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Yes, it does have an FM tuner. You probably didn't see it in the spec sheets because the F900's documentation is pretty shy on details.
The FM tuner doesn't work at all without the headphones. However, you can switch over to the internal speaker if you wish. But the headphones still have to be connected. I assume that's because your statement about the headphone cord being used as an antenna applies here.
Sounds pretty good with the headphones, though not as good as the tuner on my Sony S544 mp3 player. Which I attribute mostly to differences in headphone quality. As I stated in the review, the F900 comes with a multi-purpose USB connector that serves as the headphone jack. The unit doesn't come with a dongle for converting to a 3.5 inch jack, it comes with a set of headphones with the necessary connector. So I can't try the bundled headphones on another unit for comparison, nor can I use what I'm certain are far better headphones on the F900 (a set of Monster Turbines that I like very much, which I'm sure is part of, if not most or all of the reason why the Sony sounds better). Of course, if you want to use better headphones on the F900, you can buy the necessary dongle.
Both the F900 and the Sony can play music through their internal speakers. In this mode, the F900 sounds better than the Sony, though as you might expect, not as good as with headphones. I have to say that the F900 sounds better than I expected with the internal speaker.
Aside from that, it scans and has presets. And it supports USA, European and Japanese FM broadcast standards. That pretty much sums it up.
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