Monday, September 5, 2011

Why don't laptops have built in radios?

Ok, I've covered this before. But, why don't laptops have built in radios? It would be a very simple addition to the motherboard that would add value right out of the box. I'm not an electrical engineer, but the only thing that would need to be added would be a copper coil to pickup the radio waves. I think the motherboard has the other components already accessible. I can see how the natural progression of computers from desktops where it was easy to add a radio card to laptops with a design similar to desktops has kept the radio out of reach. And with the availability of the internet and internet radio there isn't really a need for "analog" radio anymore. Still, as I see miniature radios and radio schematics, I can't help but wonder...Why do computers not have radios built in? That being said, there is a very simple solution to this problem. The USB radio. Simply buy a usb radio, plug it in, and you have access to your favorite am or fm radio station. The "classic" brand seems to be a company called ADS, and the reviews are positive, the price is about $15 give or take. This device is one that I would really like to smash open and look at the guts, because of its small size...but who knows how it works, I haven't tried it. Ok, now I'm mad, I'm going to see if there's an app that does local radio without the internet...don't know how it would work...

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