Advice for device manufacturers for 2017

[PereDroid]

The FM radio in my HTC was an actual radio...it doesn't run over cellular.
It's not a distraction at all. Put one speaker in left ear, friends sit to your right. When someone leaves the game, you never know why, or if he's coming back. You do if you have access to a radio.


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[cr6]

Right on....that makes sense.
As for your smartphone, if it's not limited to running over your cellular connection than yeah, that would be a nice feature to have during emergencies.

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[redbert31]

Removable, user replaceable batteries.

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That's what I'd want!

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[redbert31]

Ditto on the speakers, sd card slot , and replaceable battery. The only thing I would add is a activated (shame on you verizon for de-activating fm mods) FM radio module as well as an AM radio module to be capable of receiving EBS broadcast in the case that data/phone networks are down during a national emergency.

I was working as a tech in DC on 9/11 and was attempting to communicate what was going on back to my supervisors.

I was on the ramp @ army navy drive getting on 395 after finishing a call at ATF when the plane hit the pentagon and turned around to go up to Arlington ridge road to see what was going on. Shortly after going up there is when the powers that be cut off the direct connect on everybodys nextel and the phone lines were jammed. The only way I knew what was going on was through the radio in my car.

I always wondered what would of happened if it had been one of those days that I took the subway instead and how would I get that info. That's where a working radio on your phone pays for itself.

I like that idea of the working radio...I always travel with a small radio if I go to a hotel or on a long distance trip. It would be convenient if it were a feature of the phone

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[cr6]

All of the hotels I go to have radios. Motel 6 is cool like that....they even leave the light on for you.
I kid of course....It would be a great feature but I don't see it returning. There are likely major FCC type hoops to be jumped through... hoops most manufacturers probably aren't willing to jump through.
I'm good with removable batteries & the continuation of external sd cards. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

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[PereDroid]

The FCC doesn't care. The carriers do ... They don't want you using an FM radio, that BTW, is ALREADY IN YOUR Phone. That doesn't use data....

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wi...dio-smartphone/amp/?client=ms-android-verizon

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[mountainbikermark]

The FCC doesn't care. The carriers do ... They don't want you using an FM radio, that BTW, is ALREADY IN YOUR Phone. That doesn't use data....

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wi...dio-smartphone/amp/?client=ms-android-verizon

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That's the key. It wouldn't be a new thing that anything needed to be added to or any of that jazz, just a few kilobytes of code that blocks it from working be removed. There was, and still is, a petition to ask the federal government to tell carriers to unlock the radio ( http://activatefmchip.com/ ) but the Benjamins being paid to those that could do it by those who don't want it done are greater than the number of signatures on the petition. I've gotten emails from all my federal representatives stating they're aware of the petition but don't currently support it as, in their words, it's not needed. Their excuse is there's enough wireless data coverage to cover any national emergency that might arise (aka they're getting paid). Anyway I whipped out my removable battery tin foil hat before the Note7 fiasco and I'm not taking it off for fm radios until they're unblocked.
Edit; got confirmation that the fm chip IS UNLOCKED on the Verizon S7 and S7 Edge. Forum member Efin installed Nextradio app (uses fm tuner and not streaming) and it's working as advertised.

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[cr6]

That's the key. It wouldn't be a new thing that anything needed to be added to or any of that jazz, just a few kilobytes of code that blocks it from working be removed. There was, and still is, a petition to ask the federal government to tell carriers to unlock the radio ( http://activatefmchip.com/ ) but the Benjamins being paid to those that could do it by those who don't want it done are greater than the number of signatures on the petition. I've gotten emails from all my federal representatives stating they're aware of the petition but don't currently support it as, in their words, it's not needed. Their excuse is there's enough wireless data coverage to cover any national emergency that might arise (aka they're getting paid). Anyway I whipped out my removable battery tin foil hat before the Note7 fiasco and I'm not taking it off for fm radios until they're unblocked.
Edit; got confirmation that the fm chip IS UNLOCKED on the Verizon S7 and S7 Edge. Forum member Efin installed Nextradio app (uses fm tuner and not streaming) and it's working as advertised.

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I didn't click on the link to see what year this one was released, but I recall signing one about 4 years ago. I also filled out a form that was emailed to my senator. I got a reply back from him, which i didn't expect. Know that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I saved it to the HD on my PC. I'll have to see if I can find it tomorrow and post it here. I do recall it being a pretty generic response.

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[PereDroid]

I'm sure it's the same.
This is the app you can install to see if your FM chip is enabled.

NextRadio Free Live FM Radio - Android Apps on Google Play

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[redbert31]

I looked up the moto z force and it's not enabled for FM radio so far as I could tell.

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[mountainbikermark]

I didn't click on the link to see what year this one was released, but I recall signing one about 4 years ago. I also filled out a form that was emailed to my senator. I got a reply back from him, which i didn't expect. Know that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I saved it to the HD on my PC. I'll have to see if I can find it tomorrow and post it here. I do recall it being a pretty generic response.

S5 tap'n

I did it this year and last year. According to AT&T they were going to unlock it for all phones this year but only did for some so I'll be sending stuff to my reps again (via the link) next year as well .

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[TisMyDroid]

Thanks PereDroid! I would love to have fm radio working on my Note 5. Guess I'll be pressuring Verizon to unlock mine also.

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[redbert31]

Thanks PereDroid! I would love to have fm radio working on my Note 5. Guess I'll be pressuring Verizon to unlock mine also.

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Me too Tis.. Y'all have a great day.. We got a little snow, but not enough for me to try my snowshoes yet. Santa's getting some for my 5 year old grandson, so I gotta teach him how... Have a great day everyone

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