JVC HD Radio HDR1 vs Wal-Mart's HDW10?

Question

I've researched and sat on the JVC HD Radio KD-HDR1 for the last few months, watching the price head down hopefully to a reasonable point (under USD 100). Yesterday (Monday 3/5/2007) Wal-Mart announced they will be carrying the JVC KD-HDW10, to try to spread the HD Radio gospel.

Does anyone know if there's a difference between the HDR1 and the HDW10, or is the HDW10 just an HDR1 w/ a different model # for Wal-Mart's sake? I can't tell the diff looking at the specs online between JVC and Wal-Mart.

Please, no "HD Radio is stupid, go XM/Sirius" comments. I'm past the point of paying a subscription fee to listen to radio.

Answer 1

This is very common with items carried at Wal-Mart. They will carry something, usually electronic, that looks exactly the same as something else at Best Buy or elsewhere with even the same brand name, but the model numbers are slightly different. It may even seem the features are the same. What Wal-Mart does is with their huge buying power, they meet with manufacturers and say they like a certain model they're selling elsewhere. They look at where they can cut costs. Sometimes this means removing some little features here and there, but not always. What usually happens is this -- components that make up the unit at Best Buy, probably they (the manufacturer) took a middle range bidder like most do, balancing quality and price. Wal-Mart says, we know you can make it cheaper -- buy cheaper components; go with the lowest bidder. And so the manufacturers do. So now they can make two products that look exactly the same, even function exactly the same (although not always!), yet one costs less to manufacture and Wal-Mart can then sell it for cheaper than the competition. It's not until after you buy it and the thing breaks that you notice what that little one letter or one number difference in the model number really meant. Don't get me wrong, many people do get things there that last a long time, just know that your chances of it failing are higher as it is made cheaper than the others.

Answer 2

Found a better head unit for you for less money on Ebay.
Its an Alpine, much better sound quality and longer lasting and better anti-shock protection. Click link below to view.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Alpine-CDE-9842-CD-CD-RW-CD-R-Head-Unit-New-In-Box_W0QQitemZ320087744331QQihZ011QQcategoryZ39755QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem