@ Three penneth
>>1. No traffic info while picking up DAB stations (i assume - unless the review missed this "feature").
Errr. A rolling "Traffic Radio" service is now becoming available on most local multiplexes...so you don't need to wait for either your local radio station to give you the news (and sometimes on my FM radio, it auto-switches to one station and halfway through the travel report, another radio station starts their travel report - so you lose the one you want....(esp in Cambridge/Essex/London area !!)
>>2. Wires all over the place and what with many people already having GPS receivers in their windscreen things are going to get cluttered (and dangerous) very soon.
For now, maybe.....a Highway only needs a wire for the aerial and a wire for the power....would be great if a Highway Mark 2 were availabel that output via Bluetooth.....(as some cars now seem to be allowing this....
Of course, IF all the car manufacturers had supported DAB since 1995 (even if only making DAB radios optional, which most haven't), then they wouldn't be playing "catch up" now, eh ???.
(Or losing out to another manufacturer who recognises the needs to have DAB in cars, vans and trucks.
>> 3. DAB adds unnecessary complexity to a simple system that works just fine. It aint broke so don't waste billions fixing it.
FM *IS* broke.....too much interference, too inefficient on FM bandwidth (I can pick up BBC R2 on 5 different frequencies near where I live !!) and not enough choice of stations. Plus there all these pirate stations at various times that mess up the band and cause further issues. Likewise FM is more prone to issues due to poorly maintained taxi cab transmitters and the clicks and noises from central heating system and refrigerator switching relays.
When I lived in NW Kent, I could only pick up (on FM) the 4 main BBC stations (1,2,3,4) plus two or three local stations.
By contrast, I could pick up over 70 DAB stations (the 2 National multiplexes, plus 3 from London, plus the Kent and Essex multiplexes) although, sadly, theJazz and Planet Rock might be closing soon (see http://www.saveplanetrock.co.uk ).