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from the you're-not-holding-it-right dept.
Apple responded today to FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, who issued a statement that "urged" Apple to activate the FM chips that he claimed are in iPhones in the name of public safety. The recent hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria were the hook for the reasoning. The only problem? Apple hasn't even included FM radio chips in iPhones since the iPhone 6s.
That's right, Pai called on Apple to activate radios that don't even exist.
As John Gruber astutely points out, the statement has the stink of trying to shift blame or attention off of the FCC's own response and readiness issues. Pai has been banging the drum for months now and it's been a talking point of the NAB for years. When ostensibly asked for comment by Bloomberg, National Association of Broadcasters spokesman Dennis Wharton said "The notion that Apple or anyone else would block this type of information is something that we find fairly troubling." Again, the radios do not exist in iPhones and haven't for over a year now.
(Score: 3, Funny) by takyon on Sunday October 01 2017, @12:28AM (1 child)
I'll update my comment: "The FCC should just force all new smartphones to include FM/AM receiver functionality..."
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by anubi on Sunday October 01 2017, @06:38AM
Tachyon: I certainly agree.
When I was purchasing my first "smart" phone, one of the big selling points to me is the model I chose had both GPS and FM. The idea is I wanted to have ability to use the phone for things even if I was out of range. Say, out in the desert in the middle of nowhere, or that "big one" earthquake that Southern California has been expecting so long.
I do not believe for an instant that there is anything sacred about Southern California and Bad Things just can't happen here. It is my belief that should we face anything like Houston, New York, or Puerto Rico faced, we will have completely overloaded cellphone/internet, but the AM/FM/OTA TV are likely to remain functional.
The whole incentive behind my purchase is that in the event of being caught "with my pants down", I am likely to have my wallet, car keys, cellphone, glasses, and wallet on me. The cellphone may be my only way to get info, but I can't expect the cell system not to overload, nor the servers, and I thoroughly expect priority service to go to first-line emergency responders.
I was really pissed to find out my phone apparently has to connect through the internet to some server somewhere to get the "local stations" for me. Geez, can't I even be trusted with a tuning dial these days without someone "working with" the manufacturer to make sure they get into the loop?
I bought a modern TecSun shortwave radio a couple of years ago. It has no trouble at all finding stations. It scans till it finds one, locks onto it until I press one of its buttons to tell it to find me another. Would that have been so hard to implement on a phone?
Can anyone recommend some good Aptoide apps that manage FM radio and GPS chips without having to "phone home"?
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]