Comparison: Radio Player Apps

Remember how you used to only be able to listen to music on the radio? And then they invented records, then eight tracks, then cassettes, then the walkman - wow! You could listen to tapes as you walked! What a breakthrough in technology! You were no longer at the mercy of the airwaves when it came to you and your tunes! (Of course, over the next 20 years, CDs and MP3s came along and made everything even more awesome.) Now, you don't have to settle for listening to the songs you put on your iPod/iPhone. Hell no! You have options! You can listen to the radio on your iPhone instead! (Funny how we've kind of come full circle there). But which radio app do you choose? Which would suit you best? Sure, you could try them all yourself to find out, but why do that when I can just tell you? Let's get started, shall we? It should be noted that I connected through a Wi-Fi network to try these apps. They're all supposed to work on both the EDGE and 3G networks, but since I couldn’t test both of those, I chose the Wi-Fi.

Pandora Radio

Pandora Radio v2.0 | Published by Pandora Media, Inc. | Via App Store | FREE | Released: 07-09-08

Overview

You may have used Pandora Internet Radio on your computer before and if you liked it, then you'll also like their mobile version. Don't worry, you don't have to be a member to use the app, but it doesn't hurt to sign up for a free account. You create stations based on bands that you like; using their patented Music Genome Project, the program finds artists that have a similar sound to that which you like. It sounds crazy, but it works very well. I am a fan. Every once in awhile, Pandora will play a song that I absolutely hate though, (because I hate a lot of things), but you can fortunately you can skip up to eight songs- or just create a new playlist to get around this.

Bottom Line

I might be a little biased towards Pandora since I've been using their website for awhile. The songs sound great- almost CD quality. I did have some songs cut out on me, but that was because of the poor Wi-Fi network I was on. Once I switched to a stronger, more reliable one, Pandora worked like a charm. Also, you can read artist bios as you listen to the song. That's always fun, right?

Verdict: Rock On!

Slacker Radio

Slacker Radio v1.0.1 | Published by Slacker, Inc. | Via App Store | FREE | Released: 01-15-09

Overview

Slacker works just like it does on their website, which I never used before five minutes ago. It's like Pandora, where you can create custom stations based on your preferences. But there are also preset stations here, tons of them, all split into genres and sub genres, that allow you to listen to lots of great songs. This is good when you want to hear a little something different than the music you'd normally listen to- I mean, you can only listen to the same bands so many times. After all, variety is the spice of life. While listening to a song you can get info about the band, the album, the song or a combination of those. If you hear a song you like you can click a link to iTunes so you can buy the song. (Assuming that you'd want to purchase it legally and not find it... ahem, elsewhere.)

Bottom Line

The music sounds great. Just like Pandora. But... they have commercials! The commercials I heard were for Slacker Radio Plus. Great. If you upgrade you can get unlimited skips, (you're allowed six here) and it's commercial free. You can't skip the commercial either. And that's totally lame. I'm not going to fall for that trick. I will not upgrade. No sir. If it weren't for those damn commercials, I'd say this was my most favorite of the group... but I REALLY hate commercials.

Verdict: Rock On!

iheart radio

iheart radio v2.1 | Published by Clear Channel Broadcasting, Inc. | Via App Store | FREE | Released: 09-08-08

Overview

Hey, look at that! Another app that's a mobile version of a website. I'm noticing a trend here. There is a difference here though. You don't create your own station, instead you can stream a bunch of radio stations. Like, actual radio stations- ones owned by Clear Channel, of course. And guess what? These actual radio stations play commercials! I also couldn't find any local radio stations that I would normally listen to, (back when I used to listen to the radio). This would be understandable if I didn't live in Los Angeles. Geez Lousie, Clear Channel... I will give the app some credit though, some songs will make the lyrics available so you can sing along if you want. You'll make a lot of friends this way.

Bottom Line

The sound quality leaves something to be desired. Some stations sound better than others. 103.5 The Fox actually sounded like I was listening to the radio in my old Honda Civic. Not an experience I want to relive. And since the songs are streaming from radio stations, if you hate a song, you have to deal with it or change the station. Ugh. The fact is, I don't heart radio. That's why I stopped listening to it. I want to have control over the music I listen to, damn it. I can only see this being useful for radio junkies and the morons who listen to talk radio and want to hear their favorite talking head bloviate and spew their rhetoric. Talk radio sucks. It does. No... it really does. If you like it, then I hate you. It's because of people like you that Laura Ingraham has a career. I'll never forgive you for that. Good day to you.

Verdict: Change The Station!

OurStage Radio

OurStage Radio v1.0.1 | Published by OurStage, Inc. | Via App Store | FREE | Released: 10-22-08

Overview

Yes, OurStage Radio is just like their website. If you're like me who never knew their website existed, don't worry, you're not missing anything. They're angle is pushing the "undiscovered" artists. You get to hear music from people you've probably never heard of. You can choose from a sampler that has preselected songs for you to listen to. Or you can listen to random songs and create personalized playlists depending on how you rate the songs you hear. The good thing is you can skip over as many songs as you want, and you can listen to a song over and over again. Maybe I'm retarded, but it seemed to me as though there was a preset number of songs available to listen to. I couldn't figure out how I was supposed to get "new" music. Maybe the app updates every so often or something. I don't know.

Bottom Line

I get what they're trying to do. Corporate, pop fluff pollutes the airwaves. Record companies are more concerned with their "bands" image than their sound. 99% of the the crap MTV plays doesn't deserve the MP3 it's printed on. But on the other hand, just because a band is undiscovered or "indie," that doesn't automatically make them good. I've had the same argument with people over indie films. Could it be that maybe the reason they don't have any corporate support is because they actually suck? Come on now, it's at least a possibility. Give me that much. There are a lot of crappy indie bands out there, that's what I'm saying. But- it's good that even the no names have a platform to be heard. It's not really my thing though. And, in case you were wondering, the audio quality sounded fine.

Verdict: Eh, It's Free

Public Radio Tuner

Public Radio Tuner v1.1 | Published by American Public Media | Via App Store | FREE | Released: 01-05-09

Overview

Now you can find your favorite public radio station and listen to it on your iPhone! Oh happy day! (Do people still listen to public radio? Seriously?) You're given access to over 200 streaming stations. The quality isn't bad, but its far from great. This is kind of hard for me to review because the only thing I hate more than radio is public radio. I know classical music is supposed to be calming, and typically it would be, but when I hear it played on a radio station it always makes me very tense. Damn you, Shubert!

Bottom Line

If you like public radio, check this app out. If you're a normal person, you will probably have no interest in this. The stations don't tell you what song you're hearing, which is a wonderful feature all the other apps have. Cause, you know, if I ended up liking something I was hearing for some strange reason, I might like to be able to acquire said song. (Maybe with donations by people like you they can afford to add that feature in the future.) The app also needs a better search option. You can search by radio station, not genre. If you're in the mood to hear a jazz station, you better know the call letters of the stations that play it. That's lame. Almost as lame as whatever KCRW is playing right now... wow.

Verdict: Change The Station!

AOL Radio

AOL Radio v1.2.1 | Published by AOL LLC | Via App Store | FREE | Released: 05-30-08

Overview

AOL Radio offers streams from over 200 stations. This means that the songs are always playing, regardless of whether or not you're listening. It's like there's a world out there that exists without you! What?! However, not all hope is lost. There are several stations devoted to popular artists- like the Radiohead station I stumbled upon. Very nice. I have to give them points for that. I've heard rumors that not many stations are available for the EDGE network users. I guess that's just another reason why we should upgrade, right?

Bottom Line

The audio quality sounds really nice. Or maybe the last few apps I used sounded really bad, so this one just seems so much better. In either case, it sounds good. AOL plays more of the popular songs you'd expect to hear on the radio. And I found it perfect that the first thing I heard when I logged on was a commercial. I didn't have any drop/buffering problems when I listened, but I didn't listen for hours, so you never know. As far as streaming radio stations go, it's pretty damn good.

Verdict: Rock On!

SHOUTcast Radio

SHOUTcast Radio v1.0.1 | Published by AOL LLC | Via App Store | FREE | Released: 12-31-08

Overview

Yet another streaming radio station. But, holy Hell, there are over 25,000 stations to listen to here. I felt like I should listen to every single one of them too in order to write a fair and accurate review. But after realizing that would take longer than I cared to spend doing it- decided to sample a few stations instead. Songs/artists are displayed on the screen as they play, so you always know what you're hearing.

Bottom Line

I was all prepared to write about how I didn't have any sort of problems with drop outs, until all of a sudden I had a bunch of drop outs. And it was really annoying. I was on a good Wi-Fi network, so I have to blame the app on this one. The stations don't sound as crisp and clear as AOL Radio did. (I listened to both 32k and 64k to hear the difference, and it wasn't much.) I didn't hear any commercials in the time I spent listening, but I can't say for sure that they're not there. Maybe they were hiding. I don't know.

Verdict: Eh, It's Free

The Final Word

These apps are all very similar, and they’re free, so it’s hard for me to say that one is way better than another. But check this out… AOL Radio is way better than the other “radio” stations. And I think Pandora is the superior choice when it comes to a music player that creates a personalized playlist for your listening convenience., mostly because it doesn’t feature any damn commercials. Huh. I guess it wasn’t that hard after all.

Radio Streamer

AOL Radio | FREE | Rock On!

Personalized Station

Pandora Radio | FREE | Rock On!

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