Skip to Content

Free TUAW iPhone app -- try it now!
AOL Tech

radio posts

Filed under: Audio, Rumors, iPhone, iPod touch

Rumor: Apple adding FM Radio to the iPhone and iPod touch?

Just like the 5th generation iPod nano that was introduced last month, Apple may soon be adding the capability to tune in to FM radio stations on the iPhone and iPod touch, if this report from 9to5Mac is on the money. As some of you may remember, the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chipsets in the iPhone 3GS and the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod touch models already have the capability to support FM radio tuning.

It's also reported that you'll be able to listen to the radio in the background, allowing you to use apps at the same time, just like you listen to music synced to your iPhone or iPod touch. It would also support Live Pause and iTunes Tagging, just like the 5th generation iPod nano does. Also, it would allow you to buy the song directly from your iPod touch. While technically possible, this has been a long-requested but missing feature on the iPhone and iPod touch.

Would you listen to FM radio stations on your iPhone or iPod touch, or do you prefer listening to podcasts or Music synced from iTunes or from a streaming radio service on your iPhone or iPod touch? Let us know in the comments below!

[via Engadget]

Filed under: Audio, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

5 apps for the radio lover

Radio just isn't the way it used to be. It's not that "this ain't your father's radio." This isn't even the radio you knew five years ago. A loosening of media ownership rules (via the 1996 Telecommunications Act) has transformed what was once a local medium into more of a national one, one that put playing more "safe" mainstream material repeatedly in place of diverse content. And while Internet streaming has opened our ears to specific tastes that align with our listening palettes, it didn't align with our increasingly mobile lifestyles. The advent of the App store, however, has created an ecosystem of apps that stream audio content while also aligning with our mobile lifestyles, and I'll highlight a few of my essentials.

Continue reading5 apps for the radio lover

Filed under: Audio, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

NPR News app updated, improved

The NPR News app [iTunes link] is quickly becoming a jack of all trades for news junkies and those wanting a quick fix of their favorite NPR program.

The latest version, 1.1, adds sharing of stories via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail. You can now pause radio programs, as well as fast forward and rewind them.

Finding local stations is easy by using the iPhone's location services, or you can choose to listen to just about every NPR station in the country.

The news part of the app works pretty quickly on a 3G network, but I find the pop-up ads at the bottom irritating. I don't think there are enough news stories on screen at once, an issue it shares with the AP News app. The NPR app has been popular since the moment it was released, and the developers have continued to be responsive and add features on a regular basis.

Getting access to NPR programs like Car Talk and All Things Considered is very nice, plus you can listen to any individual news story on demand.

There is no search function, which would be most welcome, but overall the app is really useful and continues to improve.

If you don't have it, grab it for free. If you already have it and use it, be sure to update to this latest version.

Filed under: Audio, Software, Cool tools

Soundboard is a simple but useful sound board

In the video below I quickly run through the basics of Soundboard, from Ambrosia Software (makers of WireTap Studio and Snapz Pro, but they've made Mac apps and games for years). It's just what you'd think: a series of buttons tied to sounds, just like you'd see at a radio station for live broadcasting.

But Soundboard brings the drag-and-drop ease of desktop computing to the table, and adds several small features that add up. Namely: quick editing and loop controls. Plus, you can route your audio using Soundflower, or just play what you want through speakers. Given the number of crank calls I made as a kid, I'm glad this wasn't around.

Soundboard normally sells for $29, but there's a free trial and you get 25% off if you're a WireTap owner. Also, Ambrosia is encouraging Sound Byte users to switch over with a $19 deal for registered owners of that application. If you've ever wanted a live radio show like Dingo and the Baby, then Soundboard may be just what you need.


Incidentally, the screencast above was made using the excellent site, Screenr.com. If the video won't play on an iPhone, just click here for the Screenr page.

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

Public Radio app updated and renamed

The much beloved Public Radio Tuner has been updated, and now sports a new name. Public Radio Player [App Store] is your easy way to get to most of the NPR stations in the country.

This new version, which remains free, also allows you to find archived shows, like Car Talk, Speaking of Pets, Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me, Fresh Air, and many others. This allows on-demand service of your favorite Public Radio programs.

You also can get a station's current schedule when you start to stream. Some stations don't support it, but if the metadata is there you'll see it in the app.

A couple of things to note at this point: Since the app has been renamed it may not appear when you check for updates at the App Store. However, when you run the older Public Radio Tuner, it will advise you of the new app and download it, leaving your older app in place. The new app won't have your favorites, so those will have to be added in manually.

There is a search function so you can find what you want by station name, call letters, frequency, city, region or category.

I find the new version a bit sluggish, and this is reflected by many other users comments. It's a bit slow to respond on either Wi-Fi or the 3G network.

Some of the stations appear in the list without their location, so it looks like the database should be cleaned up a bit. The app also has to my eye a rather sickly green color. Not a favorite of mine, and I think many people won't be wild about it. Note: The App Store page shows different, better colors (my view) but you can't get them on the release version.

Finally, I had some problems installing this app. On first run it said 'loading' and spun a gear for more than 10 minutes. I bailed out, re-booted my iPhone and it came up fine. If you see something similar, try re-starting your device and see if it solves it.

I love the new features in this app, but it has some rough edges. Luckily it doesn't write over the original version, so you can retain your favorites. I'd like to see a quick update and bug fix for this app, but as it is, it improves on the original feature set and should make Public Radio fans happy.

Here are some screen shots:

Filed under: Audio, iPod Family, Features

Driving along in my automobile, with an iPhone or iPod



Taking a holiday drive with the music blaring is a very American thing to do, but getting your iPod or iPhone to take part has often caused a world of confusion and crude jury-rigged solutions.

Apple has reported that 90% of all current cars are iPod/iPhone enabled, but I have never met anyone who bought one of those cars, so this short article will give you an overview of what's left for the rest of us.

There have been many ideas slung around on how to best integrate your car stereo with an iPod or iPhone. Some time ago we covered a 'complete solution to iPhone car integration. The solutions provided in the referenced iLounge article tells of many combinations of power adapters, FM transmitters, Bluetooth earpieces etc. But that's not the best way.

There is a much more elegant (if expensive) way of doing it, and I would like to scratch the surface on that topic.

Continue readingDriving along in my automobile, with an iPhone or iPod

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Podcasting, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

TUAW First Look: A behind-the-scenes peek at WorldVoice Radio

WorldVoice Radio [iTunes link] is a cool little iPhone app that may help do for podcasting what Twitter did for web publishing -- make it easy to send out short, frequent messages. Of course, there's a difference, since WorldVoice Radio does this by letting you publish short podcasts from your iPhone. If you've used Utterli or Audioboo, you have the general idea.

The app, which was created by Kai Cherry and RnSK Softronics, has just arrived in the App Store. Kai is an occasional guest on the TUAW Talkcast, and he asked a few of the TUAW bloggers to join his beta testing team for WorldVoice Radio. (In the unlikely case that you're not familiar with the concept of beta testing, it's about getting a group of users together to make sure that an app is bug-free and functional prior to going to market.) Follow along as I give you a first look at this intriguing app, and as I beta-test WorldVoice Radio.

Continue readingTUAW First Look: A behind-the-scenes peek at WorldVoice Radio

Filed under: Audio, iPhone, iPod touch, App Review

Stitcher 2.0, now with 100% more TUAW

In our discussions of radio apps for the iPhone we've briefly mentioned Stitcher, a great app for accessing a wide variety of audio programs on the go. In fact, Stitcher has been kind enough to add our TUAW Talkcast in the app and on their site (where you can stream via your browser). Stitcher is currently available for the iPhone and several of the latest BlackBerry models, although the Storm version is still pending. I've been using Stitcher 2 for a while, and if you're a news junkie, you will be pleased.

Check the gallery for a screen-by-screen analysis, but here are some winning points for Stitcher:
  • A large library of podcasts. Why listen via Stitcher? Well, you can get them on the go and you don't have to download them.
  • A library of headlines -- posts read aloud from sites like TechCrunch and Macworld. It might seem silly to some, but for commuters it's a great way to hear what your favorite sites are writing about.
  • Even more content from people like NPR, MSNBC, Fox News, Slate, CNN, The Onion and many others.
  • A "station" model like Pandora. The idea is to "stitch" together a station of the stuff you like. Maybe you like a little offbeat humor, a little financial news and then wind down with Engadget headlines. Stitcher can do that.
  • Stitcher is also pretty good at recommending content, so it becomes a discovery tool (again, like Pandora). The pre-configured stations are excellent and grouped around content. One of note: Short Attention Span -- all shows are under 3 minutes.
  • You can choose to enable an account with Stitcher, providing a connected experience from the web to your iPhone.
  • The app itself has a history feature (handy and underrated), an excellent search function and a way to favorite stations.
  • Since Stitcher has a web presence, you're also able to get alerts via email or SMS when fresh content arrives. You can set this for any station or broadcast.

Stitcher [iTunes link] is free, setting up an account is free, and all the content is free, so you won't lose anything by trying it out. While you do, be sure to check out the TUAW Talkcast on Stitcher and Engadget's headlines.

Gallery: Stitcher 2.0

Main listCreating a stationListeningThe Apple & Mac category

Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Calling all iPhones! Emergency scanner apps on the loose!

Sometimes it's uncanny how many similar iPhone apps appear at about the same time. Over the past week or so, we've heard about a number of new apps that "tune you into" streaming police, fire, and emergency medical service radio services. Apps like this can be useful to volunteer firefighters, off-duty policemen, news crews, scanner enthusiasts, and the occasional ambulance-chasing lawyer.

The first out of the box is Police Scanner 1.1 (US$2.99, click opens iTunes) from Juicy Development. This app now features over 1,100 streams from 7 different countries and a streamlined interface for getting to your favorite local emergency radio, The developers will add any compatible stream to their app within hours of being notified of that stream, so if there are no local radios listed now, there may be soon.

Next in the queue is Emergency Radio 1.1 (US$0.99, click opens iTunes) from Edge Rift. It's available in a free "Lite" version if you want to try it out on a handful of major cities, or you can spend a buck to get over 900 feeds from all over the US. I personally thought the code lists (see photo) are a nice touch.

If you prefer a little music with your police calls, Wunder Radio 1.6 (US$6.99, click opens iTunes) not only captures the same emergency radio streams from ScanAmerica.us as the other two apps, but is also the best (IMHO) iPhone app out there for listening to local radio stations. It also gives you NOAA weather information for US locations, not to mention railroad crew and dispatch calls.

Regardless of which scanner app you select, it's sure to give you hours of fun, and it's definitely worth listening in on why the cops visited your neighbor's house at 3 A.M.

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

It's a wunder-ful day: win a copy of Wunder Radio 1.6

We've had lots of giveaway goodness going on at TUAW lately. We had the MacHeist bundle giveaway, and now we're giving away 20 copies of Wunder Radio 1.6 (click opens iTunes).

Wunder Radio is from the smart folks at Weather Underground, and it's an impressive app for listening to over 30,000 radio stations worldwide. The new version 1.6 has a new, more aesthetic design, and an internal web browser has been added for surfing while you're soaking up the tunes. Wunder Radio is now localized in Spanish, German, Italian, French, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and Brazilian Portugese.

Despite the global reach of Wunder Radio, our contest is limited to readers from the US (sorry, promo codes only work in the US). Read the rules below for details, and good luck.
  • Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
  • To enter leave a comment telling us which radio station you want to listen to using Wunder Radio.
  • The comment must be left before April 8, 5:00PM Eastern Time.
  • You may enter only once.
  • Twenty winners will be selected in a random drawing.
  • Prize: one license code for Wunder Radio ($5.99 value)
  • Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Filed under: iTS, Multimedia, iPhone, App Store

Tune into iPhone radio apps

Streaming radio apps for the iPhone/iPod touch are exploding in 2009. TUAW favorite Pandora was updated to 2.0 a couple of weeks ago, but it's hardly the only game in town. Back at Macworld, Chris Pirillo showed me StarPlayr for the iPhone, which lets Sirius and XM Radio subscribers access stations via the iPhone. The app isn't available right now, but it'll hopefully be in the App Store soon.

Chris demoed the app extensively on his own site and having seen it in person, it is really impressive. Even with the crappy 3G signal we had on our trip to Cupertino, the stations streamed in at nice quality and there was an option to buy a track or album directly from iTunes. XM and Sirius both offer some great stations for talk radio and sports fans, and to me, that's where these types of streaming apps really shine.

Pandora and Last.fm aren't the only streaming radio services around, AOL's SHOUTcast Radio [iTunes link] app debuted in the App Store a few weeks ago and it'll stream your favorite SHOUTcast stations in up to 128k streams (go to Settings on your iPhone, select SHOUTcast and select "allow high-bit streams"), favorite radio stations, search for artists (though the currently-playing artists is a bit delayed) and peruse the extensive SHOUTcast index.

More below...

Continue readingTune into iPhone radio apps

Filed under: TUAW Business

TUAW guests on Your Mac Life... right now

If you're not watching the presidential debate tonight, and you feel like more Mac news is what you need, then pop over to Shawn King's Your Mac Life show -- live now, 8:30 pm ET -- and tune in for MacBook discussion and more. I'll be on the show for the segment starting at about 9:20 pm to discuss your responses to the loss of Firewire on the MBs and more.

Your Mac Life is online at yourmaclifeshow.com and is streamed in QuickTime for your listening pleasure.

Update: The show archive is here -- thanks Shawn, and sorry about the coughing.

Filed under: Audio, Software, iPhone, App Store

TUAW Review: WunderRadio

WunderRadioThe geniuses at Weather Underground have done it again! Now they've capitalized on their insight into weather radio to bring the iPhone world WunderRadio. Available in the App Store (click opens iTunes) for US$5.99, WunderRadio provides NOAA Weather streams based on your current location.

But there's a lot more to WunderRadio than NOAA Weather. Weather Underground has joined with RadioTime.com to provide thousands of radio streams from around the world. Once again, based on your current location, WunderRadio provides a listing of nearby stations to provide you with local AM, FM, and Internet radio streams.

Enthusiasts of live police, fire, and EMS scanners get a bonus in the form of scanner feeds from ScanAmerica.us. With all of this content, who needs iTunes? Of course, the app has to do a good job of capturing the audio stream on the iPhone.

"The initial impetus behind this application was to provide iPhone users with instant access to local weather radio streams," said Alan Steremberg, President of Weather Underground. "During development, we decided to extend the scope of radio stations offered by working with RadioTime - the result is an easy to use portal to over 60,000 of the best talk, music and sports radio stations around the globe."

Read on for a quick review of WunderRadio.

Continue readingTUAW Review: WunderRadio

Filed under: Odds and ends

Experimental BBC Radio widget released, works with Radio Pop

BBC Radio Pop widget

You may already use one of several different Dashboard widgets for listening to BBC radio programmes over the net; but the team at BBC Labs has just released a new one that offers something a bit different.

It's part of a wider project called Radio Pop that turns radio listening into a social activity. As long as you're listening to your BBC programmes via the Radio Pop player (available in-browser or, as I said at the start, as a widget), you can "Pop" your favourites - in other words, flag them.

Your Radio Pop profile page shows what you've been listening to. Your Pops show the things you liked most, and give you quick access to programme information pages. Right now it's limited to live radio streams, but plans are underway to add the BBC's Listen Again output as well, which will make it much more interesting. (Developers: there's an API for you to play with, too.)

Since I'm in the UK, I haven't been able to confirm that this works elsewhere; YMMV. One additional requirement for making it work is a copy of Real Player, which the BBC uses for all its radio streams. Download it via the links on this BBC help page and you'll get a version that doesn't come laden with ads.

Filed under: Hacks, How-tos, Tips and tricks, Odds and ends

Use a Red Bull can as a radio interference shield



I love the iPhone, save for one thing. It sits on my desk every night, right near my computer, and the speakers I've got hooked up to it. And every 15 minutes, when the iPhone checks email for me, I get that buzzing -- the sound of radio interference flying across my speaker wires. And almost every night, I have to jump out of bed angrily just to shut off the speakers and stop the buzzing. Little did I know, all I've ever needed was an empty can of Red Bull.

Yes, someone has fashioned a "shield" out of an emptied and carved up Red Bull can, and supposedly it works like a charm -- just fashion it around the dock that came with the iPhone, use a little doublestick tape to make sure it stays on there (and I would maybe put some around the edges, too, so you don't slice your fingers open every time you pull the iPhone off the dock), and no more buzzing sound.

The maker does wonder if it would affect the actual signal of the iPhone at all, but it hasn't so far. If you've got a Red Bull can around to cut up and are driven as nuts as I am by that buzzing noise, here's your makeshift solution. The other option is to buy speakers that don't buzz, of course, but this seems a lot cheaper.

Tip of the Day

F11 moves all your windows off the screen so you can quickly glance at your desktop. F10 shows you every open window in an application. F9 shows every open window for every application that isn't hidden or in the dock.


Follow us on Twitter!
 TUAW [Cafepress]

Featured Galleries

DNC Macs
Macworld 2008 Keynote
Macworld 2008 Build-up
Google Earth for iPhone
Podcaster
Storyist 2.0
AT&T Navigator Road Test
Bento for iPhone 1.0
Scrabble for iPhone
Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer Briefcase
Apple Vanity Plates
Apple booth Macworld 07
WorldVoice Radio
Quickoffice for iPhone 1.1.1
Daylite 3.9 Review
DiscPainter
Mariner Calc for iPhone
2009CupertinoBus
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D
MLB.com At Bat 2009
Macworld Expo 2007 show floor

 

More Apple Analysis

AOL Radio TUAW on Stitcher