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iPad, iPod touch, & iPhone app reviews from our editors—and you!
Filed Under:
Developer:
EdgeRift, Inc.
Age rating: 12+
Compatibility: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
Requires iPhone OS 3.1.2 or later.
Emergency Radio ~ The Ultimate Police, Fire, EMS, ATC, Weather, Railroad, and Marine ScannerCurrent Version: 1.9.9
See more Medical app reviews under $5 »
THE BUZZ:
"We recently had a major brush fire in my neighborhood... We were able to prepare by listening in as to where the fire was progressing." - Vervanwhoop (App Store reviewer)
"Just gets better & better" - DR SoFla (App Store reviewer)
"Keep up the good work guys! v1.8 is awesome I like the new features. Can't wait for v1.9!" - Jonathan H. (Twitter)
"... I love those new UI tweaks... well done guys!" - Josh H. (Twitter)
STAY UP TO DATE:
✓ Follow us on Twitter (@emergencyradio)
✓ Become a fan on Facebook (facebook.com/emergencyradio)
FEATURES:
✓ Extensive ever-expanding database with over 3,700 live feeds (police, fire, EMS, railroad, air traffic, NOAA weather, coast guard, and more)
✓ REAL-TIME database updates
✓ Background playback (use other apps while you listen)
✓ Reliable LAPD coverage, hosted by EdgeRift
✓ Listen via built-in speaker, headphones, iHome, Livespeakr, or Bluetooth
✓ Built-in scanner codes make it easy to follow along with the action
✓ Find nearby feeds using your iPhone's GPS / triangulation
✓ Keep a list of your favorite feeds for fast access
✓ Restores last playing feed on startup
FEED LOCATIONS:
Below are a few of the many emergency frequencies that you'll find in Emergency Radio. Please be advised that not all locations are available yet and some feeds are only online during certain times of the day.
✓ Atlanta Fire
✓ Atlanta Police
✓ CalFire
✓ Cape Cod Police, Fire, Coast Guard
✓ Cedar Rapids Police, Fire, EMS
✓ Chicago Police
✓ Chicago Fire
✓ Columbus Police, Fire, EMS
✓ Dallas Police, Fire
✓ Denver Police, Fire
✓ Detroit Police, Fire
✓ Grand Canyon Police, Fire, EMS
✓ Hartford Police, Fire
✓ Hawaii Police (Big Island)
✓ Houston Police
✓ Indianapolis Police, Fire
✓ Kennedy Space Center (Shuttle)
✓ Los Angeles County Police, Sheriff, Fire, EMS
✓ Massachusetts State Patrol
✓ Memphis Police, Fire
✓ Miami Police
✓ Mobile Fire, Search & Rescue
✓ NYPD Police
✓ New Jersey State Police
✓ New Orleans Fire
✓ New York Fire
✓ Oklahoma City Fire
✓ Philadelphia Police, Fire
✓ Phoenix Police, Fire
✓ Pittsburgh Fire
✓ Portland Police
✓ Raleigh Fire, EMS
✓ Reno Police, Fire
✓ San Diego Police, Fire, EMS
✓ San Jose Police, Fire
✓ Santa Cruz Fire
✓ Seattle Police, Fire, EMS
✓ Sedona Fire
✓ South Carolina Highway Patrol
✓ St. Louis Police, Fire, EMS
✓ Tampa Police, Fire
✓ Tucson Police, Fire, EMS
You can find a full list of all currently available frequencies at: edgerift.com/products/emergencyradio. Available frequencies are subject to change at any time. EdgeRift, Inc. does not own/operate all frequencies. All frequency content is provided freely by third parties.
PROBLEMS?
✓ Instead of posting a review, please email us for help at support@edgerift.com. We'll get back to you as soon as possible.
(If you post a review, there is no way for us to contact you due to App Store limitations.)
WANT TO HOST A FEED FOR YOUR LOCATION?
✓ All you need is a scanner, computer (Mac or PC), and Internet connection. Find out more at: edgerift.com/hostfeed
Emergency Radio ~ The Ultimate Police, Fire, EMS, ATC, Weather, Railroad, and Marine Scanner Review
Turn your mobile device into a police scanner
EdgeRift’s Emergency Radio turns your iPhone into a police scanner. By delivering hundreds of live streaming police, fire, and EMS radio channels to your mobile device, the $1 Emergency Radio serves a unique function for iPhone and iPod touch owners.
Know the Code: While you listen to a live stream of police, fire, and EMS radio channels, Emergency Radio displays a scrollable list of codes so you can follow along.
When you open Emergency Radio, the first thing you’ll see is a list of all available police, fire, and EMS channels in alphabetical order by city. Hundreds of channels appear on the list, including several for larger cities where police, fire and EMS each have their own channels. (Smaller cities and towns often use one channel for all three.) When you select a channel from the list, the app switches to its Now Playing screen.
While the audio stream is playing, the screen displays a very long, scrollable glossary of police scanner “10 codes,” allowing you to look up codes as they’re called out to better understand what you’re hearing over the radio. The Now Playing screen also includes a stop button, a volume slider and an Add to Favorite Stations button to bookmark any station for easy reference later.
With hundreds of different streams, you can listen to everything from the relative slowness of an afternoon in small town Kentucky to the hustle and bustle of the LAPD with a tap of your finger. The amount of streams available to you is almost overwhelming.
To help you navigate through all those streams, Emergency Radio includes a search box at the top of the channels screen. While the search box is easy to use, it is essentially the only way to navigate the list of channels. While you can scroll through the list with a flick of your finger, there’s no way to jump back to the top of the list quickly. Some method to return to the top—a Contacts-like alphabet directory or even a simple tap across the top of the screen—would be welcome.
The audio quality in Emergency Radio varies depending on the quality of each feed. All feeds are broadcast over the Internet and, as such, any number of variables can affect a stream’s quality. It’s also worth noting that not all listed channels are available all of the time, though that’s a result of the streaming process and not a defect on Emergency Radio’s part. During my tests, the quality varied from stream to stream but streams from larger cities were generally clearer than their small town counterparts. On average, the audio quality was relatively clear, especially given that you are using a mobile device and moving frequently while doing so.
In addition to the main screen’s available channels and now playing screens, Emergency Radio contains two other tabs: Nearby and Favorites. The former taps into the location features of the iPhone and iPod touch to identify and display nearby feeds. Favorites stores any bookmarked feeds for easy access.
Emergency Radio essentially allows you to carry a police scanner with you at all times. Anyone interested in law enforcement or just looking for another “look what my iPhone can do” application should check it out.
Emergency Radio is compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch running the iPhone 2.2.1 software update.
[Brendan Wilhide is a frequent contributor to Macworld.com. He writes about sports on Twitter and validates athlete Twitter accounts at his Web site .]
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