My first s60 device 6630 didn’t have a radio built-in,but the second device N80 ,and now most of the devices are having one.But if you have noticed that from the s60 v2 to v3 and now almost reaching the Feature Pack 2,the radio application hasn’t changed at all.Even the user interface is still the same one which they had in the very first release.I’m sure that for a majority of users,the visual radio application doesn’t sit inside the trash folder,as it is one of the best pre-installed application on these devices,But the application is still at its basic state.One of the major let down of radio on Mobile phones is that it can’t work without the wired head set,as it is used for signal receiving.Its not convenient to carry the handsfree with you all the time,not the bulk that matters,many of us forget to take it.So last year somebody came up with a separate radio antenna for N95,but again it too isn’t that handy at all.Whats interesting is the concept which was brought up,and hope Nokia will pick it up an make it smaller or will they be able to have the receiver antenna fits well inside the device.On that day the Nokia will achieve the Goal of real mobile Radio.A good indication of Nokia considering about this matter is the recently graduated Internet Radio and the well popular Podcast applications,but they requires Data connections and the high amount of data transfer cost is not affordable for every one and not all the local channels make their way to global level.
Another thing that is discussed in forums for years and many of the users request is the Radio recording feature,which is indeed possible with the expandability of s60,but still didn’t find its way to the visual radio.But most of the MP3 players with an FM receiver has this ability,Like this one I found(Samsung YP-55T),which is powered by a single pen-torch battery, does this well and its pretty handy too.As many of us still enjoy the local channels and love to grab some favorite songs on them,which would hardly come on Internet,for that this is the ideal solution.So Nokia please update your Visual Radio both with Software and Hardware.
