[BC] New HD Radio "walkman" is FM only

[Kevin Tekel]

Has AM IBOC finally been thrown under the bus?  Best Buy's long-hyped $49.99 portable battery-powered HD Radio "walkman" is FM-only.  It has no AM tuner at all, not even analog.  My guess is that's because there is no room left inside to fit a loopstick coil for AM, and if they did, the digital electronics would cause so much self-interference that AM reception would be useless.

Here is Best Buy's web page for it (mind the URL wrap):

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9375071&type=product&id=1218094581941

It is currently backordered, but you may be able to find it in some stores -- although even then I suggest you purchase it through the web site and just pick it up at the store, as the salesdroids probably won't know what it is or even that they are supposed to have it in stock.