In an unusual reversal of technological trends, Chinese radio stations began broadcasting podcasts to listeners in a weekly radio show earlier this week, the China Daily reported yesterday. 

The half-hour programme is currently being broadcast on 16 local radio stations across the country, and the number of broadcasting stations is set to rise to over 50 next year.

Podcasts are sound recordings which can take many forms, although the majority are akin to a personal radio show or an audio diary or blog.

Listeners normally access podcasts by downloading audio files from the internet and playing them on digital audio players, such as Apple's iPod, or PCs.

While podcasts are sometimes described using terms like 'internet radio', this is because they are seen as putting the power of radio in the hands of ordinary people. It is not common to broadcast podcast recordings over old-fashioned radio networks.

"By working in conjunction with traditional media such as television, radio and newspapers, we hope to help people broadcast and share their lives," explained Buddy Ye, chief executive of Wangyou, one of the websites providing the podcasts. "We call this life-casting." 

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Korea's Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has confirmed that it is investigating allegations that electronics manufacturing giant Samsung is guilty of selling products at below cost to win market share. 

Allegations that Samsung may have agreed to sell two and four gigabyte Nand Flash memory chips to Apple for half the normal price were reported in local media this week.

"We are now checking whether the allegation is true," a KFTC official said yesterday, according to the Joongang Daily. 

The paper linked the inquiry to pressure from Korean digital music player makers, which have complained about unfair pricing of Flash memory chips.

Last month a legislator from the governing Uri party questioned Korean trade regulators about Samsung's flash memory pricing policy. 

Apple announced earlier this week that it would prepay $1.25bn during the next three months as part of a deal with Samsung and three other memory makers to secure supplies of Flash memory through to 2010.

The Korea Times reported that Samsung would receive $500m of this. Apple plans to use the chips in its iPod series of portable media players and related products. 

See also:

DRam makers drink to Xbox and iPod

But some major manufacturers flee cut-throat memory chip price war  22 Nov 2005

Tune in to streaming radio

How to enjoy the internet's best radio programmes without having to wait  27 Sep 2005

Apple hints at major iPod revamp

IPod video or Motorola phone coming?  30 Aug 2005

Apple tunes into podcasting

Latest iTunes client extends support for 'next-generation radio'  29 Jun 2005

Apple iPods to get colour screens

All models will ship with colour displays for images and slideshows  30 Jun 2005

Samsung claims Flash breakthrough

First solid state disk with Nand Flash memory  23 May 2005

The demise of the podcast

Silicon Valley Sleuth seems to have an ally in The Boston Phoenix in his non-understanding of the podcasting hype....  30 Dec 2004

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