Complete archive of the MP3 Insider Podcast
MP3 Insider 1: Social music sitesMP3 Insider 2: The hype around the Toshiba Gigabeat SMP3 Insider 3: A la carte vs. subscription modelsMP3 Insider 4: To DRM or not to DRMMP3 Insider 5: New, improved WMP 11MP3 Insider 6: Wave goodbye to AllofMP3.com?MP3 Insider 7: Wi-Fi players are coming!MP3 Insider 8: Europe v. iTunesMP3 Insider 9: Does Microsoft have an iPod killer?MP3 Insider 10: iPod sweatshop dramaMP3 Insider 11: Rumor day! Place your bets!MP3 Insider 12: Apple movie subscriptionsMP3 Insider 13: Interview with CowonMP3 Insider 14: The great headphone debateMP3 Insider 15: Best music jukeboxesMP3 Insider 16: Cell phones with MP3 playersMP3 Insider 17: How do you rock out in your car?MP3 Insider 18: Is DRM dead?MP3 Insider 19: Interview with Slim DevicesMP3 Insider 20: Apple day!MP3 Insider 21: Brown is the new blackMP3 Insider 22: Wi-fi playersMP3 Insider 23: Where's the Zen V Plus?MP3 Insider 24: Discussion on Real/RhapsodyMP3 Insider 25: Happy birthday, iPod!MP3 Insider 26: Interview with Russell HollimanMP3 Insider 27: Reader feedback day!MP3 Insider 28: Microsoft's renaissance?MP3 Insider 29: Zune fight!MP3 Insider 30: iPod lemons?MP3 Insider 31: Fake out iTunesMP3 Insider 32: Best of 2006, among other thingsMP3 Insider 33: CES preview, etc.MP3 Insider 34: What we liked at CESMP3 Insider 35: Babies like music tooMP3 Insider 36: Too many recommendations!MP3 Insider 37: A DRM-free future?MP3 Insider 38: Another listener-feedback dayMP3 Insider 39: Satellite surpriseMP3 Insider 40: Being sure of ShureMP3 Insider 41: We are such slackersMP3 Insider 42: iRiver investigatory journalismMP3 Insider 43: Hooray for DRM-free!MP3 Insider 44: New Zunes?MP3 Insider 45: Tunes in spaceMP3 Insider 46: A halo of soundMP3 Insider 47: Smaller is betterMP3 Insider 48: Worst MP3 playerMP3 Insider 49: A product only a grandma could loveMP3 Insider 50: Lala and We7MP3 Insider 51: Another new iRiverMP3 Insider 52: Hot gadgets in the summertimeMP3 Insider 53: The suckitude of shuffleMP3 Insider 54: iPhone deal breakerMP3 Insider 55: Players galore!MP3 Insider 56: Sweat to the musicMP3 Insider 57: Travel with tunesMP3 Insider 58: The extra-long episodeMP3 Insider 59: Beer and musicMP3 Insider 60: Mainstream or notMP3 Insider 61: The NDA rantMP3 Insider 62: Pre-iPod madnessMP3 Insider 63: iPod mania!MP3 Insider 64: Avoiding the iPodMP3 Insider 65: What's in an interface?MP3 Insider 66: About autoresumeMP3 Insider 67: Name that soundMP3 Insider 68: Zune mania?MP3 Insider 69: DRM this!MP3 Insider 70: Accessorize, accessorize, accessorizeMP3 Insider 71: Veronica defends the ZuneMP3 Insider 72: Too much Zune lovin'MP3 Insider 73: iPod competitionMP3 Insider 74: Haier who?MP3 Insider 75: Cowon's media monsterMP3 Insider 76: Wireless musicMP3 Insider 77: Happy holidaysMP3 Insider 78: Pre-holiday extravaganza!MP3 Insider 79: Preparing for CES 2008MP3 Insider 80: Vegas, baby!MP3 Insider 81: Macworld 2008MP3 Insider 82: Jack of All TradesMP3 Insider 83: What's in a niche?MP3 Insider 84: A Slacker and a brawlMP3 Insider 85: Valentines and reminiscencesMP3 Insider 86: Sony's massive announcementMP3 Insider 87: What about subscription musicMP3 Insider 88: New players in da houseMP3 Insider 89: HodgepodgeEpisode 90 brought a new blog and a new logo.MP3 Insider 90: Subscription schmubscriptionMP3 Insider 91: On trusting user commentsMP3 Insider 92: MP3 players can't all be rosesMP3 Insider 93: Congrats Donald!MP3 Insider 94: Top 5 online music servicesMP3 Insider 95: Zune rants and ravesMP3 Insider 96: Fun with carsMP3 Insider 97: Music-friendly cell phonesMP3 Insider 98: Music on the WebMP3 Insider 99: Donald's back!MP3 Insider 100: iPhone madnessMP3 Insider 101: MP3 players for audiophilesMP3 Insider 102: A very special episodeMP3 Insider 103: Zune GiveawayMP3 Insider 104: Headphones go head-to-headMP3 Insider 105: iPhone killed the radio starMP3 Insider 106: On online musicMP3 Insider 107: Interview with Pandora's Tim WestergrenMP3 Insider 108: Headphones are liars and DRM stinksMP3 Insider 109: Zen ManiaMP3 Insider 110: Archos news and free stuff!MP3 Insider 111: A cornucopia of portable mediaMP3 Insider 112: Headphones with styleMP3 Insider 113: iPod mania 2008MP3 Insider 114: Wi-Fi MP3 playersMP3 Insider 115: Will the Walkman reign again?MP3 Insider 116: Web radio lives onMP3 Insider 117: An interview with TuneCore's Jeff PriceMP3 Insider 118: MP3 Insiders get sillyMP3 Insider 119: Mobile music mishmashMP3 Insider 120: Music's in the cloudsMP3 Insider 121: The more affordableMP3 Insider 122: Year-end blowoutMP3 Insider 123: Girls, girls, girls!MP3 Insider 124: From firmware to conceptsMP3 Insider 125: New Zune newsMP3 Insider 126: MyPods from MappleMP3 Insider 127: Prize patrolMP3 Insider 128: 2008 gives up the ghostMP3 Insider 129: Live from CES 2009MP3 Insider 130: Personal radio apps for the iPhoneMP3 Insider 131: Don't call them headphonesMP3 Insider 132: Bulbous twoofersMP3 Insider 133: Lauren Rich Fine interviewMP3 Insider 134: Maximum testosteroneMP3 Insider 135: Lady on the micMP3 Insider 136: Sony should pay for this podcastMP3 Insider 137: Audacious iPod accessoriesMP3 Insider 138: Death to buttonsMP3 Insider 139: Pigs vs. ButterfliesMP3 Insider 140: An auctioneer's episodeMP3 Insider 141: What's a Zune HD?MP3 Insider 142: Zapping outMP3 Insider 143: Vinyl junkies and cheapskatesMP3 Insider 144: Subscription music overdoseMP3 Insider 145: Fuzzy mathMP3 Insider 146: Slacker hearts the X-Series WalkmanMP3 Insider 147: When worlds collideMP3 Insider 148: Zune HD's moment in the sunMP3 Insider 149: We still love youMP3 Insider 150: Software squabbles, fitness fanaticism, and headphone hotnessMP3 Insider 151: Bluetooth madnessMP3 Insider 152: X, Zii, and why?MP3 Insider 153: Appsolutely fabulousMP3 Insider 154: That's classicMP3 Insider 155: Creative confusionMP3 Insider 156: Zune HD under fire: the Brian Seitz interviewMP3 Insider 157: Zune HD withdrawalsMP3 Insider 158: What about the rest?MP3 Insider 159: The simply superb Sansa Clip+MP3 Insider 160: Appleocalypse--2009 editionMP3 Insider 161: Zune-a-thonMP3 Insider 162: The BurnoutMP3 Insider 163: Numbers don't lie (or matter)MP3 Insider 164: OpinionationMP3 Insider 165: Ears for musicMP3 Insider 166: It's all digitalMP3 Insider 167: The munchies take overMP3 Insider 168: Inspired by the uninspiringMP3 Insider 169: On wood and water bottlesMP3 Insider 170: Holiday hullabalooMP3 Insider 171: Slow news dayMP3 Insider 172: Subdued in sicknessMP3 Insider 173: Born a ramblin' manMP3 Insider 174: Nobody's Home, Happy Holidays!MP3 Insider 175: CES madnessMP3 Insider 176: Cache is kingMP3 Insider 177: Tablets, clouds and CanadiansMP3 Insider 178: Jasmine says...mehMP3 Insider 179: Zune phones, iPads, and hippiesMP3 Insider 180: Meet me in the cloudsMP3 Insider 181: Mobile phones: 742, MP3 players: 0MP3 Insider 182: Horrifying mistakes of portable audio pastMP3 Insider 183: Facebook fake outMP3 Insider 184: Insert lyrics hereMP3 Insider 185: Shameless self-promotionMP3 Insider 186: The Happy showMP3 Insider 187: Full of MicrosoftinessMP3 Insider 188: The only cure is more iPadMP3 Insider 189: Gonna make you sweatMP3 Insider 190: Blood in the waterMP3 Insider 191: Where interest is PIIQ'dMP3 Insider 192: The end of an era
Review- Pandora 2.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch
Review: Pandora 2.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch
In version 2.0, Pandora adds several new features without undermining the simplicity that made the original app so great. Users can now listen to 30-second previews of bookmarked tracks directly within the app, without bouncing over into the iTunes store. You can also send links to songs now, as well as stations, to contacts from your address book.Creating new personalized radio stations in Pandora has never been easier. As before, Pandora lets you create stations by entering any artist, song, or genre as a starting point. In addition to creating stations from scratch, users can now create stations on the fly based around any artist or song on Pandora's Now Playing screen or user bookmarks.Pandora 2.0 now offers biographical information for the currently playing artist right from the Now Playing screen (similar to the Last.fm app), as well as a detailed account of why each song was chosen to be included in your station. Pandora also added a track progress bar to the Now Playing screen, showing how far along you are within a particular song.One of the more visually striking new features in Pandora 2.0 is a Cover Flow mode, which lets you review the details of previously played tracks when the iPhone or iPod Touch is turned on its side. You still can't revisit the actual audio of previously played songs (for legal reasons, there's no backwards skip or repeat functions in Pandora), but the new Cover Flow view allows you to glance back at the artist, title, album art, biographical data, and song details of previously played songs.Chalk it up to good timing, but Pandora's "Buy Song from iTunes" option just got a whole lot more useful, as well. As of January 2009, the iPhone's ability to download songs from Apple's iTunes store over cellular networks, as well as Wi-Fi, gives music fans more opportunities to directly purchase music they hear from services like Pandora's.Pandora's iPhone app now inlcludes a Cover Flow view for retracing your listening history and learning more about the artists you've been hearing.The Pandora app's biggest competition comes from Last.fm and Slacker. All three apps have something unique to offer, and all three exist as popular online music destinations beyond the iPhone. Generally speaking, if you're already comfortable using Pandora, Last.fm, or Slacker's Web-based services, it makes sense to stick with what you know--especially if you've already spent a few hours cultivating your personal radio stations. All things being equal, however, we prefer the wider range of features included on Last.fm's app (tour dates, top listeners, similar artists, personal listening stats) to Pandora and Slacker's more straightforward approach. That said, Pandora has the most elegant and intuitive interface of the bunch, and is the best point of entry for anyone just getting started with personalized internet radio. (Disclosure: Last.fm is owned by CBS Interactive.)From an audio point of view, all three apps deliver roughly the same sound quality under the best circumstances. Pandora, however, is the only app of the bunch with an adjustable audio quality setting specifically for cellular connections (Wi-Fi audio quality remains unchanged). By switching Pandora's cellular audio quality setting to low, people have the option of trading audio fidelity for improved reception (fewer song dropouts), which can be a real advantage if you're streaming music in your car or in an area with poor cell coverage.Pandora 2.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch is available as a free download from Download.com.Pandora 2.0 Internet radio app -- photosSee full gallery1 - 4 / 11NextPrev
In version 2.0, Pandora adds several new features without undermining the simplicity that made the original app so great. Users can now listen to 30-second previews of bookmarked tracks directly within the app, without bouncing over into the iTunes store. You can also send links to songs now, as well as stations, to contacts from your address book.Creating new personalized radio stations in Pandora has never been easier. As before, Pandora lets you create stations by entering any artist, song, or genre as a starting point. In addition to creating stations from scratch, users can now create stations on the fly based around any artist or song on Pandora's Now Playing screen or user bookmarks.Pandora 2.0 now offers biographical information for the currently playing artist right from the Now Playing screen (similar to the Last.fm app), as well as a detailed account of why each song was chosen to be included in your station. Pandora also added a track progress bar to the Now Playing screen, showing how far along you are within a particular song.One of the more visually striking new features in Pandora 2.0 is a Cover Flow mode, which lets you review the details of previously played tracks when the iPhone or iPod Touch is turned on its side. You still can't revisit the actual audio of previously played songs (for legal reasons, there's no backwards skip or repeat functions in Pandora), but the new Cover Flow view allows you to glance back at the artist, title, album art, biographical data, and song details of previously played songs.Chalk it up to good timing, but Pandora's "Buy Song from iTunes" option just got a whole lot more useful, as well. As of January 2009, the iPhone's ability to download songs from Apple's iTunes store over cellular networks, as well as Wi-Fi, gives music fans more opportunities to directly purchase music they hear from services like Pandora's.Pandora's iPhone app now inlcludes a Cover Flow view for retracing your listening history and learning more about the artists you've been hearing.The Pandora app's biggest competition comes from Last.fm and Slacker. All three apps have something unique to offer, and all three exist as popular online music destinations beyond the iPhone. Generally speaking, if you're already comfortable using Pandora, Last.fm, or Slacker's Web-based services, it makes sense to stick with what you know--especially if you've already spent a few hours cultivating your personal radio stations. All things being equal, however, we prefer the wider range of features included on Last.fm's app (tour dates, top listeners, similar artists, personal listening stats) to Pandora and Slacker's more straightforward approach. That said, Pandora has the most elegant and intuitive interface of the bunch, and is the best point of entry for anyone just getting started with personalized internet radio. (Disclosure: Last.fm is owned by CBS Interactive.)From an audio point of view, all three apps deliver roughly the same sound quality under the best circumstances. Pandora, however, is the only app of the bunch with an adjustable audio quality setting specifically for cellular connections (Wi-Fi audio quality remains unchanged). By switching Pandora's cellular audio quality setting to low, people have the option of trading audio fidelity for improved reception (fewer song dropouts), which can be a real advantage if you're streaming music in your car or in an area with poor cell coverage.Pandora 2.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch is available as a free download from Download.com.Pandora 2.0 Internet radio app -- photosSee full gallery1 - 4 / 11NextPrev
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