Why Apple ought to put a radio inside the iPhone

Posted By James on Jul 27 2010 12:00 AM
Apple should put a radio inside the iPhone because their users want one. Here’s proof.
Every so often, RAJAR – the people that compile the radio listening figures – also release a separate study on how people listen to the radio. Yesterday was that day; and a spangly press release was sent out. Of note, the press release highlights that 20% of smartphone users in the survey have downloaded a radio app.

Already you could guess from that statistic that 20% of people want radio in their phones. But, it appears, that’s only half the story.

You see, a “smartphone” is a pretty moveable definition. It can include a BlackBerry – hardly the world’s prettiest or smartest phone, and not known for its media capabilities. It could include many of those Nokia phones: and if they’re using the same definition as Wikipedia, then 44% of ‘smartphones’ are Nokia. Or, it could include the iPhone.

Above all other phones, the iPhone is sold on its media capabilities. It is operated by iTunes, which automatically synchs music onto the device. It has the best user experience of any phone when it comes to media. Take a look on the tube, and it’s the iPhone that has the headphones plugged into it, rather than any other phone (I have never, once, seen anyone with a set of headphones plugged into a Blackberry). It stands to reason, therefore, that if you’re a smartphone owner who values media, you’ll have an iPhone.

Not only that, but the amount of radio apps for other smartphones is limited: my Android has inferior, unloved, apps for some of the radio stations, but there are plenty who just haven’t bothered. And if the number of comments is a bellweather for the amount of users, the Capital FM website shows (on the bottom of this page) that their iPhone app has 44 comments; their Nokia/Symbian app has 8 comments; and their Android app has just the one. The BlackBerry is notable by its absence.

So, to see how popular radio apps really are, we should probably just look at iPhone: where the majority of the apps are available, where users do use their phones as media devices, and, crucially, where radio is in competition with a users’ favourite tunes.

Writing on the One Golden Square blog, Adam Bowie claims that the detailed MIDAS figures show that, on an iPhone, 46% of users have downloaded a radio app. Which is worthwhile not just putting in Mark Ramsey bold, but actually – to hell with it – making the font size bigger too.

Nearly half of all iPhone users in this survey have downloaded a radio app – in spite of their favourite music being on the same device.

And it gets better. Of those that have downloaded a radio app, incidentally, 53% use them once a week. A radio app isn’t a gimmick: it’s a clear hours builder for radio.

Now. Who was claiming that people aren’t interested in radio any more?

Source: http://james.cridland.net/blog/

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