Today’s digital launch had retailers’ support in each city, with many models on display at the digital radio listener posts set up at every OB. Each brand offers different features, with Pure leading in the rewind function, Grundig displaying an impressive iPod dock style digital radio, and Roberts now offering a good quality top of the range model. But the best offering on display today was the latest iRiver, which has just been introduced into the country and is being sold at JB HiFi stores.
The latest model of iRiver, the B30, brings together a range of multimedia functions, including DAB+ radio, into a single unit featuring touch sensitive controls and easy to use functions.
Sky Sports Radio’s digital radio specialist Max Carter (pictured left) had one to display the pictures of winning horses and displays of betting odds that his racing radio station is broadcasting on digital radio, and various station marquees were showing album art and station graphics on their iRivers to illustrate the picture capacity of the new transmission medium.
The unit is about the same size as a iPhone and looks similar. iPhones do not yet have digital radio chips in them. In fact no phone manufacturer has yet put a digital radio chip into a commercially available mobile phone, so the iRiver is the closest in design that you can get at the moment.
The 8Gb multimedia device supports DAB+, MP3 and MP4 formats, plus WMA, OGG, ASF, AVI, WMV and other formats. It also has an FM tuner, Voice Recorder, photo viewer and text Viewer. The LCD screen is 2.7 inches.
Distributor Corey Middleton, of CR Kennedy & Co, says the units have now been delivered to JB HiFi and are available in store and online for around $270.
Another of the staff members promoting the iRiver today assured radioinfo that JB HiFi staff were now being trained about digital radio and the benefits of the iRiver, so that they could sell digital radio and the iRiver enthusiastically to customers.
The iRiver on display today at the digital radio united OB.
Other models displayed at today’s launches also had high interest from customers with potential buyers looking for the model that offered them the mixture of price and features that they wanted.
Harvey Norman offered significant discounts to buyers present at today’s big event.
radioinfo will continue to bring you reviews of the latest releases of digital radio models as they become available.