Pure Digital reveals DAB+ plans

22nd May 2007

Pure Digital's plans to bring out DAB+ receivers have been revealed in a WorldDMB Forum (which replaced the WorldDAB Forum last year) document. Quoting from page 23 of the pdf file:

3.2 Current development of DAB+ receivers

3.2.1 DAB+ Roll-out Plan

PURE Digital, the world's largest manufacturer of DAB receivers, plans to have the first DAB+ ready (i.e. DAB+ upgradable) devices out in August or September 2007. DAB+ upgradable software should be available for the consumer at about the same time. The first DAB+ receiver (thus DAB+ enabled, no software upgrade necessary) will be finished by the end of 2007.

It is planned that approximately 80% of all new PURE devices will be either DAB+ ready or DAB+ enabled by the end of 2008; and a future goal is to only sell DAB+ capable radios starting in 2009. Further manufacturers have announced that their DAB/DMB products will be DAB+ upgradeable in the near future.

Since the status is varied from country to country, this process will take place rather quietly, especially in those markets already well advanced in DAB, thus holding at bay the risk of disconcerting consumers and destabilising the market by the innovations.

Costs:
PURE Digital is planning to come out with DAB+ receivers in all price ranges right from the start. DAB+ devices will most probably not cost over approximately 15 Euros more than current DAB receivers, and similarly, downloading a software upgrade should cost approximately 10-15 Euros.

There are also various other manufacturers planning to bring out DAB+ receivers over the next few months, with Revo being one example, and Onkyo has released a DAB tuner that can be upgraded to DAB+, albeit that it requires a new module to be fitted.

I suspect that some of the other bigger manufacturers, such as Roberts Radio, will also have plans to release DAB+ receivers, although they're being very tight-lipped about the whole affair -- but if they don't bring out DAB+ receivers, they'll just lose even more market share of the portable radio market to Pure Digital, so it's their loss if they don't bring out new products over the next few months.

It's interesting to note that they're saying that the introduction of DAB+ will "will take place rather quietly" in the UK and Denmark (the only two countries where sales have taken off). What "quietly" means remains to be seen...

The additional costs will be due to the initial low volume of the new Frontier-Silicon Venice 5 DAB/DAB+ receiver modules that are enabling DAB+ receivers, but the difference in price will reduce as more DAB+ receivers have come out and are selling in large numbers.

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