Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

So it's been recently bothering me, that i have yet to come across some hardcore evidence of FM radio capability on the Touch Pro2. I've seen the FM Radio listed as something the chipset had as well, besides the other usual stuff (Wifi, Bluetooth)

So for those of you who have a Touch Pro2 Now, (Telus folk?) anyone really, is the FM Radio locked out like its TP1 Brethren, or is it finally open for all of us to bask in its eternal RDS Capable glory?

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVh3F7_nrZA

Hmmmm. so i guess it well have it? but who knows, maybe sprint may pull the plug and decide to block it

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

So far, the GSM guys have installed the FM Radio cab and have it working. No one on Telus has been able to get it to work.

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

x2

not working on mine either...

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

ugh you've got to be kidding me, i wonder if this is a continuing fad that CDMA phones cant have FM Radio. i wonder if the FCC have something to do with this.

All joking aside, that's disappointing for the Telus folk. Heres to hoping FM radio unlock with radio firmware updates, or some genius like no2chem to figure this out.

To bad there are no datasheets on the MSM7600, otherwise he would be on this in an instant.

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

I use Spb Radio, the best part is you don't need the headphones. You can also listing to any radio staton not just the local ones, as long you know their URL

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

CDMA CAN have FM Radios. The Touch Diamond has use of it's FM radio.

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

Anything news on this?

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

I also hate when people post this. 1. Not every station has an internet feed. 2. Not everyone has contiguous 3G coverage. 3. My battery can't even make it a full day as it is, a continuous data session would just further this problem.

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

Agreed. FM Radio is desirable in many cases over Internet radio, especially since it is usable where 3G coverage is non-existent, and it uses FAR less battery power!

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

Ok, I'm in between here.

Yes, internet streaming radio is great. And now that football season is gearing up, guess what? Sometimes the radio station's internet feed DOES NOT CARRY the game you could hear with FM radio! I'm sure this has to do with the money paid to the league and/or the team owners for 'Multimedia' rights and whatnot. This is not true across the board, but it's true with the Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys (no haters, plz!).

The other thing is that using Spb Radio requires the URL of the station feed. Fine. If you can find it. Or if you can save it between flashes. I've used GSPlayer and a good search site ( http://www.thestreamcenter.com/pda ) to find stations across the planet, which allows me to click on the link, launching Windows Media Player automatically, or saving the .pls file locally so that GSPlayer can launch.

Now, back to FM radio... The circuitry allowing this to work exists in the bluetooth chip, at least for my Diamond. Figure out which chipset is in the TP2 and you're 50% of the way to answering the OP's question. The other aspect is the Hard-SPL unlocker being worked by cmonex, et. al. If they can unlock the CDMA TP2, they can probably unlock the FM radio, and much happiness will ensue, with custom ROMs and kitchens waiting in the wings.

One last thing: FM radio has problems with reception, even when your headphones are plugged in. It's annoying to get earfuls of static when you move around and are otherwise not optimally positioned for local FM radio. That's another good reason to stick with intenet streams.

Just my thoughts, and just my $.02 so flame away, or share your ideas guys.

EDIT: For those firmly in the FM radio camp, you must check out this app over at xda-devs. I've been running it for a few weeks now and it's very slick. Do yourself a favor and click over --> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=531600

Cheerio

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

SPB Radio is pretty useless in Telus coverage area (Canada). I have yet to locate a Canadian station during my trial period, and thus won't be purchasing that application. Also, Canadian ISPs (like Telus) are rather unfriendly toward continuous streaming applications over their networks.

For some reason most of the Toronto stations are making you stream them via some web page applet garbage, and makes locating the URLs very painful.

Right now my solution to music is a 16GB MicroSD and syncing podcasts via WiFi. FM Radio would be a great add on to the device.

Kinda sad when I can go pick up a similar FM Radio device at the dollar store with a pack of batteries, but the powers that be feel this functionality should be removed from the phones (hardware, software, who knows?).

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

Do these help?

http://web.archive.org/web/200710252...00_chipset.pdf

http://web.archive.org/web/200710240...msm7600_cs.pdf

The second in particular should give away whether or not there is an FM radio. However, those diagrams are for the 7600, not the 7600A, but they should still be relevant because AFAIK the only difference is the A revision is 65nm and clocked at 528Mhz instead of 400Mhz.

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

Yeah still no go on Telus and the FM Radio on the TP2. I tried all the versions out there and none work. I use SPB radio and have had to do some research to the station URLs... it was a big pain in the butt but I got some stations I like. Regardless - SPB Radio is an option not saying its the best way and I don't blame someone for pointing it out. Hopefully when the Sprint and Verizon communities start getting their TP2s the demand will increase and a fix will be made for the radio to work... if not... oh well! This phone is so kick *** a lil radio issue is not going to spoil my party.

Re: Touch Pro 2 FM Radio Questions/Answers
 

This is good stuff, but we're still looking for the Bluetooth chip installed on the CDMA TP2. Anybody care to teardown their brand new CDMA TP2 in the name of discovery? BidDiesel did it here with a CDMA Touch Diamond. Sadly, the pics do not get close enough to read the TI chip, which we believe does the FM radio work.

But!!! Another website lists a bill of materials for the GSM TP1 here. Note that they specifiy the Texas Instruments BRF6350BL bluetooth chip, which is said to support FM radio with RDS. The logical conclusion is that the CDMA Diamond has the same chip, but the CDMA TP1 does not.

Everyone with me?

Now, the Sony/Ericsson XPERIA X1(GSM only) is listed with the same bluetooth chip, the Texas Instruments BRF6350BL, and many reviewers are saying FM radio works great: here, and here.

Bottom line, unless we can get a teardown, or a set of detailed chip-level specs, we won't know if the CDMA TP2 has built-in FM radio support. Furthermore until cmonex, et. al. can Hard-SPL unlock the CDMA TP2, we won't have it anyways.

Stay tuned, I think we'll see answers to all our FM radio questions soon.

Cheerio!

What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

HTC Technical Support
www.htc.com
Customer Information
Name oneders65
Telephone
Email Address gumby1ders@yahoo.com
Country United States
Inquiry Information
Inquiry Type Technical Support

Inquiry Description Is the FM Radio Disabled on the Touch Pro 2 for Verizon? If it is why are you crippling the phone? I like to use the phone to its fullest potential and get aggrivated that there is a feature that is locked out! :protest:
Issue Date & Time
2009/09/16 06:32


New Response From [ Philip (North America Support (Tech)) ]
Hello oneders65,

I understand how important it is to be able to best utilize your device. The FM radio being disabled is not a choice that was made by HTC; each carrier makes their own specifications for their devices. In this case, Verizon requested that the FM radio not be available on their version of the Touch Pro2. It is possible that they have their own radio software; it is possible that it is something they will make available in a future update. However, there is unfortunately nothing that HTC Technical Support can do to unlock this feature, as we cannot go against the wishes of the carrier who purchased the device from us. For more information and possible ways around this, you may wish to visit our user forum at www.htcwiki.com.

If you have any other questions, feel free to contact us again. You can find additional support at our user forum www.htcwiki.com. There is also a customer satisfaction survey for you to take if you are interested.

Philip ](*,)

-----Original Message-----

From: gumby1ders@yahoo.com

Sent: Tue Sep 15 09:25:32 EDT 2009

To: vzwprepay@verizonwireless.com

Cc:

Subject: Phones Currently Offered



Form Message

MAIL_ADDRESS: gumby1ders@yahoo.com

Market ID: Central Texas

Zip Code: 79072

Full Name: oneders65

Email Address: gumby1ders@yahoo.com

Primary Subject: Phones and Accessories

Secondary Subject: Phones Currently Offered

Message Body: Why is the FM Radio disabled on the Touch Pro 2? Locking out features gives us a reason to go to the other networks. I'm up for renewal but am going to hold off. If the other carriers offer the same phone without functions disabled why not go to the competition??????? :protest:


Dear oneders65,



My name is Harlan, I will be more than happy to assist you with your inquiry about FM Radio.



I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the fact that FM Radio can not be accessed on the Touch Pro 2. Decisions on what applications and functions will be available on our phones are made by our Marketing Department, and can not be overridden. There are no current plans to offer FM Radio on this device in the future.



Although the feature you would like is not available on the Touch Pro 2 at this time, I invite you to view our current phone selection as a possible alternative. To view available equipment, please click on the following link, which will direct you to the "Products" page of our website:



www.verizonwireless.com/products



You may also receive free e-mail updates as to when new products and services are available. To receive your free e-mail update, please click on the following link to view the "E-mail Updates" page of our website:



Be the First to Know



There are several wireless phones being tested for functionality and reliability with our network. Verizon Wireless will not offer a product or service unless it meets the high standards our customers have come to expect. Verizon Wireless is constantly improving the services, features, and wireless phones we offer to our customers for their communication needs.



We appreciate your business and thank you for using Verizon Wireless. It was a pleasure to assist you today. ](*,)



Sincerely,



Harlan

Verizon Wireless



If you have received this e-mail in error or are not the intended recipient, please notify us immediately by replying to this e-mail and deleting it and all copies and backups thereof. If you are the intended recipient and are a Verizon Wireless customer, this response is subject to the terms of your Customer Agreement.](*,)

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

Wow, the marketing people get to decide how we use our phones...

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

Now all we need to understand why marketing people wanted a feature that won't cut into their profit to be removed from a device... Better not be something stupid like their music store

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

VNZ can still access FM radio , right? It's really bad marketing if they still can...

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

should be no surprised, i mean you guys never bought another crippled vzw phone?

not bashing, just stating this is nothing new to verizion.

wait until someone hacks it.. it works on the Sprint TP2 ;)

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

Sprint's is crippled in the same fashion. I have no FM radio, just a link to Sprint's music store. How are you able to get FM Radio on your Sprint TP2 ?

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

Sprint doesn't have it either, so I don't know why Sebo would say such a thing.

On a side note, I've been using WunderRadio & love it. It's not free, and it requires a data connection, but it's still worth checking out: http://www.wunderradio.com/

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

Meh, have you listened to Dallas metro area Urban radio? It sucks. LOL. No big loss. I believe this was also an issue with the TP so it's no surprise the the TP2 is also disabled.

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

Bummer, I actually looked forward to having the FM feature on my VZ TP2. I take a bus to/from work each day and have been carrying a cell phone and MP3/FM radio all the time. Had been hoping that this phone would let me just carry 1 device.

I guess I would still be able to at least get my Sirius/XM radio if I wanted?

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

sprint fanboys make baby jesus cry =(
sprint fanboyism aside
you shouldn't try to misinform members on the forum. Sprint has no FM radio just like vzw...

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

How is the Sprint TP2 superior to the Verizon TP2 - if anything Verizon wins because its sexier!! Remember, were not talking about the original Touch Pro here....this is the TP2 forum.

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

Huh? They're essentially identical, except for color. Talk about homerism at it's finest.

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

Why is it that every goram thread here turns into "My carrier is better than your carrier", even over something stupid like the design of the battery cover.

So, the question at hand is............Does anyone have a hack available to activate the radio ?

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

No, and if you search the forum you'll find plenty of discussion about this.

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

apperantly Sebo does because he said his worked......maybe he'll chime back in. I said what I said because I'm sick of some of the Sprint users knocking Verizon constantly...TP days are over, thats all I'm sayin

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

So as I understand it, the VZW TP2 still has the chip, but it's simply not enabled?

That's good news if anything, that just means someone will find a way to enable it.

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

After we get SPL unlocker , we will have our FM radios working.

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

That's what HTC's response sounds like. And if that's the case, it's only a matter of time before someone finds a way to make it work.

Justin

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

I believe the FM radio function is provided by the Bluetooth chip use in the phone.

From what I read HTC used two different Bluetooth chips, Motorola & Broadcom and the CDMA TP2 gets the Broadcom chip and that has no FM radio

The Motorola chip has the FM radio (I have FM radio in my Motorola bluetooth headset) but the limited MS Bluetooth profile stack

The Broadcom chip has the full Bluetooth profile stack but no FM radio, however you can do just about any Bluetooth profile

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

It may be a price point issue. The price on the Verizon TP2 is quite competitive. It also comes with no case or screen protector for those that don't know. It also doesn't have the front facing camera of the Euro GSM version. None of the aforementioned downsides dissuaded me from buying the phone. The headphone jack is worth the trade offs for this version alone.

It may also be a space/packaging/reception issue. This phone has both a GSM and a CDMA radio, and the headphone jack. I would think this adds some EMI issuses, bulk issues, etc. May be why it doesn't have the front facing camera too.

I'm just saying that I don't think Verizon would really want to cripple the phone without reason, and the fact that all current CDMA released versions of this phone AFAIK have no radio or front camera, make me think it's likely the second stated reasons: that other hardware changes prevent these feature from being (easily) incorporated.

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

Euro TP2's also have the Widcomm stack according to discussions on XDA-devs. Personally I find the Widcomm stack more limited than the MS stack as it lacks profiles and doesn't seem to want to work right with a variety of software such as MSVC, VVM, or even the phone software (good luck getting the headset buttons to work while in a call).

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

I'm not sure it's sexier, but it is $200 cheaper than the Sprint version & that's certainly a point in Verizon's favor....

~John

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

Here is a cab from xda that is supposed to add the fm radio function back into the tp2. This is one specifically for english speaking countries and is reported to be working on at least a couple of different carriers in the USA and Canada. I have not installed it so use at your own risk.

R

Attachment 42923

If it works, please hit the thanks button!

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

Has anyone tried this? Do you have the link from XDA? A little scarred to try it. :)

Re: What HTC and Verizon say about the FM Radio
 

I tried it and it does not work on the Verizon versions.