Internet Radio

For those who rely on the radio to provide entertainment as they drive their car, the advent of Internet Radio is a fantastic development. With technology’s rapid progression, the AM and FM radio has become all but obsolete. That is because AM and FM radios can only receive broadcasts from stations within a region in which the car is traveling. But in-car Internet radio allows you to tap into radio stations all over the world.

One company currently providing such a product is Australian-based miRoamer. Radios that will receive radio stations that stream on the Internet feature a miRoamer server and cellular phone connection through Bluetooth. Moreover, not only does the phone connection gain access to the Internet, it also allows you to make phone calls through the radio. The properly fitted radios automatically gain access to the miRoamer website and that site connects the radio to the Internet stations. You subscribe for the service and then can log on to the site and make your own “playlist” of stations. So when you turn the radio on it logs on to the miRoamer site and then displays your playlists as presets. You select the station you want to hear, and it is streamed to your car. 

miRoamer servers recognize each individual unit as it links to the portal. This allows the user to customize content. Moreover, if there is a particular Internet station you want to listen to and it is not on your playlist, then you can enter its website address to gain access to it. The ability to customize also will allow the creation of a network of like-minded listeners, alerting each other about other stations and allowing for stations to be shared. 

So far, miRoamer has an agreement with one radio manufacturer to provide this service. The manufacturer is Blaupunkt which is based in Germany. The company will be introducing 2 radios that receives streaming data from the Internet—the Hamburg and the New Jersey.

The Hamburg is a single DIN unit and the New Jersey is a double DIN unit. Although both models are available now, they do not have the Internet radio feature. Those units will be offered closer to the end of 2009. Both radios will also feature AM and FM stations and be able to play CDs and also accept the connection of MP3 players. In addition, both radios will feature a large display to assist users in using the products. 

miRoamer claims that it offers tens of thousands of Internet radio stations. Although its first agreement is with Blaupunkt, it is talking to car manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket companies to arrange partnerships similar to the one it has with Blaupunkt. The company predicts that the technology will be standard in vehicles offered in Europe and the United States by 2010 or 2011. 

Another company, KVH Industries, will also be providing in-car Internet radio. Its system will rely on a satellite, a special antenna and a cellular phone.