It is only a press release, but still an important milestone: HD Radio Receivers Bust the $100 Barrier. The release lists four home radios and three car radios for under $100. For good measure, they also list four home radios and two car radios for under $200. Of those, I had only heard of the Sony XDRF1HD (which is a nice radio).

I have written about HD Radio before, and still have mixed feelings on the subject. Although many radio stations have installed the technology, people have been relatively slow to buy the radios. This is how the problem strikes me:

• People will buy HD Radios only if they can be convinced of the advantages.
• There will be advantages only if there are HD Radio stations in their area and only if the signals are strong enough to receive reliably at their location.
• The only way for them to determine if there are any strong signals at their location is to buy a HD Radio.
• But people will buy HD Radios only if they can be convinced of the advantages.

A bit of a chicken and egg problem, isn’t it?