Tune in: Six MP3 players with great FM radios

FM to the Internet: I ain't dead yet. The average person listens to 17 hours of terrestrial radio every week, and that's according to a Pandora executive.

Sure, you've loaded a fabulous collection of digital audio tracks onto your MP3 player, but what do you do when your tunes begin to sound just a bit too familiar? That's where an FM tuner comes in. In many places, FM radio still offers plenty of worthwhile content for your listening pleasure, and it can provide a refreshing break from your regular rotation. Plus, it's a great extra to have at the gym, allowing you to tune into the TVs and take your mind off that vigorous workout.

So, if you're not among the uberdiligent who always remember to sync up their players for fresh content, be sure to pick one with an FM tuner onboard. Unfortunately, although many players come with this nifty feature, not all of them deliver quite as advertised. In fact, we've come across a few that cut in and out even with strong signals.

But don't fret. There are several players available with decent FM tuners; in fact, I easily found six with great-sounding radios. Not only that, but each of the players here offers an autoscan function and at least 10 preset slots, so you won't have to fumble around finding your favorite stations. Moreover, several of them, such as the iPod Nano and Zune HD, offer RDS and song tagging.

Check out the radio-worthy MP3 players.

[Devhux]

You mention that all the 6 players have an autoscan button, but I don't believe the Zune does. Granted, by default the Zune is in Seek mode, which means finding stations easy on the dial (just tap the right side of the touch pad to go to the next station).

I definitely agree that the Zune does have a great FM tuner though -- probably the best I've heard in any MP3 player I've owned.

[iemolina]

It's funny that this is getting attention now that the ipod has FM radio.. Samsung MP3's have had it for a while.. including the DVR like feature, bluetooth, personal recorder.. etc...
I've had a samsung mp3 player that rivals most of the features that the new touch has.. with the exception of the camera.. And I bought this 2 years ago.. Great timing Apple..

[Jasmineflower]

We've been doing this same feature for about 4 years running now. It gets updated once or twice per year. It's not that the iPod got an FM tuner and we decided, "oh! Those are important now!" FM radio has always been a value-adding feature, and honestly, I think the only reason Apple finally threw one on there was to shut people up.

[iemolina]

I actually meant to say Ipod nano on my previous post.. not Ipod touch..

[make_or_break]

I wasn't as impressed by the 2nd gen S-series FM section; the stored presets are always arranged by the station frequency. There's no way to prioritize the preset order by any other criteria...like favorite or most listened-to station, for instance. Also there's no indicator for signal strength, and the partial 'reflection' of the station numbers in the display was more than a little irritating to my eyes. For that matter, the X-series FM function is even worse; at least with the S I can tune up and down the 'dial' incrementally and not always in station seek/scan mode.

I've always thought the earlier Zune tuners were among the best out there. I won't be able to try the Zune HD for at least a week or more when my unit finally arrives (I just HAD to have a green one), but my wife's customized iPod Nano arrives tomorrow, so I get to see what Apple's take on FM is all about.

[DarkHawke]

If this 17-hour-per-person stat is legit, then someone is listening to a WHOLE lot more than that to make up for me. Between podcasts, Pandora and my own music collection, who has time for regular radio? Or the patience to wait through seemingly unending commercial blocks?

[Rod Roddy]

It's funny, the Nano just got an FM Tuner, and it instantly made it to the "great" list :-| ...Good job CNET.