The 2009 Version Of A Transistor Radio…

Monday, July, 13, 2009 by Mel Phillips.

Best Buy debuted a transistor-sized portable HD Radio for sale over the weekend which is the first of its kind.  The Insignia NS-HD01 costs about $50, is battery powered and is strictly a radio tuner that can pick up analog and HD stations on the FM band.  It comes with 10 user-programmable presets.  The battery is rechargeable and can be re-juiced in the unit’s recharging port.  A USB cable is provided. The battery is rated for 10 hours of playback.  A pair of ”subpar” earbuds, according to CNET is also included…

The Insignia is small enough to fit into any pocket and the hold switch on the side of the unit prevents inadvertent button pushes.  The radio comes with an LCD screen and nine control buttons which allows you to tune frequencies manually or seek stations up and down the dial.  The radio can also switch from analog to digital in seconds.  The HD portable radio has two big selling points.  First, the obvious — it’s free.  You buy the radio, you own it — lock, stock and subscription free.  The other advantage is accessing digital signals that aren’t available on an analog radio.  So what’s the downside???

The downside is HD Radio with sound quality that probably ranks third to Internet and satellite signals.  While the Insignia will move some units, most consumers will probably hold out for the Zune HD, coming later this year.  Although the Zune will cost at least three times more than the Insignia, it will contain more features.  In the meantime, Bob Struble, President/CEO of HD developer iBiquity Digital, can gloat for a while…

Timeline Memories:

1. 1960] Vote for me: John F. Kennedy wins the Democratic presidential nomination at the party’s convention in Los Angeles…
2. 1967] Race riot: Race-related rioting breaks out in Newark (NJ) with 27 killed in four days of violence…
3. 1972] Trading Teams: The owners of the Baltimore Colts (Robert Irsay) and Los Angeles Rams (Carroll Rosenbloom) swap teams. It’s the first and last trade of its kind…
4. 1977] Lights Out: A 25-hour blackout hits the New York City area…
5. 1978] Canned Iacocca: Lee Iacocca is fired as president of Ford Motor Company by chairman Henry Ford II…
6. 1985] Temporary prez: The Constitution’s presidential disability clause is invoked for the first time as President Ronald Reagan transfers power temporarily to VP George H.W. Bush before undergoing surgery for colon cancer…
7. 1994] Guilty as charged: Tonya Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, is sentenced to two years in prison for his role in the attack on Harding’s skating rival, Nancy Kerrigan…
8. 1998] Tawana bet?: A jury in Poughkeepsie (NY) rules that the Rev. Al Sharpton and two others had defamed a former prosecutor by accusing him of raping Tawana Brawley…
9. 2005] Gotcha: Former WorldCom Inc. boss Bernard Ebbers, is sentenced to 25 years in prison for leading the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history…
10. 2007] Convicted: Former media mogul Conrad Black is convicted of swindling the Hollinger International newspaper empire he once ran out of millions of dollars.  Black is serving a 6-year sentence at a federal prison…

Music Memories:

• 1985]  Live Aid: An international rock concert is held in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, Australia to raise money for Africa’s starving people…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday“:  Stephen “Steve-O” Gilchrist Glover (35), Didi Conn (58), Toni Kornheiser (61), Cheech Marin (63), Harrison Ford (67), Roger(Byrds) McGuinn (67) and Patrick Stewart (69)…

Timeline Countdown: One day from MLB All-Star Game and 10 days until NFL training camps open and 56 days until Labor Day…       

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