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Second look: Public Radio Tuner for iPhone

by Mel Martin Jan 23rd 2009 at 5:30PM

American Public Radio has updated and improved its free app for listening to public radio streams on the iPhone/iPod touch. We had a look at the first version in early December, and the criticisms Megan Lavey noted in her review have been addressed.

Public Radio Tuner [app store link] has access to more than 200 streams from stations around the country. With this 1.1 update, this version starts up faster, works better over the slower EDGE network, and you can now search for your favorite station by call letters, frequency, city, region or format.

The app now uses location services to find stations that are near you, which is great if you are traveling.

Here are some things I'd like to see in the next version. Most important would be to have stations grouped by category. As it is now you can use the search tool and input a keyword like 'jazz' to get a list of stations with that format. I'd rather see some buttons that let me get this information without typing.

Another welcome fix would be web links. Each station page has the web URL to the station, but it is not click-able. I know you'd lose the stream if you bring up Safari, but the developers could have browser access from within the app as some others have done. Even better, Apple should fix the restriction in the iPhone OS that won't allow multitasking for 3rd party programs.

A spokesperson for the Public Radio Exchange, which is behind the app, tells me a May update will include program guide information. It will also allow listeners to get on-demand content, which is a big plus. And they say they are working on integrating a web browser. Yippee!

Not all Public Radio Stations are going to be found with this app. All stations were asked to contribute, but some don't stream, and others didn't want to participate.

The new features in Public Radio Tuner are most welcome, and I expect to be using it quite a bit. Give it a try and see if it fits your needs for music and talk that goes beyond the usual commercial radio fare.

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American Public Radio has updated and improved its free app for listening to public radio streams on the iPhone/iPod touch. We had a look...
 

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Joseph

There's another review at http://www.iphoneappratings.org/public-radio-tuner-review that has some screenshots.

February 20 2009 at 7:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Rekha

Mel - thanks for spending time with the Public Radio Tuner. Some major public radio organizations are behind this app: NPR, PRI, APM, Public Interactive, and Public Radio Exchange.

Also, while the Tuner has over 200 stations, there are about 800 public radio stations in the U.S. So there's lots of room to grow! We're regularly adding new streams - any public radio station is welcome to submit. They can do this by going to PublicRadioTuner.com.

If people want a public radio station that's not already in the app, we encourage them to contact that station directly. We also invite people to give us feedback and requests at PublicRadioTuner.com. This is an open, collaborative project, so everyone can help shape it.

Best,
Rekha Murthy
PRX.org

January 24 2009 at 12:02 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Rekha's comment
milkmage

has PRX considered providing a form for your listeners to submit a petition to stations that don't have a compatible feed? i'm thinking if PRX submitted a petition to radio stations on behalf of your users, it might carry a little more mojo than a bunch of single emails sent to the stations directly.

January 24 2009 at 2:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
toby

I was happy to see that there is a public radio application for the iphone. Unfortunately, it turned out to be quite a dud, at least to me. I wasn't able to hear a single station. I tried about 10, at random. It seemed to load forever. Once this happened it was impossible to get out of application without a hard reboot. I tried the program with both wifi and 3G.

January 23 2009 at 11:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mikelite

merte, how do I delete that previous comment?! stupid 1Passwd autosubmit.

so much for leaving a sarcastic comment about how boring that review was...

January 23 2009 at 8:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mikelite

"After much internal debate..." - how many personalities does this guy have?

January 23 2009 at 8:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Old Boy

FStream is another free tuner that supports Shotcast and all the iTunes radio feeds + you can enter yourt own urls.

January 23 2009 at 6:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Aloysius Snuffleupagus

Unfortunately, Jamie, it's not possible. Streaming and downloadable audio require an internet connection, something iPhones and iPod Touches can have but not iPod classics. You could buy an Apple iPod Radio Remote which does an adequate job of turning your iPod into a radio. Of course you can subscribe to the many Public Radio Podcasts available on iTunes and sync them on your classic.

January 23 2009 at 6:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Aloysius Snuffleupagus's comment
grandmaschineseapple

Thanks Aloysius,
Yeah, that's what I pretty much figured. Don't know why I didn't realize it before. Ipod classic doesn't have a built in tuner and can't go online so of course that means no radio. I'm sort of against buying the ipod radio remote. I feel like I'm already paying a good deal for the ipod and that nowadays radio tuners must be super cheap and easy to make. Seems like another excuse to charge people for something that should be built in and could be easily. Before owning an ipod I had an iriver that i liked and it had a built in radio tuner.

I do the public radio podcasts now and then (this american life!!!) but sometimes it's nice to just flip through stations.

Thanks again!

January 26 2009 at 5:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
grandmaschineseapple

Sort of related question, do people make apps like this for ipod classic? Is that something that's even possible?

January 23 2009 at 6:01 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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