Apple’s New iPod Radio Remote new Model has handy features

January 13th, 2006

Apple iPOD with Radio Remote

Apple announced a new iPod Radio Remote at the Mac World Expo in San Francisco this past week. This new accessory for the iPod nano is a FM radio and a remote control. You can have your iPod in the backpack and use the remote to jump to any song in your playlist or you can listen to FM radio.

The iPod Remote Radio comes with a set of earphones on a shorter length cable. The remote is attached the wires on the earphone set. The remote can clip onto your jacket or shirt. It does not use any batteries as it gets all its power from the iPod. The radio remote works with the iPod nano and iPod with video. It retails for $49.99 and may take 2-3 weeks to ship at the time of this writing.

The FM radio receiver will be displayed on your iPod screen. You set it like you would a traditional analog radio. You can set markers up of your favorite radio stations for quick access. If you listen to a radio station that uses Radio Data System (RDS), the iPod will display the song title and artist, along with the radio station information. The iPod will support radios stations in the 87.5 through 107.9 ranges.

The remote will let you control slideshows, videos and music playback. It will let you manage the volume levels, navigate through your play list, turn on the radio station, and tune in the radio. There is a hold switch which will deactivate the remote so that you don’t have to worry about accidentally bumping the buttons.

There are currently over 2,000 accessories for the Apple iPod. The iPod Radio Remote is a nice addition to the iPod, but make sure that your iPod is either the iPod nano or the iPod with video.