All iPads TV & Radio In Future iPads

[iPadCary]

Is this at all doable and/or feasible?

RADIO
As far as radio goes, I find it incomprehensibly weird that an iPod Nano has FM radio,
but iPads don't have either FM or AM radios in 'em.

Now don't get me wrong: I'm not knocking iPod Nanos!
It's a wonderful device & I owned the best one: the one that played games & has a videocam.
It's just that I don't get the bottom of the hardware ladder having this capability,
but Apple's second biggest cashcow doesn't.

Yes, of course, I know about the "TuneIn" netradio app.
I use it all the time & it's absolutely terriffic. But it needs connectivity.
What I'm talking about is built-in AM/FM receiver hardware that you can listen to anytime.
Scan for & bookmark stations, metadata display for songs & broadcast details, etc.


TV
On the TV side, now that over-the-air signals are all digital, it would seem that a TV tuner
would be the size of a chip, so it won't add weight to Apple's obsession with thin lightness.
Same as with the radio, you would scan for & save channels,
AirPlay the picture to an actual TV, and maybe even use station logos instead of text as bookmarks.

So what are your thoughts on all of this?
I've included a poll to make an overview of the opinions here really easy.

 

[sjleworthy]

as a Brit, i'd say no as it'll surely be American based stuff, as per usual.

apps are great as you can find universal and specific content, but Apple themselves, not really. if a build tin radio/tv app was directed to locality then fine, but apps already do this.

 

[ron7624]

A radio is a great idea. Yes, I use iHeart to listen to my specific channels, but you can't really scan for channels as in my car radio, then there is that delay and change of programs and commercials that the app owners sell time for that is different from the actual radio station. Maybe it's because of contracts and things like that that must be followed... Maybe that's why - not the size of the chip bit the cost of including it?
But yes, I'd like an actual radio. TV isn't important to me. I have apps that would let me watch stuff and never do. I use Apple TV and Roku to watch Netflix. 60" screens are better than iPads for that imo.
But great question OP.

 

[Hermes Monster]

Not for me, the iPad is designed to be connected to the Internet, and therefore there's apps for TV and radio

Adding them into the hardware will costs Apple more, and therefore us. It will likely make the hardware bigger and heavier, in a time when thinner and lighter is always the goal

 

[iPadCary]

if a build tin radio/tv app was directed to locality then fine, but apps already do this.

Perhaps you missed my point where I say radio & TV apps require connectivity,
whereas radio & TV hardware, i.e. "tunerchips", does not.

 

[iPadCary]

It will likely make the hardware bigger and heavier, in a time when thinner and lighter is always the goal

Perhaps you missed my point where I say radio & TV tuners since going digital have,
as a consequence, reduced the size of their respective tuners to the size of chips,
thereby not adding significantly to the iPad's weightness or thickosity.

 

[Krevnik]

Except, you still need sizable antennas to get decent signal. Cell towers are relatively close, so you don't need a huge antenna to get a signal that is "good enough" for data. Radio and TV are an order of magnitude further away.

The Nano used the headphones themselves as an FM antenna. That will still work (as well as it did then). TV is even more difficult to get a good signal with a small antenna with the more complicated signal.

But there's still the issue that these chips aren't small chips and you need to make room on the board. Even if you have no antenna.

I dunno. I'd rather have cheaper wireless broadband and streaming than trying to bypass the physics of TV signals.

 

[sjleworthy]

Perhaps you missed my point where I say radio & TV apps require connectivity,
whereas radio & TV hardware, i.e. "tunerchips", does not.

Gotcha!

So in other words do i want tv/radio on tap without the need for connectivity?
If it requires no further bulk/weight then why not? Extra options eh? Just depends how 'local' it can be. Radio is fine, but tv is another matter.