
Reviewed Jun 2, 2009
Filed Under:
Developer:
NormSoft, Inc.
Age rating: 4+
Rating Description
4+ Applications in this category contain no objectionable material.
9+ Applications in this category may contain mild or infrequent occurrences of cartoon, fantasy or realistic violence, and infrequent or mild mature, suggestive, or horror-themed content which may not be suitable for children under the age of 9.
12+ Applications in this category may also contain infrequent mild language, frequent or intense cartoon, fantasy or realistic violence, and mild or infrequent mature or suggestive themes, and simulated gambling which may not be suitable for children under the age of 12.
17+ Applications in this category may also contain frequent and intense offensive language; frequent and intense cartoon, fantasy or realistic violence; and frequent and intense mature, horror, and suggestive themes; plus sexual content, nudity, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs which may not be suitable for children under the age of 17.
Compatibility: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.
Pocket Tunes RadioCurrent Version: 5.5.5
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"Pocket Tunes Radio from NormSoft sets itself apart by allowing you to listen to many stations not compatible with other apps." - Macworld (4 Mouse Rating)
"iPhone App Store Pick of the Year" - theiphoneblog.com
"Overall, Pocket Tunes Radio is a quality application for the iPhone and iPod touch." - macyourself.com
"...well worth every penny..." - Handz On Radio
PODCASTS (New in version 5.5)
Listen to more than 16,000 (and growing) podcasts in the catalog, including radio shows, music, audio books, and virtually any topic worth talking about! Pocket Tunes Radio automatically downloads your subscribed podcasts and makes it super simple to listen to the ones you want to hear. Many podcasts can also be played in the background while you use other apps.
RECORDING
Record your favorite stations to playback later. This is great for news shows that you want to listen to at a later time or when you want to listen to radio when you don't have an Internet connection, like on the plane or subway. While playing back, you can skip forward and back to skip past songs and commercials you don't want to hear.
STATIONS NEAR YOU
Pocket Tunes Radio lets you search for stations based on your current location using the GPS technology in your iPhone.
WEB-BASED STATIONS
In addition to thousands of free stations, also listen to web based subscription services for XM and Sirius satellite radio (Howard Stern, Oprah, BBC, Martha Stewart, NFL, NHL, Bloomberg, etc., ...), and Live365 VIP. These services require an active paid subscription to listen, and Pocket Tunes provides access to thousands of free stations as well. To learn more, visit pockettunesradio.com.
SELECTION (Now over 23,000 streams!)
The pre-populated station catalog can be browsed by genre and by country. You can select from over 23,000 streams (including popular stations like KCRW, Hot 97, BBC 1, etc., ...) or browse the web to add even more. The catalog is continually updated and will automatically grow as new stations are added. For convenience, you can even hide groups of stations that aren't of interest to you.
BACKGROUND PLAYBACK
MP3 and AAC+ stations (and many podcasts) can be played in the background while you run other applications on your iPhone or iPod touch.
INTELLIGENCE
To maximize playback quality, stream speed is automatically selected for you based on whether a wifi or Edge/3G network is being used.
PERSONALIZE
Add stations to your Favorites for quick access the next time you listen.
COLLECT SONGS
With the tap of a button, Pocket Tunes Radio will search for the current song in the iTunes Store so you can buy it or learn more.
MULTI TASK
Want to listen to Internet radio but still check your e-mail or surf the web? Easy, Pocket Tunes comes with a robust built in web browser so you can surf while Pocket Tunes Radio plays.
SEARCH
Know the station you are looking for? Enter a keyword on the search tab to search the entire catalog of stations, by city, state, country, call sign, or frequency. You can even search within a group of stations, and filter the results by station tags.
SUPPORT
We invest in top-notch support engineers to get you quick and helpful responses to all of your questions. Want to see your favorite station in our catalog? Just send a request to support@normsoft.com to get it added, or access our support request form directly from the Stations tab within the Pocket Tunes Radio application by tapping Help.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
* Formats: MP3, AAC, WMA, AAC+, Ogg Vorbis.
* Streaming Audio
Pocket Tunes Radio Review
Streaming app includes access to satellite radio services through the Web
iPhone users have quite a few Internet radio apps from which to choose. Pocket Tunes Radio from NormSoft sets itself apart from by allowing you to listen to many stations not compatible with other apps. Most significantly, Pocket Tunes Radio offers satellite radio station compatibility through the XM and Sirius Web sites (provided, of course, you’re a subscriber to those satellite radio services).

Up and Down the Dial: Pocket Tunes Radio’s search and organization features help you find streaming radio stations, like this collection of stations specializing in ’80s music.
Like other Internet radio apps, Pocket Tunes Radio provides a directory of Internet radio stations sorted by category. There are hundreds of preprogrammed stations divided among a few dozen categories. Fortunately, the app’s search feature can help you navigate through all of the options; you can even mark favorite stations for quick access. If you hear something you like, you can search the iTunes catalog from within Pocket Tunes Radio, transferring over to the iTunes Store to buy the song.
Don’t expect CD quality audio from Pocket Tunes Radio—most of these stations are heavily compressed, though I found them to be fine for casual listening. And the low bit rates come with an advantage: you’ll be able to listen to stations on connections on not only Wi-Fi but also 3G and even EDGE.
Pocket Tunes Radio distinguishes itself with a built-in browser that lets you access many Web-based radio stations, including those which require a username and password like Sirius and XM satellite radio stations. Until Sirius XM releases an iPhone app, this is your only way to take advantage of the Internet streaming component of a satellite radio subscription.
I tested this feature using Sirius, and it works quite well. You’ll have to initially navigate the Web site to enter your username/password, but once you mark the station as a favorite, returning to it is a breeze. The built-in browser also allows you to surf the Internet while you continue to play your music since, like all Internet radio apps, background operation isn’t possible.
With plenty of free Internet radio apps available, how do you justify Pocket Tunes Radio’s $10 price tag? It comes down to whether or not you want access to radio stations the others can’t receive. For me, it was an easy decision because for now, Pocket Tunes Radio is the only way to stream satellite radio to your iPhone or iPod touch.
Pocket Tunes Radio is compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch running the iPhone 2.2 software update.
[James Savage is the host of the RetroMacCast a weekly podcast devoted to older Macintosh computers.]
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