Now that I have streaming internet radio in the car
How did you get that?
I use a Palm Treo 700P with a Seidio Treo phone cradle. The cradle provides power for charging the battery plus has a stereo audio output which I connect to my car stereo system using one of those cassette adapters. Streaming radio stations use different audio bitrates and the ones with higher bitrates sound outstanding coming through the system. Unlike FM, which constantly fades in and out here in North San Diego County, the Internet audio (which comes through Sprint's network) is rock steady. The only thing I missed about leaving Kansas City was the blues and rockabilly programs on KKFI, and now I listen to those in the car, plus jazz, comedy and potentially hundreds of other stations. I do have one of those handheld XM radios and one day while my son was with me he listened to Radio Disney on that while I listened to a Korean-based rockabilly station via the Treo (the handheld satellite radios are very, very touchy though about antenna position and of course don't have as many stations options as streaming Internet radio). While providing music, my Treo was also providing spoken GPS directions: the GPS software is on the Treo, but the satellite receiver is a tiny unit clipped to the sunvisor and it communicates with the Treo via Bluetooth. It kind of blew my mind to think that at that moment in the car we were using the services of two satellite system (XM's and the multiple satellite GPS system) plus the Sprint wireless network, plus Bluetooth radio.
It kind of makes plain old AM and FM radio look so antiquated: they may be able to do "HD radio" but they still can't stop the signal from fading out when you go behind a hill. I had not been a fan of satellite radio but my wife surprised me with the little XM unit (apparently figuring I don't own enough gadgets) and since she has XM in her Honda Pilot it costs less than $7 a month for the XM service for my unit. I do use it, but honestly it's not something I'd recommend. The Treo though - that's a different story. This is my second Treo: i bought the 700P to take advantage of Sprint's highest speed data service (the older Treo 650P had a lower data speed). I pay about $29 for unlimited high speed data service which includes streaming audio, internet browsing, email, using the Treo as a DSL-speed modem for my Powerbook, etc.
