with my iPod for being a superb radio!
Here i am sitting in my living room (in Bangalore) at 6 in the morning listening to Bizet’s Symphony in C major (2) played by the Parisian Les Siecles orchestra! Nothing out of the ordinary in that, just that it is streaming into my iPod through the Classic FM application that i have installed, and is being also played just now on the radio in London! Phenomenal! Mr. Friedman – did anyone tell you the world was flat?
Ok. I have to confess that this isn’t the first time I have had streaming radio in Bangalore. My beloved HP iPAQs have been doing it for several years! However, it involved several clicks before you heard the music, and the iPAQ never told me anything about the the program (current and future) that I was listening to. The iPod changes all that! You can actually see what program is underway, what song/piece is being played. Further, in a couple of radio applications (that I have installed on my iPod), you can even see what is coming up next!
Listening to streaming radio now doesn’t quite feel like the old PocketPC experience anymore (actually to be honest, the whole PocketPC experience used to remind me of the days when I used to go upto my terrace in Madras and tune my shortwave radio to pick up distant stations (BBC, VOA etc). More effort went into the act of getting it to work, than into listening to the music that came out)! The experience was exhilarating, but the quality of the music was mediocre/poor!). The iPod applications / widgets changes all that. Suddenly it is mainstream and matter of fact. You can listen to good music – anytime, anywhere.
The radio widgets that I have installed on my iPod are the following :
- Classic FM : an excellent application that gives you streaming radio and shows you some interesting banner ads / notes / quips. It will also play several other UK stations (i havent tried them)
- Public Radio : another excellent application that will allow you play several several US radio stations. I have selected a few as my “favourites” and just listen to them. This application will also tell you the program for the rest of the day (and it seems to present that information to you in your timezone – which is very nice)
- Yahoo! Radio : This appears to be supported/managed by CBS radio (who also have a radio application in iTunes – which i haven’t tried out). However, the reception on it has been patchy, with breaks & interruptions. Though, it must be said – they also have an excellent set of stations preset into it (including a “Bollywood” one! :-o ).
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