Ibiquity Selling Private Label HD Radios

Apparently sick and tired of HD Radio not getting enough shelf space at Best Buy and similar stores, iBqiuity has launched its own brand, Sparc. These HD Radios are available exclusively online.

While you have to admire their spirit (or maybe desperation), judging from the offerings, the company is missing the point. The radios being offered are just that--radios. No iPod connectivity, no internet access, no extras of any kind (well, maybe a clock). I can't imagine many people jumping online to buy just radios--even if they are digital.

http://www.radioworld.com/article/ibiquity-launches-private-label-hd-radio-tuner-line/274644

http://www.sparcradio.com/

I read that the other day also, how desperate is ibiquity? It amazing how long they have stayed open beyond the time most companies would have shuttered their doors and declared bankruptcy, kind of makes you wonder.

Just more proof that nobody knows or cares what "HD Radio" is.

JoshTheRadioDude said:

Just more proof that nobody knows or cares what "HD Radio" is.

Click to expand...

I'm sure if the Sparc Radio brand is a success, iBiquity will be crowing about. If not, then they probably won't release any sales figures or page hit data. Just for laughs, I clicked on the "Buy" button for one of their radios. This took me to an Amazon page that said they only had two in stock and one negative review from an buyer who returned it. Not a great beginning.

http://www.amazon.com/SPARC-SHD-BT1...e=UTF8&qid=1424463813&sr=8-1&keywords=shd-bt1

You really have to just laugh when you see lines like "Reinforced wood cabinet for great quality sound." After seeing that, ordinarily I would have asked "do they really think we're that stupid?," but unfortunately we already know the answer. The history of iBiquity is rife with examples of marketing-by-insulting-the-public.

Meanwhile, at CES, the Consumer Electronics Association continues to state its support of HD Radio. They can't understand why it isn't more popular.

The model linked from Amazon looks like a decent radio, for what it is. Has bluetooth capability, and AUX IN.

Some of the other models available from the Sparc website look interesting.

People still buy clock radios, and bluetooth capable ones. Three of the models have AUX IN, which is always good for those who want to play sound files or streaming off their devices.

At least they're trying to get some IBOC HD radios out there in the marketplace. I'll give them credit for that.

Carmine5 said:

This took me to an Amazon page that said they only had two in stock[...]

Click to expand...

Kinda makes you wonder how many were in the initial batch. Five?

The problem with this plan has nothing to do with HD radio. The problem is that few (other than a tiny handful of hobbyists) consumers actively go out to purchase any radios of any sort. Everything now is expected to be on a phone.

Kelly A said:

The problem with this plan has nothing to do with HD radio. The problem is that few (other than a tiny handful of hobbyists) consumers actively go out to purchase any radios of any sort. Everything now is expected to be on a phone.

Click to expand...

Agreed...which is why no one buys the tabletop internet receivers either. No one buys satellite radio receivers either. No one is buying AM/FM radios either. When you look at the bigger picture, it has nothing to do with HD Radio. The goal HAS to be to have your content on devices that people are buying, and that device is not a radio.

Well heck, I just bought another HD radio. But only because I had a gift certificate to Best Buy that was about to expire and I didn't feel like using it to buy overpriced cables. So I now have three Insignia HD portables, d'oh. This latest model is the first one that 'just works' like it should. The HD decodes fast, the RDS works a treat and it is nice and responsive. Unfortunately there's jack squat to listen to on local radio, digital or not. It'll come in handy if I ever get to travel again, assuming it doesn't die in six months like some of the reviews claimed.

I have to agree with Big A's sentiment, though. Radios are only being bought because they are a part of something more desirable. No one buys a radio anymore just because it's an AM/FM radio. Sparc will do nothing to change that attitude.

tomservo said:

No one buys a radio anymore just because it's an AM/FM radio. Sparc will do nothing to change that attitude.

Click to expand...

We an all learn from Steve Jobs. The thing that made his computers and other devices more desirable was when he built an eco-system with music and music devices. If iBiquity wants to sell HD Radios, they need to learn from that.

I would take that one step further, and say if a company like Ibquity wants to reach a generation of consumers for a product, they would be wise to consult with the consumers you're trying to reach/sell-to; Millennials.

I heard an interesting piece from NPR this morning where they took 20 Millennial males plus females and actually asked them what ads or types of advertising reached them. One of the males replied with: (paraphrasing) Entertain me, tell me how this will benefit me, then leave me alone. The folks currently running Ibquity are not in the Millennial age bracket and aren't equipped to relate or reach consumers 35 and under.

I was impressed by the price point.

http://www.sparcradio.com/index.php/sparc-products

Still, if reception isn't good, they will get returned as "defective". I am NOT convinced iBiquity's engineers know their stuff. I will wait for a few more reviews before ordering.

I have to say yes and no to the idea that "HD Radio" isn't part of the problem with this plan. While they are ignoring consumer demands, they're also relying on their brand as a selling point, which it isn't in any way, shape or form. iNiquity has been trying to foist this technology off on the public for the better part of a decade now, and absolutely nobody -- save for hobbyists and the morbidly curious -- has accepted it. Not even in cars, radio's last "captive audience" before Bluetooth technology advanced enough to destroy that advantage. You know what people listen to in cars when they're not listening to their own music from their phone? Maybe one or two FM stations, and the rest satellite. Not "HD Radio." So their plans to inundate the public through their car radios have failed, too. Phones aren't going to be much better, especially when you factor in the reality that the consumers have overwhelmingly rejected FM radio on their phones longer than "HD Radio" has been around... a fact that isn't going to change anytime soon.

Bottom line is, this is just another bungle from a company with a technology that was outdated and useless from the very beginning. As was stated earlier in this thread, any other company would have given up by now. Only the hardcore zealots in this industry are keeping it going. Unfortunately, those hardcore zealots are the only ones left running the industry (what's left of it, anyway).

My only HD radio is a Pioneer 33....It has WMA/MP3/CD player, USB jack, AUX input and HD...only thing missing? CQUAM...(oh yeah it can control the Sirius module in my Escape from what I have read...there is an interface cable for it to use the sat radio and allow the steering wheel controls to still work...had to spend more on the cable and new center piece for the Escape dash than I did on the radio!)

Why would I buy a cheap piece of crap radio only from Sparc??

JoshTheRadioDude said:

iNiquity

Click to expand...

I love it! As in "den of iniquity"

I guess I am in the category of mindless HD zealots - but only as somebody served by formats on HD-2's. If those HD-2's go away, I won't care about HD radio any more.

HD-2 is the ONLY advantage for most consumers. And radio stations have not been taking it seriously. HD-2 outages lasting for days or weeks. Bad idea - if the selling point is "the stations between the stations". What stations between the stations. I got told somewhere that HD-2 is "just a feature" of HD radios. I guess they are backing away from HD-2 as separate and distinct stations. Bad move.

rbrucecarter5 said:

I guess I am in the category of mindless HD zealots - but only as somebody served by formats on HD-2's. If those HD-2's go away, I won't care about HD radio any more.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that makes you a zealot... you'd more likely fall into that "morbidly curious" category. You likely sought out a compatible tuner or had one at your disposal through the purchase of another item (a car or the rare desirable audio system with the technology included), found some subchannels that you enjoyed and got hooked. But you're one of a select few. The average listener, if they even bother to figure out that "HD Radio" has that capability, thinks to themselves "I don't like what's on the radio to begin with, so why would I want more of it?" Not to mention the fact that, as you say, the subchannels are nothing more than afterthoughts to broadcasters, and iNiquity themselves don't seem at all inclined to make tuning those subchannels in any easier (most radios require you to tune to the main channel first, then select the subchannel, which is ridiculous). It could be a selling point, but like everything else with the technology, it was too late, it doesn't work as well as it should, and the public is indifferent to it if they even know about it at all. Even if they were to make a push in the right direction at this point, it wouldn't save the franchise.

TheBigA said:

Meanwhile, at CES, the Consumer Electronics Association continues to state its support of HD Radio. They can't understand why it isn't more popular.

Click to expand...

After initially opposing IBOC, then ignoring it for a decade, they can afford to be magnanimous. Especially since NextRadio's now in the mix - iBiquity should be able to draft off that for quite a while.