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Slacker Radio for iPhone Released

Tuesday January 13, 2009 11:03 am PST by Eric Slivka
Just days after the BlackBerry version was released at CES, the iPhone version of Slacker Radio [App Store] has been released in the US App Store. Similar in some respects to Pandora Radio, Slacker Radio provides both pre-programmed and personalized Internet radio stations.

- Unlimited free access to millions of songs from thousands of artists
- Listen to over 100 stations created by leading radio experts
- Create custom stations directly on your iPhone
- Get new music personally selected just for you
- Enhanced music discovery featuring artist bios & album reviews

CNET has reviewed the new application and found much to like, including the ease of navigation and looks. They would, however, have liked to have seen a landscape mode and the ability to create a new station on-the-fly, as well as the ability (present in the BlackBerry version) to cache songs to internal memory.

The application is compatible with both the iPhone and iPod touch, but service is available only in the United States. While the application and basic radio service are free, Slacker includes occasional advertisements and limits on the number of skipped and requested songs. Upgrading to a "Slacker Radio Plus" account for $3.99 per month removes these restrictions.
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spyker3292
Posted: 40 months ago
I haven't tried it yet, but Slacker radio was released today.

http://appshopper.com/music/slacker-radio
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jalpert
Posted: 40 months ago
This app is the real deal. If you've ever opened Pandora or Last.FM give this a shot. Go to the website, create your custom station and enjoy having a ton of control over your music. Pandora does a great job selecting songs for you, but this puts more control in your hands.

Audio quality and buffer times are fantastic over 3G and edge. Just a great App all around!
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Dorfdad
Posted: 40 months ago
while Im impressed at the speed of the connections the problem is your only allowed 6 skips per hour and they force commercials every few songs.

I hate that if I setup a channel and they play the wrong songs I can only skip 6...
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jalpert
Posted: 40 months ago

while Im impressed at the speed of the connections the problem is your only allowed 6 skips per hour and they force commercials every few songs.

I hate that if I setup a channel and they play the wrong songs I can only skip 6...


I agree, nobody likes commercials and nobody likes limitations. Your first option would be to pay the $4 and go premium, but nobody likes to pay money either :-)

In a short amount of time your problem will take care of itself. You setup your custom station and I'm assuming you turned off discovery, it's only playing songs from the bands you told it to. All bands have bad songs, some bands have bad albums, that's why you can ban a track. For a little bit it might suck, every time you ban you get charged a skip. But, after a short while, you'll get all those horrible songs banned and you'll be left with nothing but good ones. It does take a little patience though.

In terms of commercials, right now it's about 45 seconds per hour. Not too much you can do about that, except pay the $4 which is WELL worth it.
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iSaga
Posted: 40 months ago
No service outside the US, very disappointing.
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KRAPPS
Posted: 40 months ago


Audio quality and buffer times are fantastic over 3G and edge. Just a great App all around!


Been waiting for this one ... geez, took them long enough :D

Great to hear sound quality and buffer times are good over 3G and Edge ... in my experience, this has been the #1 problem - long buffers, freezes, dropouts, etc ... can't wait to try it out tonight.
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nagromme
Posted: 40 months ago
I have room for more than one radio app on my iPhone--but it will be hard to get me away from Pandora as the main one! (FYI, Pandora's are tiny banner graphics which you can hide for free. No audio ads. Same 6-skips-per-hour limit, but you can freely change--or create--stations, so even after 6 skips you're not stuck. And I find Pandora can create such good stations that I don't skip much anyway.)
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SFStateStudent
Posted: 40 months ago
Nice app, but Pandora is preferable...
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matasar
Posted: 40 months ago
Is there any possible reason to use this over Pandora? I'm interested in neither listening to adds nor to paying a (small, admittedly) monthly fee if I don't need to. Thoughts?
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earthsick
Posted: 40 months ago
figures...i just got a slacker g2 portable for christmas
eh, i think i would still prefer the g2 over an iphone app any way...dont feel like draining my battery all day at work

and to all those asking why use this over pandora...from my own personal experience, i have discovered FAR more great new artists from slacker than i ever did with pandora. slacker is a far more complete experience that gives you more control and more of a radio experience. its everything satellite radio was meant to be but isnt
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