Pigs Do Fly!

Remember when Apple rolled-out the first iPod? New Media pundits declared that it would kill radio because iPods don’t have a radio tuner in them.

Here’s what one sycophantic New Media pundit, futurist, and frequent radio critic declared in 2007:

Will iPods feature FM tuners? Nope. Of all the new features iPod owners would like from their iPods, the one that tops the list is an FM tuner. Thus, Steve Jobs & Company should add such a tuner to the next generation iPods.

The odds of this happening are zero.

Since then 220 Million iPods have been sold, none with an FM radio. That changed on 09/09/09. In an event breathlessly covered by New Media around the world, Steve Jobs himself presided over the announcement of a new line of iPods, including a new Nano with...standby...an FM tuner!!! Pigs do fly!

The iPod was introduced in 2001. It has expanded from a single model in one color to a half dozen with an array of options and an array of colors. All 220 Million without an FM tuner, and yet as the iPod enters adolescence, the Chief Wizard has decided to add an FM tuner.

Know why?

Because the wizard is running out of new ideas. Once you’ve created the Swiss Army Knife of MP3 players, what do you do to keep the assembly lines humming?

Find something that people do with other devices, and add the capability to the iPod. What does nearly every person in the world do? They listen to the radio. But they don’t do it on an iPod (unless one buys one of the FM adapters that third party companies have created to fill the gap).

So with all the glitter and glamour that is Apple, we have the new Nano. Read all about the FM tuner here.

Turns out that Steve Jobs needs radio more than radio needs Steve Jobs. New Media pundits take note.