Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, Internet, Reviews, iPhone, TUAW Faceoff, App Store
TUAW Faceoff: Pandora vs. AOL Radio
When the App Store first launched last Thursday, I saw Pandora and AOL Radio and immediately wondered if they would work on my first generation iPhone using EDGE. The quick answer is yes, however, you do make some sacrifices in one of the applications. Read my full review below to get the full details. About Pandora (Download Link)
Pandora is a part of the Music Genome Project and allows you to create "stations" of your favorite artists. Pandora then pairs those artists to others you might like and plays an unlimited playlist based on your favorite artists. Pandora tracks your likes and dislikes and will play songs based on those results. Pandora lets you find new music for free, and who can argue with that?
About AOL Radio (Download Link)
AOL Radio is a CBS Radio partner that provides online streaming radio stations. Unlike Pandora, AOL Radio is a true streaming radio station in the sense that you can play local stations which support in-audio advertising. AOL Radio can use the location feature in order to find CBS affiliate stations that bitcast near you.
User Interface
Both Pandora and AOL Radio follow a similar user interface design: they both look like the iPod feature on iPhone/iPod touch. Both of the interfaces are nice, however, I have the same gripes for both. The volume controllers in both seem to be independent of the iPhone's volume controller. This can cause the audio to be distorted if you turn it up too much in the applications themselves since you can use the volume buttons on the side to control the audio volume as well.
Secondly, I would love to be able to quit the application and have the audio keep playing (I know, this is an Apple/SDK restriction, but it would still be nice). You can, however, lock the phone and keep the audio playing (which is a nice feature).
Both applications allow you to purchase the currently playing song from the iTunes WiFi Music store. AOL Radio also provides a link to find out more about the currently playing song on AOL Radio's site.
WiFi (or 3G) vs. EDGE Use
When you are playing the music over WiFi (or the 3G cell network), you get awesome audio quality. Both applications seem to provide audio quality that matches that of purchased iTunes songs. On EDGE, however, AOL Radio falls short by providing very low quality audio (I would guess 56k audio). However, Pandora on EDGE seems to maintain good audio quality when you have a signal that is greater than 2/5 bars.
So, who wins?
Since both of these applications are absolutely free and have equal pros and cons, I would recommend downloading both to see which one fits you the best. If you are on a 3G iPhone, both will work well no matter where you are (assuming you're within 3G coverage). However, if you have a 2G iPhone, you might prefer Pandora because it provides better audio quality over EDGE. You can download both applications by clicking the download links above.
Disclaimer: The Unofficial Apple Weblog and AOL Radio are both owned by AOL.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
James said 9:21AM on 7-14-2008
LAME PANDORA no iPod Touch support, no excuse when last.fm works
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Zoopra9457 said 9:30AM on 7-14-2008
Listening to Pandora on an iPod touch as I type.
James said 9:36AM on 7-14-2008
Weird its not showing up on my app store :(
I retract my statement then
Zoopra9457 said 9:51AM on 7-14-2008
That's how I downloaded it, but maybe try through iTunes. It's currently listed as #5 on the Top 25 for "Top Free" in the App Store.
olivegreen said 9:29AM on 7-14-2008
hey, nice report- but what about last.fm? they just published an application that grants access to their services, and it looks pretty good so far.
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Ryan Scott said 9:18AM on 7-14-2008
So basically Pandora wins you just can't say that...
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J.Y. said 9:23AM on 7-14-2008
Another factor would be if you are already a user of Pandora and have a saved profile with "station" presets that can be leveraged via the new app. I fall into that category, so the Pandora app is a nice extension of a web app that I enjoy. Same could be said for the last.fm app that was just released...
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Galley said 9:24AM on 7-14-2008
The Last.FM app just launched, and it also supports streaming radio based on the tracks in your library.
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Darnell said 9:27AM on 7-14-2008
I like listening to sports talk radio during work. I tried to get Pandora tune into a station. AOL radio has some talk radio stations does Pandora have it too.
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Big John said 9:33AM on 7-14-2008
It's difficult to compare the two. While they are both radio programs, each serves a different master. I like AOL Radio so I can tune in to local sports stations around the nation but I also like Pandora because of the 'custom' playlist.
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federico said 9:37AM on 7-14-2008
too bad they don't exist outside USA
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DSeaver said 9:36AM on 7-14-2008
Pandora on the iPhone?! Thats great. I tried using it on my Cingular (AT&T) 8125 and it wont run on the phone because it's not supported hardware. Pandora is awesome and when I get my iPhone in Sept, I'll definitely be getting this app!
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Kelmon said 9:38AM on 7-14-2008
Pandora would have been an easy win but it doesn't work outside the US anymore (not for about the past 2-years, I think) due to "licensing restrictions". As an avid user up until that point I was gutted when the shut-off occurred. If AOL works outside the US then they win because, frankly, it's an open goal...
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Thom Brooks said 9:45AM on 7-14-2008
I thought the big thing about Pandora was that you tell it what you like and it dynamically tries to find other music like your original song.
AOL Radio gives you access to internet streams from brick-and-mortar radio stations.
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JR said 9:49AM on 7-14-2008
Two words: Nullriver's Tuner
Better than these two apps, 500 stations to choose from, bookmark ability, ability to add your own shoutcast server or streams. Yes, it's 4.99, but it's worth every penny.
You disappoint me TUAW. Maybe you guys should have a budget to try out the pay-apps instead of just the free ones?
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Bob S. said 10:08AM on 7-14-2008
"Review"? Where do you discuss the high points, the low points, the bugs, the features, the misfeatures? This is more like Bart Simpson's book report on "Treasure Island."
Anyway, I set up Pandora on my iPod touch and found myself greatly disappointed. With a strong wi-fi signal, not a single song has played through from start to finish. I set up about half a dozen stations, and two of them repeat the artist I chose and one single other artist (whom I can't stand, in each case) and, when I downrated that other artist sufficiently, the stations just stopped. And while I know the program is designed to help me discover other music, which I very much want, if I'm going to base a station on an artist, that artist should be played more than any of the related artists -- in two oither cases, I'd hear a track by the artist I named every 20 or 30 minutes or so, which is fine, but then in the interim I'd hear two or three cuts by a single different artist. Ideally, Pandora should have enough information (it has been going on quite a while now) that it doesn't have to repeat any artists so often, but when it does, the artist the station's named after should be the one repeated.
Also, I should be able to completely block certain bands. Or, at the very least, Pandora should be nice enough not to play the Grateful Dead unless you really insist on it. Gaaahhh.
And the info screen is just ludicrous. I'd much rather see statistics about "of the x listeners who created this station, y have given this song a thumbs-up."
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dance said 10:22AM on 7-14-2008
Thanks for this type of comparative review, that's very useful to readers!
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Larry said 10:36AM on 7-14-2008
Uh which one kills my battery faster? That would be good to know, doncha think?
Or, if you want to hear a particular artist, which one is better? At least with my Pandora stations I am assured of hearing a tune or two by the artist associated with the station (if I set it up that way) and others like it. Not so much with AOL radio.
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SimpleLife said 10:53AM on 7-14-2008
Pandora and AOL? There are other options if anyone's wants more selection and genres.
Try "Tuner" iPhone and iPod Touch application.
You get all the Shoutcast Streams with bookmarks, search, multiple bit rates for different transmission rates, many genres, and volume adjustment.
I love this thing. I've been waiting for this type of mobile Internet Radio since the dawn of Internet Radio.
Here's the link to iTunes store:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284205617&mt=8
Still a nice post by TUAW for sharing AOL and Pandora experience.
PS Do not buy allRadio App. It sucks. I want my money back. No volume adjustment, missing radio stations, no bitrate selection, crashes/resets often.
Johnny Thrash said 10:29AM on 7-14-2008
AOL... as if.
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