Bob Browning's blog

DAB digital radio – going to replace FM by 2008 in most homesin the UK. Didn’t I read than somewhere?



If it was going anywhere the early adopters would be piling into it by now, which means that Hi Fi shops and web sites would be flogging units for people to add to their component setup. But check out any Hi Fi web site – component offerings still have FM radios in them. DAB is there, but not featured in the way that a new technology should be.

The big radio audience has got to be in cars. Is your local car showroom putting digital radios in the top of the range models? You can add a DAB radio to your Ford for £400 (you couldn’t make it up!) but I don’t see it as standard on any of the upmarket models.

At some point someone is going to claim digital radio is a success, but only because it comes with digital TV – and when did you last listen to radio on your TV?



Frankly I don’t think anyone is interested. Did anyone do any market research before they blew millions on this.

I don’t know enough about radio to make this potty idea number 18 but it is beginning to look like a disaster waiting to happen, not the greatest thing since sliced bread.



Incidentally who came up with this sliced bread thing? Sliced bread is tasteless pap, it should be the greatest disaster since sliced bread.