- AM-FM not dead yet but music streaming, Internet new priority
Automakers have killed the cassette player, and CD players are taking a back seat to Bluetooth-connected iPhones.
The in-dash car radio, with its dials and knobs, isn't
signing off yet. But, The Detroit News reports it's past its prime in the eyes
of some automakers, and most aren't prepared to spend much time or money
tinkering with it. Instead, they're focusing on the next generation of in-car
entertainment, such as Web browsing and music streaming. Startup automaker
Detroit Electric plans to be the first without a radio when it rolls out its
first car in August — audio will be delivered via smartphone.
"AM and FM as a delivering mechanism isn't going to be the most important in cars anymore," said Thilo Koslowski, a vice president at technology research firm Gartner Inc.
"By 2020, I feel very confident that many consumers will consume radio content through avenues other than terrestrial broadcast."
In other words, drivers may still be listening to radio
stations in their cars, but they'll get them in different ways: Connected to
the Internet through their smartphones or directly through their car's
infotainment system.
Koslowski calls this "digital lifestyle
convergence" — bringing to automobiles the music files, texts, phone
calls, Web-based radio and other content that people are accustomed to getting
on their smartphones, iPads and laptop computers.
It's already becoming a reality: Drivers of Fords and
Lincolns can access several popular smartphone applications through the MyFord
Touch dashboard interface. General Motors Co. says it will soon offer
high-speed 4G mobile-Internet capabilities inside its cars. Despite the
competition, Ed Cohen, vice president of measurement innovation at media and
marketing research firm Arbitron Inc., says 90 percent of adults age 25 to 54
listen to the radio weekly, and it's still the top choice among drivers for
in-car entertainment.
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