Drool Radio

Posts Tagged ‘internet radio’

Drool Radio

Michael (Admin) | Nov 5, 2009 Music

User rating:

(18 votes, average: 3.06 out of 5)

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Call me crazy, but internet radio is pretty much the same no matter where you’re getting it. The content, that is… it’s the same! With the exception of apps like Pandora and Boombox that let you personalize your own “station”, straight-up internet radio is always just internet radio. There’s a gazillion internet radio stations out there, and it seems like there are just as many internet radio iPhone apps. So what makes one different from the other?

The answer is partially in features, but in my mind it’s mostly in the app’s style, just like if you’re buying an actual radio at a store. Do you want the radio that looks cool and has high-quality components, or do you want the one that looks like a cheap piece of crap? Drool Radio is the one that looks cool. It’s very retro, very slick, and has just about everything you could ask for in a pure internet radio app.

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Tags: $4.99, internet radio, retro

Q&F: Pandora Radio

Michael (Admin) | Sep 1, 2009 Music

User rating:

(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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I know, I know, Pandora’s far from “new” but it recently occurred to me that there are a lot of truly clueless (and truly new) iPhone users out there! Despite Pandora’s perennial Top 25 placement, I still run into people here and there who have never heard of it. Maybe they don’t look at the App Store’s Top 25 list, maybe they don’t “get” internet radio, maybe they actually do live under a rock! Beats me.

Since this app is widely considered to be the undisputed king of iPhone radio services, I’ll keep this short: if you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, get Pandora. No matter what you’re obsessed with, whether it’s Metallica or Taylor Hicks or The Beatles, Pandora will serve up music that’s either made by the object of your affection or artists who are just like him/her.

My experience is that it’s not great if you’re out walking the dog because network coverage can be pretty spotty (as is the case with all streaming content), but when you’re stuck in one place with wifi and you need some new music, this is most likely gonna be your go-to app. We’ve already reviewed a few other internet radio apps, but somehow I always come back to Pandora when I need to rock out.

This has been a public service announcement. Thank you for not making fun of us for writing about an app that’s over a year old.

iTunes Link – Pandora Radio
Version 2.0.2
Reviewed on iPhone 3G OS3.0.1

Tags: free, internet radio

B-Day Giveaway: ooTunes

Michael (Admin) | Jul 30, 2009 Music

User rating:

(2 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)

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Carrie Underwood is purrrrrrrty

Mike Lightman went ga-ga for ooTunes back in May, calling this app “arguably the most comprehensive & extensive radio app in the App Store.” Sounds like a stamp of approval to me!

I haven’t tried this app myself, but Mike’s review sounds like proof positive that streaming iPhone music actually does go further than Pandora and AOL Radio. You can get Bulgarian hiphop on this thing? Crazy!!

iTunes Link – ooTunes
ooTunes website

Tags: $3.99, internet radio

MyClockRadio, aka iReveil

Michael (Admin) | May 1, 2009 Lifestyle

User rating:

(5 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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I remember being kind of disappointed last summer when the iPhone 3G was first released because it didn’t have a radio tuner. Why? I dunno! I never listen to the radio, but for some reason I wanted it. Then came the flood of internet radio apps which seemed like a good enough substitute but there was still something missing… what if I wanted to wake up to the radio instead of one of the iPhone’s built-in ringtones?

Apparently Alexandre Pestre also prefers waking up to the radio, so he built MyClockRadio for exactly this purpose. MyClockRadio comes equipped with a bunch of preset internet radio stations from several different countries… USA, France, and Germany among them… and it also lets you add your own internet radio URL if the one you want isn’t already listed. The app isn’t what you’d call “pretty” but it works as advertised when running on WiFi, and like a lot of internet radio apps things get pretty spotty on Edge.

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Tags: $3.99, internet radio

Q&F: Boombox

Chrisa | Jan 22, 2009 Music, Quick & Free, Utilities

User rating:

(7 votes, average: 4.29 out of 5)

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If you’re an old fart like I am, you remember those days in the 70′s, when guys with big hair carried around enormous boom boxes on their shoulders blasting Kool & The Gang loud enough to deafen a small child six blocks away. Well, Gorloch Interactive has done a pretty slammin’ job of taking the feeling of the boom box and squishing it into a nice little application that streams pretty much any song you could ever ask for from blip.fm.

Now, I have what I like to call eclectic taste in music. So imagine how thrilled I was to find both the latest from Red Jumpsuit Apparatus as well as that Glen Campbell classic “Witchita Lineman” both available! Not only is the music library vast, but the user can select songs found and create their own playlist. If you like the song well enough to want it around all the time, a handly little “$” button will take you to the iTunes store to purchase the song.

There are a few little irriatations that didn’t really take away from my fondness of Boombox. First, you have to be connected to WiFi for it to work, even if you’re a 3G iPhone user. Ok, I get that one, and I can let that slide. There’s also no way to move to the next song, or back to the last, but the developer says that’s in version 1.1, soon to be available.

Besides that, I’d say Boombox is exactly what I look for in a free application (did I mention, it’s FREE?) – it’s useful as well as entertaining.

I just love the little equalizer.

Tags: internet radio, Music, Quick & Free, Utilities

Q&F: Concert Vault

Michael (Admin) | Jan 19, 2009 Music, Quick & Free

User rating:

(6 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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iphone_concertvault_price

FREEBIRD!!!! Admit it, you used to yell it every time you drove to a concert in your Camaro with your jeans jacket and Bic lighter. And you had a huge mullet. You used to be COOL! But you still dig live music and that’s what Concert Vault is all about: live recordings of mostly long-gone, but often legendary, music acts.

You won’t find anything made this century in the collection of concerts that Wolfgang’s Vault has put together, but if your radio is always tuned to the local classic rock station you’ll probably get a lot of listening time out of this app. Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Crosby Stills & Nash… that’s the kind of thing you’ll find here. There’s even some 80s rock including Motley Crüe and Bon Jovi! And Rick Astley (huh?). And for you Deadheads, there’s a LOT of Dead available, over 20 live shows. Sorry, no Phish. And if you’re looking for Cheap Trick’s “Live at Budokan” you won’t find that either because most of the shows available seem to be from more obscure dates, but they’re still quality shows all the same.

You have to create an account which can be done in-app, but after that you’re looking at a pretty good collection of live concert recordings. You can mark concerts as Favorites, search artists, browse several different categories, and there are even a few “radio stations” that are really just big playlists of stuff you probably haven’t heard in many years. Apparently you can also create your own playlists, but I can’t seem to figure out how to do that.

Concert Vault is different from other internet radio apps in that it’s truly a “vault”, kind of like your iPod… if you find something you like, you can go back and listen to it over and over again, and it’s always there. Depending on your tastes the music selection might seem limited, but even so there’s plenty to like about this app, and the price is right! Go get it and start rocking out. Now.