The 9 best radio Android apps

Even though we have things like music-on-demand with apps like Spotify and we can buy any song any time from places like iTunes and the Google Play Store, a lot of us still like to listen to the radio. It’s low maintenance so you just turn it on and it goes by itself. It’s great background noise for when you’re working and it’s still among the best ways to discover new music. Are there great ways to listen to the radio on Android? The answer is yes and here are our best radio Android app selections.

---

Pandora internet radio

[Price: Free]

First up is the venerable Pandora internet radio. This was one of the originals to offer this kind of service. You can create your own stations or listen to ones that have already been made. It features just short of a million songs and you can get all of that for free if you don’t mind ads. There is also a daily skip limit so make sure you only skip the songs you really dislike.

C'mon, everyone else is using it!

PROS

• A decent track library.


• Pretty much all features come on the free version.


• Creating, deleting, and listening to stations is very easy.


• Its very popular. You likely know someone who uses Pandora.

CONS

• Ads are fine but the daily skip limit is annoying.


• Smaller track library than most competitors.


• No FM stations and no talk radio.

7.5

This is a great free option and it’s very easy to use.

---

iHeartRadio – Internet Radio

[Price: Free]

iHeartRadio is another very popular option but this one more closely emulates real radio. Not only does it offer over 18 million songs to listen to but it also has talk radio selections for news, sports, finance, comedy, and entertainment. It even includes some FM and AM radio stations if you need those.

It may even be better than real radio.

PROS

• Contains a boat load of music stations and talk radio stations.


• Totally free to use with ads just like real radio.


• Radio selections for your tastes, including seasonal and holiday channels.


• Actual FM and AM radio stations can be found here.


• App keeps up on the latest in Android design elements.


• Custom stations supported

CONS

• Has a history of using the same commercials over and over again.


• Has the occasional bug here and there.

9.0

iHeartRadio is the essential radio Android app for all radio fans, not just music fans.

---

Internet Radio

[Price: Free with in app purchases]

Internet Radio is the most aptly named app we’ve ever seen. It also happens to be fairly good at playing radio stations over the internet. This is one of the few selections on this list that supports radio stations from other countries so if you wanna listen to Russia’s top 40 hits of 2014 you can certainly do that. It also includes some features as in app purchases such as radio recording and a sleep timer to turn it off after a while.

Less diverse in some ways, more diverse in others.

PROS

• Includes real AM and FM radio stations from multiple countries.


• One of the few selections that offers radio recording.


• Categorically sorted.

CONS

• The design is a little antiquated.


• No custom radio stations.

6.5

It’s not as diverse in some areas but much more diverse in others and it’s free to use!

---

Live365 Radio

[Price: Free]

Live365 Radio is unique because it’s not automated stations like you’d get with Pandora or even iHeartRadio to a degree. Every station is managed by a person who picks the playlists and runs their own thing. It features over 250 genres of music although you don’t have access to all of them unless you participate in their subscription service. If you do, though, the ads are also removed and that’s always a good thing.

Something a little different.

PROS

• Individually managed radio stations is a cool idea.


• Over 200 genres of music to choose from.


• Free to use with ads.

CONS

• Developers go long periods without updates.


• Some app issues have been reported like difficulty turning the app off.


• You don't have access to every station until you buy the subscription service.

6.0

If this looks like your cup of tea, click the button!

---

Radio FM

[Price: Free]

Radio FM is another more classic radio option. It contains 10,000 radio stations across multiple countries and gives you a selection of music or talk radio. It is very much like a radio directory rather than something like Pandora so that means if you need to search by genre or something like that you won’t be able to. It’s free to use so that’s a big plus.

A directory of radio stations.

PROS

• Over 10,000 FM and AM stations available.


• Stations for multiple countries.


• Music and talk radio available.


• It's free!

CONS

• The interface is easy to use but not much of a looker.


• No customized radio. Stations only.


• Some stations are unavailable for various reasons such as country restrictions. They're still listed but you can't use them.

7.0

Overall if you need something simple then Radio FM may be for you.

---

Rdio

[Price: Free]

Rdio is another option that is much like Pandora. It has 20 million songs available and you can either listen to pre-made stations or create your own using your favorite artist or genre. It also includes features like offline syncing, social integration, and giving you access to your listening history so you don’t have to remember what songs you just listening to.

PROS

• 20 million songs is about 20 times more than Pandora.


• Create your own stations or listen to pre-made ones.


• Listening history makes it easy to remember the songs you liked.


• Offline syncing is useful if you're about to lose connection.

CONS

• The app has a history with bugs so be on the look out.


• No FM or AM radio stations.


• No talk radio.

7.0

It’s free to try with a $9.99 subscription if you choose to use it. Use the button below to get started.

---

SKY.FM Internet Radio

[Price: Free]

SKY.FM is another interesting case because it only has 60 radio stations. However, each station is individually managed by a person who is reportedly an expert in the genre itself. That means that each station is not only manually maintained by someone but it is maintained by someone who actually likes the music they’re putting on the radio waves. That means no talk radio and the channel selection is very slim so don’t go into it thinking you have another Pandora here.

What it does, it does well. It just doesn't do all that much.

PROS

• Each station is manually managed which is way better than randomly picked by computer algorithms.


• Despite having only 60 channels, there is a fairly diverse set of genres to enjoy including music from other countries.


• It's a very simple, no-nonsense application.

CONS

• It only has 60 channels.


• No talk radio.


• No AM or FM stations.

6.0

It’s not the most diverse music radio application but what it does have is pretty awesome.

---

TuneIn Radio

[Price: Free]

TuneIn Radio is one of the most popular apps on this list. It focuses more on talk radio, podcasts, and things like that rather than music so if you’re looking for a substitute for pretty much all of AM radio then this is it. It does contain real radio stations as well which is a bonus for those of you who want your FM radio.

It can do music but it's way better at talk radio.

PROS

• Over 100,000 channels, stations, and podcasts.


• Simple, clean interface.


• Free to use!


• New content pops up rather frequently.


• FM and AM radio stations.

CONS

• It has a lot of music stations but it doesn't feel like it's made for that.


• If you don't like talk radio, you probably won't like this.


• Developers like to do this thing where the app is great, then they update it and it's terrible, then they update it and it's great again.

7.5

If you like music, it can do that but it’s real talent is talk radio.

---

XiiaLive – Internet Radio

[Price: Free]

Last on our list is a lesser known option called XiiaLive Internet Radio. It sports a 4.5 rating in the Google Play Store and despite having a lot of downloads, it’s an application that few people actually talk about. It features 50,000 stations that range from music to talk. It’s powered by SHOUTcast and those of you who are new to the internet may not remember what that is. XiiaLive also includes some music player style features like an equalizer.

A diamond in the rough.

PROS

• Over 50,000 radio stations.


• Music and talk radio available.


• A lot of external features like an equalizer, adding your own URL for podcasts, and more.


• Can double as a standalone music player for your music. Two birds one stone!

CONS

• No AM or FM radio stations.


• Some features (like rewind) only work for some stations.


• Developed by Nullsoft who developed Winamp. We all know what happened to Winamp.

7.0

Not a lot of people talk about this and we don’t know why.

---

Wrap up

There are a bunch of awesome radio selections out there so if we missed a great radio Android app then let us know in the comments below!

from Android Authority http://ift.tt/SQABJl

Deal: Refurbished Nexus 7 (2013) 32GB for $159.99 on eBay

A brand new Nexus 7 (2013) with 32GB of storage will run you $269 through Google Play, plus an arm and a leg for shipping. Today, through an eBay deal, you can have the same tablet for $159.99. The deal is for a “manufacturer refurbished” model, but as we have noted time and time again, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Often times, refurbishing a product brings it back to a “like new” state with known issues addressed that may not have been addressed yet in a brand new unit.

As a refresher, the Nexus 7 (2013) features a 7-inch high-resolution display (1920×1200), 2GB RAM, 3,950mAh battery, Snapdragon S4 Pro (quad-core) processor, 5MP rear camera, and the newest version of Android (which currently is 4.4.3).

The deal includes free standard shipping.

eBay Link

Deal: Refurbished Nexus 7 (2013) 32GB for $159.99 on eBay is a post from: Droid Life

from Droid Life http://ift.tt/1vAHcq3

Report: Nuance exploring possibility of sale to Samsung

Some very interesting news broke out of the Wall Street Journal this morning, with the publication reporting that Nuance has been eyeing a possibility of a sale of the company. Even more interesting is that the biggest sales talks with potential buyers has been with Samsung, the company who first popularized Nuance’s Swype keyboard.

It’ll be a pretty interesting ordeal if true, especially considering Nuance also has strong ties with Apple. The company is largely responsible for Siri’s backbone. We’re not sure how a sale to Samsung would change things in that regard, but you have to imagine the guys in Cupertino won’t be happy if their biggest competitor ends up snatching the rug from the beneath them.

It’s worth noting that Samsung isn’t the only potential buyer in all this. Wall Street Journal reports that Nuance has also been in talks with private investors, as well as unnamed companies in a number of other industries.

It’s important to remember that Nuance isn’t responsible for just Swype and Siri — they have the entirety of the impressive Dragon NaturallySpeaking technology under their belts. That makes them a prime target for many big business players.

We’re not sure if there will be anything more than money that will influence Nuance’s decision, but Samsung should be able to win a moderate bidding war should it come down to that. All that’s left to do is wait and see how all of this develops.

from Phandroid http://ift.tt/1lvavIH

Paranoid Android 4.4 RC2 brings improvements across the board

Paranoid Android’s big RC1 release from last week brought a slew of cool features to the public, including Hover, Peek, and Theme Engine. Unfortunately, the release also contained a couple of nasty bugs, including one that caused the Chrome browser to repeatedly force close.

Now Release Candidate 2 of Paranoid Android (based on Android 4.4.3) is out, bringing fixes to the aforementioned bugs, as well as general improvements and tweaks to the ROM’s star features.

PA 4.4 RC2 is largely a fix and tweak release, as a proper release candidate should be, but you do get support for Themes extended to more AOSP apps, as well as fixes for components of the systems that were not properly themed in RC1. Hover, Pie, Peek, Quick Settings, and the Theme Engine all received various fixes and improvements that should bring a more consistent and solid user experience. As promised, the PA team is keeping the Theme Engine up to date with the upstream release, which is CyanogenMod’s implementation.

For more details on PA 4.4 RC2 check out this Google Plus post. As for downloads, you can get RC2 for all modern Nexus devices here, while legacy devices should catch up in the near future.

from Android Authority http://ift.tt/1vzkjTL

Lumosity brain training app comes to Android

Depending on where you live, there’s a fairly good chance you’ve heard about Lumosity, simply because the product is often advertised quite heavily on TV, Hulu and just about anywhere else you look that involves video/TV viewing.

If you’ve ever considered trying out Lumosity, you may have quickly noticed a roadblock in your way: the app is only for iOS. The good news is that the Android version has finally rolled out to Google Play.

For those that haven’t heard of Lumosity, it is billed as a “brain training” program that is in use by over 60 million people across the globe and is reportedly “designed by neuroscientists to train memory, attention and more”. Whether the brain training is really all that effective remains a topic of debate, though obviously a number of people swear by the idea.

So how much does it cost to give Lumosity a try? While the app itself is free, getting the full experience requires a subscription (via in-app purchase). The cost of the subscription is $11.95 a month, a $59.95 a year. That’s certainly a lot to pay for unproven brain training, but if you’re sold on the idea, Lumosity is one of the most well-known brain training brands out there.

What do you think, is Lumosity worth the cost or are you better off spending that money on books and other activities to keep that brain of yours engaged?

from Android Authority http://ift.tt/1vzcL3x

Verizon Rumored To Launch LG G Vista, The G3′s Little Sister

Verizon is set to get the G3 soon, but it looks like that isn’t the only thing they’re getting from LG this summer. While the G3 appeals to those of us who want a powerful flagship phone, it looks as though Verizon is set to get a less powerful (and as a result, a bit cheaper) similar phone called the LG G Vista. At least, that’s the rumor, we actually don’t know what the true specs of the phone will be yet. But assuming that the rumors are true, the Vista is likely to appeal to those who like the general look and feel of the G3 but don’t care for the high-end specs.

This isn’t the first manufacturer to do this, Samsung and HTC also tend to have various spin-offs of their flagships, such as the “Mini” phones like the HTC One Mini and the Galaxy S4 mini. These are attempts to capture the mid and low-range markets by offering products that showcase some of the design and features of their high-end phones, with less power and a lower price. These phones often will carry different names or vary slightly from an almost identical phone on another carrier. The rumor is that a similar phone called the LG G Pro 2 Lite may show up at other carriers as well.

A smart strategy by LG that is sure to attract those who want a premium look and feel, but without the big price tag and big boy spec sheet. Or customers who don’t care about getting the flagship, but still want some of the qualities at the core of its experience. Looking forward to seeing what the final product looks like. It will be interesting to see how many of the G3′s features will carry over to the Vista. As always, we’ll keep you posted as we hear more. Would you buy the Vista? What do you think of these less powerful flagship-inspired phones? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Verizon Rumored To Launch LG G Vista, The G3′s Little Sister appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.

from AndroidHeadlines.com | http://ift.tt/1qZIcRV

US Transportation Department investigating ways of regulating navigation apps on your smartphone

One of the greatest features of a modern smartphone is its ability to completely replace your GPS. There are tons of navigation apps, from Google Maps for your location searching and turn-by-turn directions, to Waze for crowd-sourced road data, to apps like Foursquare that help you find interesting places in your area. The apps are fantastic, but there’s always a risk of distracted driving (and accidents) if a user plays with the app instead of paying attention to the road. Because of those accidents, the US Transportation Department may be looking into ways to impose stricter rules on the use of those apps.

Rumors say that the USTD wants to institute rules for in-car navigation that will only allow them to be accessed for a brief period of time. That “brief period” may be something like two-seconds per interaction, and twelve seconds for each total action. While that would certainly remove most distracted driving, it would also make it pretty difficult to use any device at all on the road.

It’s tough to say if this would have much of a substantial effect on distracted driving, if any of this turned into a law. Many apps explicitly prohibit the use of their services while driving, but that’s a tough rule to enforce. There’s grey area to deal with, like stop lights, dealing with situations where a passenger is handling the app instead of the driver, and things like that. It may not ever make it past the speculation stage, but expect to hear more about regulations like these in the future as smartphones get more and more popular.

source: New York Times

Come comment on this article: US Transportation Department investigating ways of regulating navigation apps on your smartphone

Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

from Android News, Rumours, and Updates http://ift.tt/1vxJ6ri