NOTE: As technology advances and matures G-town Radio is always looking at how it can help make listening to and interacting with internet radio easier for you.  The following post talks about some exciting new advances and G-town Radio's goal to share them with you.  Read on.

The iPod killer is here and it might already be in your pocket.  The iPod just turned 5 years old and it dominates the world of portable mp3 players.  It's likely no company or product will supplant it from its dominant perch.  The question is, "Has the stand alone MP3 player run its course?".  Your cellular provider thinks so and is working hard to convince you.

(Read the rest after the jump.)

We were at a wedding two weeks ago and the people on either side of us were showing off the features on their cell phones.  Web access, games and GPS were all pretty amazing but what really got us stoked was they could listen to internet radio right on their phone.  The biggest drawback to internet radio has always been the immobility of the medium.  You had to sit in front of your computer (or run wires to a stereo) to tune in.  Far from ideal for car trips or even yard work.

What was so great about the iPod was that you could literally carry around your entire music collection in your pocket; free to listen to your favorite music at any moment.  It was easy, it was fun, it was revolutionary.  What people are starting to realize now is that even the coolest music collection can become dated or boring over time and repeated listens.  Now, imagine being able to just as easily hear new music being programmed by thousands of people all over the world.  These options exist outside the lonely walls of your iPod right now in the world of internet radio.  As you can imagine, G-town Radio is excited about these advances.  As cities go wireless and phones become multi-media receivers internet radio has the chance to become as ubiquitous as its terrestrial cousin. 

It seems the vast majority of iPod users, satellite radio subscribers and internet radio listeners agree on one thing, FM radio sucks.  It is an amazingly powerful medium that has been gutted of localism, variety and quality programming in the name of corporate profit.  Commercial FM radio seems to have long abandoned its listeners before they abandoned it.  It was announced last week that the largest radio station owner in the country, Clear Channel, is exploring the possibility of selling off their radio stations.  The money that used to be there isn't anymore.  As the biggest radio owner Clear Channel set the tone for what radio became in the last ten years.  They killed what remaining soul the medium still had with smaller playlists, more commercials, automated dj's and bullying attitudes toward struggling artists.

The spirit of radio still exists and you can find it online.  Now, internet radio is going mobile.  You can carry it around with you today.  In order to stay on top of these advances G-town Radio will be expanding the scope of its Radio Activity section to cover wireless and mobile data news that impacts how you experience internet radio.  We will continue to follow the Wireless Philadelphia story as well as the Low Power FM movement because these all are vital elements in giving back the airwaves to people and communities.  Four new links have been added to the Radio Activity page covering the latest news on mobile media and LPFM.  Be sure to read them all and check back regularly for more updates.