Digital radio will reinvent listening

Prepare to be "dabbed". The people behind digital audio broadcasting, or DAB, the technology that looks to turn the humble wireless into anything from the music hub of your life to an alternative internet and TV, have their sights on your wallet.

The advantages of digital radio are pretty clear: crystal-clear reception, no tuning and retuning as you move around, text and video services by radio, and more stations. As of the end of January, London now has the last of its three digital "multiplexes" (groups of stations) as well as the two national multiplexes (one BBC, one commercial). Nine new stations were unleashed, including AbracaDABra for young families, Purple Radio, the first dedicated gay station, and TAP, a station aimed at young Asians, with more to come. The London DAB listener now has around 45 stations to choose from.

As of the end of last month, too, while listeners to Radio Five Live had one Premiership soccer commentary, dabbers could get five different ones on the Sports Extra digital channel. And you still haven't caught up? Of course, you may have the excuse that you had no way of listening in. Since there were only 40,000 DAB receivers in the UK by the end of last year, you were not alone. But the radio industry predicts that that could go up to 200,000 this year, half a million by the end of next.

With the cheapest digital radio currently costing £299, this would seem optimistic. Especially since you can't yet have a DAB trannie - they need mains power. "By the summer, that will have changed," says Dave Hawkins, chief technologist at Roke Manor, a Siemens-funded research lab which has developed a low-power chip that makes cheap, portable machines feasible.

His shiny prototype baby (see main pic) sits snugly in the palm of his hand. "It is highly sensitive, it never loses its signal, and it currently lasts up to four hours. That will get better. This is going to revolutionise radio. Before long, there will be an electronic programme guide that will enable you to pick out a station and choose your listening for the week."

The first of the new machines will appear in the summer, courtesy of Goodmans, which has unveiled a clamshell little number for under £100. "The sky really is the limit," says Tony King-Smith of Panasonic, which has been busy on its own developments. "With data speeds of up to 200 kbps (around four times the speed of the funkiest new 3G mobile phones when they finally appear), you can get video, download music when you hear a track you like, as well as getting all the text news services. With memory cards and computer-style hard drives, you can have rewind radio, where you can store programmes you like, then call them back up later. We can build DAB into anything - phones, organisers ..." And with the help of phone operators, it becomes an interactive bonanza to rival the net: get a message that your favourite team has scored and you can order a video clip to watch on the radio.

But a couple of things have to happen first. As King-Smith says, "The broadcasters have to develop the services and make room to air them." The best you can see at the moment is with the endearing but flaky Psion Wavefinder which works with a computer, and the rather limited text services are currently unspectacular.

The bigger problem for Londoners is with the signal - although national commercial licensee DigitalOne claims 80 per cent coverage of the UK, and the Beeb is still around 65 per cent, there is a problem of interference caused by tall buildings in urban areas. They need to put more towers up to boost the signal. And we all know how popular they are.

More info at:

ukdigitalradio.com

bbc.co.uk/digital

HOW TO GO DIGITAL

The Pure DRX-601EX £500 (01923 260511; videologic.com ) is the first portable (though mains-only) DAB tuner.

VideoLogic's DRX-601E £299 (01923 260511; videologic.com ) is easy-to-use, and looks and sounds more expensive than it is.

The Sony ST-D777ES £600 (08705 111999; sony.co.uk ) is a superb all-rounder that gives you all the new digital services as well as your analogue radio favourites.

(Recommended by What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision )

If you're prepared to wait, the Goodmans portable CD player/digital radio is set to be launched in August, along with DAB micro hi-fi, in-car and hi-fi tuner systems, for between £100 and £200 (information: 023 9239 1100)