The Infinite Dial

Last November, Edison's Ross on Radio column talked about purchasing the $99 HD radio that was on sale that weekend at Radio Shack. Finding the HD radio wasn't that hard--the salesman knew it was in stock and was able to find it on the floor, although it wasn't hooked up because it got no reception inside the store. At that time, the issues weren't just availability but content, processing, reception and more.

Nine months later, Inside Radio has done a spot check of New York electronics retailers to see who had receivers readily available. "At a Manhattan Best Buy, it took four queries to different employees to find the lone HD radio located amidst a sea of stereos," it reports. "At least the New York City [store] had an HD receiver in-stock. A Long Island branch didn't. And Circuit City--well, it's coming--they think." Sharper Image did the best job of having the receivers available and display.

Of course, the availability issues shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to record labels, who pay for price and position, but can't necessarily count on their advertised specials being prominent amidst the shrinking sales space given to records.