October 12, 2007
Download radios on the way
Radios that let consumers hear songs they like and immediately download them at the touch of a "buy now" button are on the way. The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
"The technology - tested in Britain but previously unseen in Australia - will allow people to put money into accounts and then buy music directly through their digital radios, which would also store the tunes.
The system is scheduled to be made available in Britain in December and an updated version using superior radios will launch in Australia in just under 15 months, the Australian representative for radio manufacturer Pure Digital, Graeme Redman, will tell a radio industry conference today.
"It's the first interactive application on radio," he said before the event, adding that the price of the downloads would be comparable with other legal online services such as iTunes.
The Melbourne conference will host the Australian industry's first demonstration of a mobile phone capable of receiving digital radio broadcasts with pictures, according to the CEO of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner.
The images could show a song's artist, album cover or other material. On-air mentions of an advertiser's phone number or product could also come with pictures, she said."
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