Long-time readers know that I have followed developments in the realm of what is called “HD Radio” in the U.S. and “DAB” (Digital Audio Broadcasting” in the U.K. since way back when. DAB has had far greater success in Europe, though it has done reasonably well in large American media markets (Boston, for example, has quite a few stations that broadcast in HD Radio now), In fact, last month, a task force set up by the BBC and other interested parties in the U.K. recommended that all traditional radio services be decommissioned in favor of all-DAB as soon as 2012, but no later than 2020. It’s unclear to me whether or not this might have some impact in the U.S. market; after all, it took nearly 30 years to implement HDTV, and broadcasters are still dragging their feet on that, but the radio business is in a bit more of a state of desperation than the television business.

Meanwhile, British radio maker Roberts has introduced the first solar-powered portable DAB radios in the U.K. (that’s them up there in the picture). (via) Engadget calls them ugly, but I kind of like the neo-retro style. In this country, even though you can find plenty of home HD radio receivers, the thrust of the hardware market has primarily been in the automotive space. Radio listening has been automobile-centric in the U.S. for decades, and is the place where any successor to traditional radio, be it HD or satellite, needs to make its stand. The satellite radio business is still in limbo now that the XM-Sirius merger has been put on hold yet again, so it’s a good time for HD Radio proponents to push for something similar to the U.K. task force recommendations.