Isn’t Life Strange?

As a new user of the iPhone 3G, I have to say that it is one of the most remarkable pieces of personal electronics I have ever used. Much has been said about the device before, so I won’t give my personal impressions other than to say that it works very well for me. The AT&T service in my area is excellent and both voice and Internet performance is as good as can be expected.

I’ve been looking at some of the thousands of applications that are available in the iTunes App Store, and one of the more interesting uses of the device I have found is in its capability to be an excellent Internet radio. I’ve downloaded and tried a number of Internet radio applications and I would like to review them here.

AOL RADIO (Free)
AOL Radio is a nice application that allows access to America Online’s streaming music service, and Spinner.com. It offers a wide variety of musical styles and multiple audio streams for each category. In addition the app offers access to the CBS Radio Network. Visit AOL Radio to see the selection of radio streams.

I’ve not spent much time listening to AOL Radio so I cannot comment much about its performance on the iPhone. The selection and variety of music available is quite good and the app seems fairly stable.

iheartradio (Free)
iheartradio is Clear Channel’s own application that enables iPhone users to listen to Clear Channel owned radio stations throughout the United States. In addition, it offers access to a small number of Internet radio streams.

The application is well-designed and allows users to browse for radio stations by city or radio format. Honestly the only use for this particular application is that it is necessary if one wants to listen to a Clear Channel radio station. Clear Channel has forbidden other services to use their streams.

TWIT.AM (Free)
Twit.am is an application that allows iPhone users to listen to Leo Laporte and the many programs that are part of his TWIT.TV family. If Leo is in the studio and broadcasting live, or if he just happens to be there and has the microphone turned on, you can hear everything that happens.

The application is very simple. It has a Play/Stop pushbutton and a view of the TWIT.TV Google Calendar so listeners can check for upcoming programs. I believe that when Leo is off the air, listeners are treated to recent broadcasts.

I have to hand it to Leo for using this incredible technology to make his programs more accessible.

PANDORA RADIO (Free)
The Pandora Radio app is a nicely designed, fully-functional version of the Pandora service for the iPhone. Users can listen to any of their own customized radio streams and can interact with the service just as they would on a computer. Some other nice functionality includes the option to email your station to a friend on your iPhone’s contact list, and a link that will allow you to purchase songs from the iTunes library.

The interface is attractive and intuitive, and album art is displayed as you listen. For more information about Pandora, you can read my review of their service here.

FLYCAST (Free)
FlyCast is an amazing application in terms of quality and content. In fact, it is one of my favorite applications on the iPhone and has me seriously considering canceling my satellite radio subscription. Like AOL Radio, FlyCast offers a good selection of genres from which to choose, but where it really shines it in its inclusion of the excellent AccuRadio service, the RadioIO and 1.FM services, and several popular podcasts.

For music lovers, I have found no better option than FlyCast. Quality is excellent as the stream is buffered for well over a minute for uninterrupted play. This app also allows for track skipping so if you are on a station you like but come across a song you dislike, you can easily skip past it.

FlyCast is an outstanding radio app that offers enough content to make almost any music lover happy.

WUNDER RADIO ($5.99)
Wunder Radio is the only radio App I downloaded which was not free, and the price was well worth it. This app is the perfect complement to FlyCast in that it offers a link to about every radio stream for thousands of terrestrial radio stations across the world. Users can easily find specific radio shows and other content simply by browsing the intuitive interface. For example, if I am looking for a particular conservative radio show, I will select “Browse Talk” from the main menu, then “Conservative”. The next list will be of audio content that is immediately available. I can directly select the radio show I wish to hear and then a list of stations currently broadcasting that show will appear. It even groups the radio stations according to how much time is remaining for that particular program.

The number of available radio streams Wunder Radio provides is mind-boggling. A great variety of radio stations from around the world - I’m not talking about a token handful - are at my fingertips. In addition to live radio streams, some radio show podcasts are also available, as well as some Internet radio stations including Radio Margaritaville.

Wunder Radio is a stable app and the audio quality is very good. While it allows users to bookmark favorite stations, it does not offer a great many options or a pretty interface like FlyCast or the others (although the screen displayed at the website does not at all represent the actual app). This app is all business, and it does the job masterfully.

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My favorites of the above list are Wunder Radio and FlyCast, and that decision is based on content and audio quality. Pandora Radio gets an honorable mention for a beautiful and intuitive interface. As I mentioned, I am seriously considering canceling my satellite radio subscription in favor of using these apps in the car and wherever I go. The only negative I see is that there will be a loss of service in areas which have poor cell coverage. But given where I live and where I primarily travel, I can’t imagine that shortcoming being much of an inconvenience.