Has anyone out there used Pandora? I discovered it about a year ago, and I don’t know what I did before it. Unfortunately, when I’m on the go, I can’t get Pandora on my BlackBerry. Apparently, according to a customer service email, they’re working on it, but for now we have to search out alternatives while we’re not at our computers. Today we’ll take a quick look at some streaming music options for your BlackBerry.
Slacker
Here’s a Pandora-type service that is supposedly releasing an app for the BlackBerry. It was supposed to drop this month, though we’re running out of days and the Slacker team is admitting on their forums that it’s not ready yet. It might be worth the wait, though.
Like Pandora, you can build your own radio station, telling Slacker what you like and what you don’t like. It will then figure out what it is you enjoy, and stream you more of those songs. It’s a free ad-based software, and will remain that way until at least next year. You have the option to pay around $8 per month, which will give you unlimited skips (you’re limited to six per hour with the free version) and allow you to download songs to your SD card.
We’re still waiting for it, but for now you can check out this video review from Laptop.
Mobiola xPlayer
There are two levels of xPlayer. First is the free version. This, however, won’t accomplish our streaming goals. It essentially acts as a media player for your BlackBerry, allowing you to access and play your audio and video files. They do support a ton of formats, including mp3, m4a, mp4, 3gp, wma, amr, mid, and wav. It also features a decent playlist editor and the ability to add a whole folder to playlists. All in all, it sounds like a pretty average media player.
However, if you pony up the $19.95, you can add live streaming radio to the package. They have a number of genre-related music stations, including classical, jazz, rock, world, pop, and R&B. You can also listen to the latest news, right on your BlackBerry.
You can find the free download here. For the premium version, you can hit the BBGeeks Store. Those who want to download OTA can head to wap.x-berrysoft.com.
BerryTunes
BerryTunes is a similar program to xPlayer. The main difference is that you can access popular podcasts through BerryTunes’s directory. This is a big thing for those who want to listen to podcasts on their BlackBerry. You can add podcasts from their list, or you can add your own — which is just a subtle hint to add the BBGeekcast.
BerryTunes features over 100 radio stations, which are broken down into categories. This might not exactly be Pandora, where you can help control what types of songs you listen to, but it’s a decent facsimile. Yeah, it does cost, to the tune of $19.99 (until October 31), but there are no subscription fees. It also comes with a seven-day free trial, so you can check if it meets your needs.
You can nab BerryTunes, where else, at the BBGeeks Store.
Last.fm
No, no, there is of yet no Last.fm application for BlackBerry, though like Pandora, we are eagerly awaiting it. However, users of Last.fm can scrobble their Last.fm profiles with FlipSide MP3 player. It’s listed under FlipSide Extras in the main menu. That’s of little solace to streaming music fanatics, but it’s a start, I suppose.
