Review: WunderRadio

Overview If Last.fm isn't doing it for you, and you prefer LIVE radio, then WunderRadio is truly... a wonder! Sort your music by your location and browse music genres, scanners and weather radio.

Functionality WunderRadio is pretty straight forward. Don't turn that dial, and I'll show you how it works... There's three buttons at the bottom: Stations, Favorites and Now Playing. At the top right there's even a Help button, which can answer most FAQ, and gives you a submission form to report stations that aren't working correctly. I was immediately intrigued by the scanner feature. Although it didn't immediately pick up my local country, I was able to listen to the Green County Sheriff's department in time to hear about a scooter wreck. As a scooter owner, though, that was a little unnerving. I promptly switched over to check out Local Radio by GPS and found a few area stations, but none were truly local. Of course, my town is pretty small. WunderRadio did find some stations just an hour away though. Whenever you choose a station, you are presented with a feature that offers you "Other Stations Like this", by tapping on them you can pull up a list of those stations and have the option to choose which one you want.

The sound is clear, though a little tinny on some stations - kind of what you'd expect from a decent podcast. The signal bar shows the strength of the broadcast - or if anything is actually streaming at the moment.

Browsing by genres, of course, brought me to Sport Talk and Drive Time Sports. Aaaah. Even though the Razorbacks are stinking it up these days, it's great to have access to these stations without having to subscribe to XM.

When you select a station, you'll notice that the "Now Playing" button is selected. To get back to the main station screen, simply hit the "Stations" button. Pressing the "+" allows you to add your station to your favorites list.

You'll get not just music but sports, talk radio, and more - all in multiple formats and flavors. From Election 08 talk shows to religious broadcasting, it's all there.

Review WunderRadio is a sound buffet at your fingertips. For the price of one month's subscription to XM, you'll have this app and its huge radio dial at your beck and call anywhere, all the time. Even when I was using Edge, the response time and audio was terrific. While the actual graphics leaves a lot to be desired, the performance makes up for it. You are getting exaclty what you pay for - radio, scanners, and weather - all you could want - in your pocket all the time. Summary I would have to agree with TUAW's review of this app when they say that in some cases, "I think the signal was actually better on the iPhone than it usually is on a car radio." Absolutely. Even though it's a little pricey at $5.99, from the plethora of stations, options, and weather available, to the quality of audio and its responsiveness, either over WIFI, Edge, or 3G, this app enters the coveted "must-have" category on my iPhone.

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