FM radio has been a long time coming for the Apple iPod. Griffin offered the first solution late last year with its iFM, which the company later tried to improve upon--the fatal mistake in our eyes was the removal of the built-in voice recorder. At Macworld this year, Apple finally paid heed to consumers' cries (see below) and released the $49 iPod Radio Remote, a cord-heavy device with a tiny square of remote controls.

Of all the extra features an MP3 player could have, CNET readers overwhelmingly chose an FM tuner.

The physical design of the iPod Radio Remote is typical Apple: simple. However, we hesitate to call it clean due to the excessive cord length it creates. Even with the purposefully short included earbuds, which you may want to switch in for your favorite (undoubtedly lengthier) pair, the cord is 65 inches long. That's our only design gripe, though, aside from the fact that because the remote plugs into the bottom of the iPod, it won't work with many cases. The clip-on remote measures a mere 1.3 by 1 inches and includes volume, track-shuttle, and play/pause buttons as well as its own hold switch. The track-shuttle keys also serve to scrub through radio presets, which are automatically scanned the first time you use the radio. The best part of the design is that the remote uses the iPod's screen for radio function navigation as opposed to having its own LCD.

The radio frequency and tuner dial displayed on the iPod screens.

When you attach the Radio Remote to your iPod's dock--and unfortunately, this must be either a 5G iPod or an iPod Nano--you get a Radio option in both the iPod and Music menus. (Note that you will need to have the most up-to-date firmware for this to work.) Select this option and you're taken to a screen displaying the current radio frequency and, for the 5G iPod, the time.