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iBiquity Forced to Build Own Portable Player
iBiquity CEO Robert Struble tries to explain away to the Wall Street Journal why firm is building its own portable HD Radio player: Sure, Microsoft's very modestly selling, very decent Zune players will feature HD Radio in a new model later this year, but iBiquity is making its own portable, too. That makes nearly no sense if the firm could find any other company willing to incorporate the long-awaiting portable digital AM/FM chips.
Companies like iBiquity that work with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), who product PC and consumer electronics gear nearly never get into the business of making their own branded devices because this kills the motivation for the firms they sell technology and reference design hardware to. The only reason a company gets into the business of making its own branded stuff is that they can't find a partner.
That's why the rather marvelous technology behind MusicGremlin never made its way into anyone else's devices, and MG had to release its own players. Its players weren't bad, but a small firm can't do the full-on polish and full-on marketing of Apple or Microsoft. (MG was eventually sold to SanDisk.)
Struble does some excellent tap dancing in this interview, where the reporter doesn't have the history to cite his previous statements over the last several years, some of which were repeated here. I've interviewed Struble in the past, and he's a perfectly frank guy (especially among CEOs), and ready to admit when things don't work out. But the company's technology has stalled and is floundering.
Portable devices have been promised for "next year" every year for at least three years, maybe four. This fall, they will finally appear. The number of stations that have added digital broadcasts has stalled at around 15 percent of all U.S. broadcasters. The AM situation is ugly; I don't know how that will play out, but it's possible that HD Radio for AM is a dead end, which doesn't doom the advantage of the FM side, the only way to market receivers today.
As the Wall Street Journal reporter notes, there's enormous interest in playing an iPod through a car stereo (and a vast number of kits and built-in options for that as well as factory-installed integration), while J.D. Power's found that only 10 percent of those surveyed had interest in adding HD Radio.
Struble pushes on the company's advantage by having a partnership with Apple (iTunes Tagging), but then reveals that he thinks iTunes Tagging isn't actually that great because it requires a dock with tagging intelligence. Struble wants iTunes Tagging built into iPods and iPhones; I wonder if Apple has any interest in that? I would love to know whether 1,000 or 100,000 or a million songs have been tagged and purchased with the feature. Apple and iBiquity know.
Struble also mentions future tech, which has been "soon" or "next year" for a long time, such as real-time traffic reporting, image data for covers of albums and other details, and selective broadcast areas. Selective addressability--being able to allow a specific radio to receive a broadcast--wasn't mentioned.
None of this interview reeks of desperation, but there's a lot of plate spinning. I don't see how iBiquity can continue indefinitely without a dramatic increase in stations choosing the technology and units sold.
I suspect that the decision to release its own portable player comes close to last ditch. If a portable player doesn't spark more interest, then what kind of growth does HD have? If the AM problems can't be solved and more stations brought on board, then you have an untenable path for future technology.
I do fear that the sets sold to date--which could be over a million, but no one knows for sure--could actually stop receiving digital broadcasts in the future, if iBiquity can't ultimately make its technology become dominant. Then the FCC has to get involved, a new standard must be adopted, and new radios released.
Comments
Here's hoping these events come to pass and the US turns to DAB and embraces world standards for digital radio. There is ample supply of inexpensive portable, desktop and high-end equipment available right now, as this equipment is currently manufactured for the European and Asian markets. With a world standard, more digital portable devices will be made with built-in DAB access, and best of all: New competition for broadcast over the new frequencies. Added bonus: When analog TV went off the air last week, the frequencies for DAB came available. Let's go! Radio communications demand ubiquity, not ibiquity.
Posted by: Jim Griffin | June 22, 2009 7:24 PM
"I do fear that the sets sold to date--which could be over a million, but no one knows for sure--could actually stop receiving digital broadcasts in the future, if iBiquity can't ultimate make its technology become dominant."
Jeez, that's funny, the Sony I have now hardly receives digital broadcasts and when it does it is hugely underwhelming. I don't have to recite the litany of problems with HD, mostly anyone that matters knows them already. In fact digital processing belongs in CD's and wires, not over the air as it is not working anywhere in the world including DAB in Europe which is why the government's trying to shove it down the public's throat in the U.K. Even there it is stalling. And here HD is even more of a mess and shoot be brought out back and summarily executed.
Posted by: bobyoung | June 25, 2009 8:17 AM
I recently bought a Sony XDR-S3HD HD Radio - and cannot receive a single HD station. The nearest station that is broadcasting in FM-HD is only 10 miles away. I am using a C.Crane FM Reflect indoor dipole that picks up FM analog stations nearly 50 miles away, so I can't blame it on the antenna. If this is what HD Radio is cracked up to be, I'm generally disappointed. I remember how AM Stereo was a flop 25 years ago. HD Radio seems to be heading in the same direction.
Posted by: Tom | July 17, 2009 2:33 PM