teens? If only the radio industry could convince the visionaries at Apple that their device would be enhanced with a built-in FM radio. Last year, we conducted 18-34 focus groups for Arbitron, and discovered that many of these younger consumers think of radios as being tethered in cars or on nightstands.
That’s right – they don’t perceive radio as a take-anywhere medium. That’s what iPods are all about. Imagine a combo iPod and FM radio – that’s made by Apple. That’s a future we can get excited about.
*while, yes, there IS a radio/remote available from Apple, and a couple of other options on the market as well, they are additional $50-$100 accessories and not a "built in" feature of any iPod.
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Great. Teenagers want a radio in their iPod. Too bad radio didn’t…and still doesn’t…create any content aimed at anyone outside of the 25-54 demo. And considering those between 4 and 22 represent the LARGEST segment of the population EVER, it will be interesting to see if kids find anything appealing on their iPod radio…unless it’s Classic Rock. Oh, wait a second…Classic Rock stations only care about 25-54s…
A few thoughts come to mind.
Apple isn’t about cramming devices full of features – they’re about a SIMPLE device. The hallmark of the iPod is not so much what it CAN do – but often what it DOESN’T do. Which leads to . . .
The 3rd party iPod accessory business is huge – AND it helps drive the popularity of the iPod. How can you walk by a rack packed with iPod accessories and NOT be tempted to check out what great new stuff you can buy for your iPod
And finally there’s cash. If Apple does include a radio tuner on an iPod it will probably be AFTER it includes Wi-Fi – which would enable Apple to sell music/video on the iPod itself.
Including a radio tuner makes much more sense if I can also hit a button and buy the song I’m hearing.
While it’s encouraging to see teens want radios on their iPods – isn’t safe to say that teens expect their devices to do almost everything?
Will radio ever be built into an iPod?
Great post from Jacobs Media on the wish list for iPod features by teens – a list topped by FM radio, according to the study noted. Interestingly, a close look at the results indicate that more than one out of