April 18, 2005
'Visual radio' headed for U.S. cell phones
"Visual Radio" is coming to the United States--and no, that's not just a newfangled name for a TV set, reports News.com.
"Radio giant Infinity Broadcasting is working with Hewlett-Packard to bring a kind of Net-enabled FM radio to U.S. markets, sending information such as album art, concert dates and buy-this-album buttons alongside broadcasts.
The broadcasts will be aimed at a new generation of FM radio-enabled phones, as well as the digital information carried over cellular phone carriers' airwaves, rather than on the one-way FM broadcasts.
The companies hope to turn the service into a new advertising and revenue source for traditional radio, which is facing increasing competition from satellite radio and Internet Webcasts.
Once digitized, the radio stations will be able to include browsable data more directly alongside songs, instead of resorting to the phone carrier networks to transmit these services.
The visual radio concept is already operating commercially in Finland, and is being tested in several other markets including England and Germany. "
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