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Coastal Empire & Lowcountry
Listen on your Cellphone!
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High-quality
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  Be sure to charge your BlackBerry while listening! Batteries can be depleted pretty quickly while listening to Internet radio.    FM modulators, cassette adapters, and audio cables are great accessories for listening in the car! |
With
a properly-equipped cellphone, you can listen on-the-go, whether on
foot, on a bicycle, or even in a car! You need a smartphone, a 3G (or better) internet-capable phone with an unlimited data plan. Most data plans are unlimited, but check with your carrier to make sure. You also need to choose a phone with multimedia capabilities, i.e., that can play music and/or videos. But beware - just because a phone can stream some carrier-provided music services does not mean that it can stream internet radio stations, as the technologies involved are not identical. Also, a phone may stream while you're in the store, then perform very poorly while you are in a moving vehicle, so bear this in mind. You'll also need car charger for your phone, as use of internet-based services on cellular devices will rapidly deplete the battery. A charging cable will allow the cellular device to draw power from the vehicle's electrical system, which is not so easily depleted. There are also accessories which allow your phone's audio to play through the vehicular stereo system, much the same as those used for portable MP3 players. See below for additional information. We are currently evaluating cellphone capabilities, and our findings will be posted here. In order to make this list, a phone must be able to perform well inside a moving vehicle, meaning that playback must not stop more than once within a one-hour period of continuous travel. Click here for tips for the safe use of cellular devices as radio receivers inside moving vehicles. So far, we've tested and had success*, with the following units (click the links for more info - seriously. Click 'em):
If a phone isn't listed above, we either haven't tested it yet, or it didn't make the cut. You'll want to ensure that your cellular device will support an ordinary pair of stereo headphones using a 1/8" (3.5 mm) headset jack. This doesn't mean that you have to wear headphones to listen in your car - you just have to have the jack that supports it. Some phones, like the BlackBerry Storm, are equipped with just this jack. Other phones use a 2.5 mm headset jack, which will require an adaptor. Some phones have a proprietary connector, but these usually come with a short adaptor cable to support a headphone jack. Now, onto the car stereo. Listening to internet radio on a cellphone won't sound so good unless you either wear headphones of some sort, or transfer the audio into the vehicle's car stereo system using any of a variety of accessories made for this purpose, all of which are readily available at any electronics reseller, such as Best Buy or Radio Shack, or any of the many fine, local businesses which cater to your audio needs. There are 3 ways to get sound from an external device into a car stereo system. Some car stereos have a 1/8" phone jack for an 'auxilliary input', which is a perfect situation. For these you'll just need a cable with a 1/8" phone plug (male) on either end, connecting one end to the headphone jack on the phone, and the other to the jack on the stereo. Select the auxilliary input on the car stereo, start playback on the phone, and off you go. Some are not so lucky as to have one of these jacks on their car stereos, but there are other methods to make the connection. If your car stereo has a cassette deck, then you can get a special cassette adaptor - a cassette with a wire attached, usually 3' or 4' long, with a 1/8" phone plug on the end, which you can plug into your phone, then just pop-in the cassette. If your car doesn't have a cassette deck or 1/8" phone jack, then you can get a low-power FM radio transmitter. These consist, usually, of a cigarette lighter adaptor for power, then a little modulator box, and 3' or 4' cable with a 1/8" phone plug. With these devices, you have to find an unused FM frequency on your car radio, then choose that frequency on the modulator. Some modulators will find the frequency for you, then you just tune the car radio to that frequency. Cellular devices can pose a personal safety hazard when used inside a moving vehicle, particularly when there are charging cables and audio cables connected to them. If you're listening to internet radio on your cellphone in your car, and you intend to answer the phone if it rings, then be sure and pop the attached cables loose before holding the phone to your ear, this to prevent any entanglement of these cables in the steering wheel while driving. Also, bear in mind that talking on cellphones, in many areas, is illegal. Safe operation of a motor vehicle trumps all other issues! *This document represents our collective experience with the cellphones listed. Your experience may differ, and Savannah Radio Online offers no guarantees whatsoever regarding the information cantained herein, nor to performance expectations of any cellular devices, carriers, or wireless accessories. In addition, use of wireless devices inside a moving vehicle may pose a safety hazard if used in a manner not consistent with reasonable, safe-driving practices, and Savannah Radio Online shall be held harmless and bear no responsibility for persons using our services in an unsafe manner. |
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