The Future of Car Radio (2nd Update)

My suggestion is to give listeners free individually tailored radio, paid for via advertising.  No longer should one have to change the station if they aren’t getting the radio they specifically want, just to change the station for another station that wasn’t what they specifically wanted either.

The future of radio in cars will be when listeners are allowed to create mixes especially tailed to their taste.  One would be able to say to a voice detection instrument in a car computer radio things like, “That song is good,” “That song is not good,” “I like that artist,” “I like that song, but I am tired of it,” or say “Give me the news headlines at the top of the hour.”  The news comes in many flavors, so one's favorite(s) news company such as FOX, BBC, or NPR could give top of the hour news updates.  News could also be made to interrupt music given the finding of certain alerts.  For example, new news could interrupt your radio with "terrorism" updates, and/or elections updates.  The possibilities are essentially unlimited.  Eventually through artificial intelligence a radio transmission broadcasting unit would play exactly the user’s preferences [or users’ preferences].

Of course there could be preset stations, as is the case already, but for those who desire more; there would be user defined stations, or mixes of different styles from various stations – everything voice activated unless otherwise user specified [What if people are talking in the car?].

Both Sirius XM satellite radio and Pandora don’t maximize their user’s experience.  These businesses are now primitive when we think of what can be done with radio technology.  They do not maximize our radio experience to what I would call ideal.  They are improvements over regular FM reception in car or at home radios.

We are all unique people and many of us have unique tastes.  That is something internet radio stations have capitalized on.  I like internet radio, specifically Pandora, and yet even Pandora is limited.  For example, at this time, none can select to listen to the news on Pandora.  In cars, many of us like to listen to spoken word programs.

How to Get the Best Prices: Use Gmail

What it comes down to is this:  When we go shopping we need to keep track of prices.  Though prices seem to be ever changing, my experience is that if I keep track of store prices, usually I can get the best prices by shopping around at a few different stores.

If you have difficulty remember all the prices of stuff at stores, then you are not alone.  Few people can do it.  However, most of us have portable cell phones with internet capability.  So here is the secret: Don’t rely on a paid 3^rd party.  Instead, sign up for a free Gmail.com account.  If you have a Gmail account, you can count on this fact.  Google free mobile site, m.gmail.com will allow you access to your Gmail account even if you have the simplest of cell phones.

So if you want the best prices, take the following steps to getting the best value.

1.       Get a cell phone.  My cell phone is from AT(and)T.  It is an older model (in case you are interested, it is the first phone I reviewed at my Amazon.com account).

2.       Buy a data package for your cell phone.  For my cell phone $5 a month buys me more than enough power for me to use a Gmail practically all day long every day.

3.       Sign up for a free Gmail.com account.

4.       When you see an item you want, send yourself an email from your own account of that items price.  For example, if coffee is $4 a pound at the Christmas Tree Shop, send yourself the following email: “ChristmasTreeShop Coffee  $4 per pound.”  Then, when you are at Wal-Mart, or some other store, send yourself the following email: “WalMart Coffee $6 per pound.”

5.       Gmail lets you search all of your email.  I literally have thousands of emails that I can search.  So, after you have emailed yourself item prices, search your Gmail account.  For example, type: “Coffee” and the search engine for your Gmail account will turn up all the emails of prices you have sent yourself, such that you can make the most informed decision about your coffee purchase (or any other item).  For example, if CVS sells a multi-vitamin for a certain price.  Email yourself at Gmail: CVS multivitamin $20/100count.  Then, when you are at Ocean State Job Lot for example, and you see a multivitamin you like, email yourself, “JobLot multivitamin $15/100count.  Then, you can make price comparisons between various stores through inputting “Multivitamin,” in the search bar of your Google account.

6.       So, when you want to compare prices for coffee, open your Gmail account.  Search it for “Coffee” and all the emails that you have sent yourself relative to coffee prices will show up.  You will then be able to know which store is the best store to buy your coffee at.

7.       The next time you go shopping, before you go to the store, use your old emails using your Gmail account search feature so you can plot your shopping trip.  That is, make a list of where you might buy the item for the best value, the item you want to buy.

8.       Lastly, only send yourself new emails when the price changes.

It may take some work at first.  However, if you are willing to put in a little extra effort, you will be able to make your money stretch much further!