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Frances asked: “I’m blind and using a regular AM/FM radio. However I now I have internet and have heard a lot about Internet radio. What are the advantages of that over regular radio? Will I get additional stations that i can’t recieve now. What brand would you tell me to look at. Right now I’m looking at Bose, but I don’t know if there are other brands.”
Frances, the advantages over regular radio are largely choice. With internet radio you can tune into stations that don’t broadcast in your area or that broadcast exclusively online.
Some online services are not free, so keep that in mind when you look at long lists of services that a radio can access, but generally speaking your choice will still grow, there are many free online streams, ours is one of them.
There are many free online streams, ours is one of them
As far as the radio, the Bose you’re looking at will probably be on the expensive side, they seem to have some internet radios in the $300-400 rage, but you should at least expect good sound quality from them.
Grace Digital and C.Crane both have less expensive models you may like because, unlike some competitors, they’ve stuck to buttons and dials. Touchscreens are great to navigate large numbers of stations, but only if you can see the choices, if you’re fully blind you may find it less cumbersome to use dials and buttons rather than touchscreen accessibility features.
If you already have a smartphone, you can skip buying a radio altogether and at least try stations out on your phone first. If you think the content may be worth the investment, you can buy a dedicated radio then, if not you can keep on going.