Popular Internet radio company Pandora is celebrating its fifth year of public availability this week and is still going strong! The service, which creates Internet-based "radio" stations based around listeners' favorite bands and songs is adding a new way to discover music: genre-based stations.
Check out all the details when you read on.
If your mom dabbles in tech (mostly to get around faster, to stay connected with friends and family, and to surf her favorite blogs) but still likes her gadgets to look clean, then she's a lady after my own heart. Getting your mom to gravitate toward new gadgets can be a great way for her to use the latest streamlined technology to stay informed and have fun. Here's how I'd wire the geek chic mom who wants her gadgets to serve a purpose but wants to be entertained in the process.
If you're a Pandora fan who streams the service at home, at work, and on your phone, then I'm about to make your day: Pandora is partnering with Pioneer to bring the streaming service to your car. In March, Pioneer will begin selling a new device, dubbed the AVIC-920BT, providing navigation and entertainment tools, which can link up with your iPhone or iPod Touch and transfer your Pandora settings to rock while you ride.
The device is Bluetooth enabled, but it won't be using it to stream Pandora to your car —its receiver can detect iPhones that utilize the Pandora App, then mirrors up to 40 playlists and favorites while on-the-go. It comes with a six inch WVGA touchscreen, and unfortunately the device will set you back quite a bit ($1200 big ones). Additionally, there's no mention of hooking up with the AVIC via your BlackBerry.
Staying connected to your online social life is important, but so is sitting back and relaxing with a few tunes. Put these two things together, and you have the perfect way to stay updated and learn about some great new music. Which brings me to Pure's new line of Internet radios with Facebook and Twitter integration. Not only can you find your new musical obsession through Pure's online music lounge (which lets you browse stations from all over the world), but you can tweet about it to your followers. Toss in a sleek touchscreen interface, and you have a cool new gadget to post in your living room! Find out what else Pure's Internet radios can do in this slideshow.
If you recall, I'm a big fan of the Seattle-based KEXP radio station (you know, the one with DJs who actually pick their own playlists), and you can often find me at my desk with my headphones on, rocking out. Although I can sometimes catch KEXP on Ootunes (which in itself is a great app but a big battery drainer), I was ever so happy when I discovered that KEXP has its very own iPhone app now!
Streaming the station's great music at 128k and 35k speeds, the app keeps me entertained all day long. And of course, the KEXP app is totally free, which is just like them — allowing us to discover new favorites without selling our souls to "the man."
Although I don't listen to the radio much, I like to keep up on what the kids are listening to these days. After finding a ton of radio tuners in the App Store, I finally settled on one of these six tuners to install on my iPhone so I can rock out to the top 40 (or listen to some good talk radio) wherever I happen to be. Check out my faves in this slideshow.
I already showed you a hot retro-modern Vers Internet radio alarm clock earlier this week (which I'm still kind of obsessing over), but the equally awesome iLuv INT170 satisfies my need for something futuristic and sleek.
The INT170 comes with all the same bells and whistles I liked in the Vers: Access to thousands of online radio stations via its WiFi connectivity, FM tuner, alarm clock, and an auxiliary jack so you can plug in your iPod or MP3 player. But the best part has to be the remote, so I don't actually have to get up to change the channel!
And of course, the INT170 comes with a feature-packed price tag of $200. So the only question that remains is, will I break down and buy one? Probably not, but here's to hoping that Santa is an avid geeksugar reader!
Not only am I obsessed with online music sites like Pandora, but I also like to stream my favorite radio stations from various parts of the country. I feel like it gives me a real insight about what new music is out there. My computer is totally convenient, since I can do both from anywhere, but I think the NetWorks Radio is a very cool alternative . . . if you have a "few" extra hundred dollars lying around.
The NetWorks radio is tiny — only nine inches high and five inches wide — but unlike other simple iPod docks, it not only plays music from your MP3 player, but it can stream music from the Internet and even pick up AM/FM radio signals from all over the world. Plus, it can tap into your computer's music folder via a wireless signal, and play that music, too. Seriously, this thing is a music monster fit for the radio heads out there — and the $650 price tag totally reflects that. Naturally.
I have a lot of friends who are distraught about the news that Pandora may be going under due to overwhelming royalty fees. The popular Internet radio service doesn't just stream music online, but becomes attuned to your listening habits and creates customized stations for you. I love Pandora for an alternative to my own music library, so I'd be disappointed to see it disappear however many imitators there may be.
But Pandora's not my only Internet music service that I enjoy; I have a few stations that I'm partial to when my play list doesn't cut it anymore. Never mind whether you still listen to old-school AM/FM radio anymore — do you listen to Internet radio?
