The $2.99 Public Radio App puts three of your favorite stations just one tap away.
iPhones may not have FM tuners built in, but they can do a damn fine impression of a radio. In fact, where public radio is concerned, an iPhone is even better than the real thing.
Apps like NPR News and Public Radio Player 2.0, for example, let you tune into live streams from hundreds of stations and listen to your favorite shows on-demand.
Now comes Public Radio App, which raises the bar even higher with features like pause/rewind, a show-schedule timeline for the current stream(s), and an alarm clock that lets you wake up to your favorite station.
However, unlike the aforementioned apps, Public Radio App is not free. Rather, it'll set you back $2.99. Is it worth it?
Definitely. The app can find local public-radio stations via GPS or look them up via a nationwide directory. Any station you find, you can stream in real-time. And any show you want to hear, from Car Talk to This American Life, you can play on-demand.
You can also pause, rewind, and fast-forward the content, DVR-style, whether it's real-time or on-demand. That's a pretty major addition, as the other apps let you pause only the on-demand programs, not the live stuff.
It would be fantastic if you could store, say, an entire Fresh Air segment for later listening, like when you're on an airplane, but PRA doesn't go that far.
It does, however, offer lots of other nifty features. For example, the first three bookmarked stations appear on the player's main screen, allowing you to switch between streams with a single tap.
You also get a side-scrolling show schedule for each station so you can see what's coming up without leaving that screen. I particularly like the alarm-clock function, though it does require you to leave the app running (something to remember before going to sleep).
PRA even integrates with the Radio Bookmark service, allowing you to save and/or replay whatever you're listening to.
In my informal tests, PRA loaded a lot faster than the notoriously pokey Public Radio Player. That said, the latter offers most of the same core features--and it's free.
Still, $2.99 isn't going to break anybody's bank, and I'd go so far as to say Public Radio App is currently the best, well, public radio app to date. For serious fans, it's a must-have.
Live stats overlay a game streamed to the NBA League Pass mobile app.
(Credit: NBA)Not about to be outdone by baseball, pro basketball is getting in on live streaming to mobile phones.
The National Basketball Association will announce its first set of applications that let fans watch games live on a mobile device Thursday. NBA League Pass Mobile will be available for download for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android phones starting Friday, the third day of the league's regular season. BlackBerry users will have to wait a bit longer, the league saying that application will arrive "by the end of the year."
The NBA follows Major League Baseball, which introduced its iPhone- and iPod Touch-compatible live streaming application in July, and a beta version of an Android app Wednesday.
The NBA's application will cost $39.99 and let users watch up to 40 live games per week via their smartphone, though local TV blackout rules will still apply. The app also has an option to watch some games on demand for up to two days later and comes with game alerts and live stats.
Currently there is not added benefit if customers are already subcribers to the NBA's League Pass TV package. But bundling the two is something the league is looking at for the future, said Bryan Perez, senior vice president and general manager of NBA Digital.
Besides the live streaming app, the NBA already has its Game Time and Game Time Lite apps on Apple's App Store, the Android Market, and BlackBerry App World. The Lite version is free and comes with scores, stats, standings, and team schedules. The $9.99 Game Time includes some on-demand video, game highlights, live game alerts, stats, and access to an NBA Twitter feed.
Perez said the league has made an aggressive push into mobile this year, mostly because it knows who its fans are.
"We have one of the younger demographics of the major sports leagues," he said. "As we look to the future of our fan base, they're consuming content in a much different way, and in many ways the mobile phone is the connection to the world for the youth market. If we want to cultivate fans and be innovative, we need to follow our fans where they're going."
More screenshots after the jump.... Read more
NFB Films streams over 1,000 shorts and feature-length films to your iPhone.
Like indie films? Documentaries? Animation? Ho, boy, have I got an app for you: NFB Films lets you watch over a thousand movies on your iPhone. For free.
The "NFB" stands for National Film Board, a kind of Canadian PBS. The app taps the NFB's mammoth library of documentaries, animated films, trailers (for upcoming NFB releases), and more.
All the movies are streamed to your iPhone, but there's also an ingenious "watch later" option that downloads a selected movie for later viewing. However, these downloads expire after 24 hours, not unlike App Store movie rentals, but that hardly seems unfair.
NFB Films includes a Channels section where you can browse various categories, including Documentaries, Kids Cartoons, History & War, and Environment. There's a search option, natch, and you can add movies to a favorites (sorry, "favourites") list for easier access.
If you come across a film you want to share with friends, the app lets you send an e-mail that includes a link to the Web version.
A while back I went to see 10 Oscar-nominated short films--five animated, five live-action. They were all tremendously entertaining. Since then I've been a lot more open-minded to non-mainstream movie fare like this. So for me, NFB Films is pure iPhone gold. I reckon you'll love it, too.
(Credit:
Sarah Tew/CNET)
Last week, Sonos unveiled the ZonePlayer S5, the first product in its streaming-audio family to boast built-in speakers. Monday, we got the opportunity to see (and hear) it in person for the first time when Sonos reps dropped by our New York office for a demo.
The setup was a two-zone system (two S5s) pulling music from an Apple Time Capsule. The one caveat of a Sonos setup is that at least one component needs a wired network connection. In this case, a ZoneBridge BR100 was connected to the Apple router via Ethernet, which in turn enabled both S5s to operate wirelessly.
Control duties were handled by an iPod Touch running the next version of the Sonos controller app. The new version isn't radically different from the current one, but the music selection screen seemed nicely streamlined.
Otherwise, it was the same old Sonos experience we've come to expect--which is to say a flawless, dropout-free digital music experience. We were intermixing local music (from the Time Capsule) with tunes pulled over the Net from Napster and Last.fm, and everything played without a hitch. We could also play one selection on one S5 while simultaneously playing a different one on the other S5 (in the same room for testing purposes only; in a home setup, of course, they'd be in different rooms), or link the zones to play one stream in unison.
The venue--one of our office conference rooms--wasn't ideal for a true listening test. But at first blush, the S5 sounded pretty sweet. We were able to crank the volume to levels that would shake apart your average iPod speaker, and the S5 held together without exhibiting distortion or harshness.
In the end, we only had a few minutes with the ZonePlayer S5, but it certainly made a positive first impression. We'll get a chance to do a detailed full review when the $400 product ships the first week of November.
In the meantime, let us know if you have any specific questions about the Sonos ZonePlayer S5, and we'll try to address them when we get our review sample.
Elgato's EyeTV iPhone app isn't supposed to allow you to stream video from a computer to your iPhone over a 3G connection, but a recently discovered backdoor exploit allows users of the app's first version to do so anyway.
Apple reacted to the news of the backdoor exploit by quickly pulling the app from the App Store on Saturday. Today, we found out that the app has been restored to the store and was briefly for sale again--an unusual occurrence in the App Store. Elegato's backdoor-free 1.0.1 version is now available in the App Store, disabling the exploit.
We asked Elgato about the backdoor and received this response from company representative David Fanning:
Some test code that enabled live TV streaming over the cellular network was accidentally left in the the EyeTV App. Apple requested that we remove the code, since their agreement with AT&T does not allow redirecting TV signals over the cellular network. The code was removed, and a 1.0.1 version of the EyeTV app was submitted.
Of course, anyone wanting to keep 3G streaming could skip the the update. Those who accidentally updated the app can also downgrade iPhone apps to regain the backdoor version.
Users can stream video over 3G by following these steps in EyeTV 1.0. Note, however, that by doing so, users may be violating AT&T terms of service, which CNET does not condone. Proceed at your own risk.
- Make sure that Wi-Fi is currently turned off. Launch Settings. Tap Wi-Fi.
- Launch EyeTV on both your computer and your iPhone. Complete the following steps on the iPhone.
- Tap the name of the computer you want to stream video from.
- Enter your passcode if prompted to enter one.
- Tap Live TV.
- Tap a TV channel you want to stream.
- The following message will appear--tap the text above the OK button to activate the backdoor.
Wi-Fi networks - Off
EyeTV Live TV
Wi-Fi required for video streaming
EyeTV will now begin to stream live video over your 3G network connection.
Controversy over 3G video streaming lingers. The CNN iPhone app, for instance, can stream video about breaking news. It's not entirely clear why Apple and AT&T do not allow Elgato to offer the same feature.
(Credit:
Sonos)
We've long been fans of the Sonos Digital Music System, which lets you stream all manner of digital audio throughout your home. The latest BU250 bundle is an enthusiastic CNET Editors' Choice, in part because it can be controlled either via the included touch-screen controller or with any iPhone or iPod Touch (running a free Sonos Controller app). Unfortunately, it costs $1,000--not bad for a two-room system, but still out of reach for many consumers--and it needs to be connected to external speakers or audio components to hear the music.
The new Sonos ZonePlayer S5 aims to address both of those issues. It boasts an all-in-one design with built-in stereo speakers, so it's plug and play. And it costs $400--not cheap, but well within the price range of refined iPod speaker systems we've seen from Bose, B&W, and other luxury brands.
Indeed, the latest Sonos combines the features of a ZonePlayer ZP90 with the sort of integrated speaker you'd find on a Bose SoundDock. ... Read more
mSpot's new Mobile Movies service works in the iPhone's browser--no app required.
Sure, you can now download movies straight from iTunes to your iPhone, but those cost money and consume valuable storage space. Sometimes it's faster, cheaper, and more convenient to stream them, whether from your own PC, online storage, or even an on-demand service.
Here's a look at three such options for streaming the big screen to your small screen:
- Dropbox This just-released iPhone app (CNET's Harrison Hoffman has more) connects you to all the documents in your Dropbox account (including 2GB freebie accounts). So what does that have to do with movies? Simple: The app also lets you view mov, mp4, and m4v videos. Just add some from your PC to one of your Dropbox folders, then fire up the app. Presto: You're watching movies, and you don't have to leave your PC running to do it. Not bad for a solution that doesn't cost a penny.
- mSpot Mobile Movies This new service, which operates out of your browser, lets you rent movies for $4.99 apiece (less if you subscribe to a club membership). That's more than iTunes charges, but here you're getting an on-demand, download-free option--one that works over EDGE, 3G, and Wi-Fi. However, mSpot's selection is very small at the moment (about 350 movies in all), with marquee titles like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Mission: Impossible" among the few you'll recognize. But the company promises "thousands" by year's end, so this service is definitely one to watch.
- OrbLive Unlike Dropbox, which can play movies you've synced to an online account, OrbLive streams directly from your PC--which must be running in order for it to work. You also have to install and configure the Orb client for Windows, point it to the folder(s) containing your videos, and pony up $9.99 for the OrbLive app. On the plus side, it can stream a lot more than just videos: music, photos, and even live TV (if your PC has a tuner).
So, what do you think of these solutions? Obviously they're no good for watching movies on airplanes, but what about on trains? In a car? In a bar? With a cat or on a mat?
Of course, if you know of a better way to stream feature-length video to your iPhone, let's hear it!
Streaming video continues to be largely MIA on the iPhone, but streaming audio? Ho, boy--it's an embarrassment of riches. Pandora, Slacker, Rhapsody. NPR News, Public Radio Player. The only thing missing? A killer sports app.
It's missing no more. ESPN Radio streams ESPN shows, podcasts, and even live college football games from stations around the country.
This is sports radio done right. ... Read more
Two great tastes that would taste great together?
(Credit: Matt Hickey)Netflix might be planning to bring its "Watch Instantly" feature to new devices soon. Currently built in to several products, like Sony HDTVs, and very popular on the Xbox 360, the feature lets subscribers watch any of thousands of movies in the Netflix library on their TVs. There are no physical discs; the videos stream via Web connection.
And according to Afterdawn.com, which quotes unnamed executives familiar with the situation, the Nintendo Wii and Apple's iPhone platform are next on the list. The Wii is a fairly obvious choice as Nintendo has been pushing streaming or downloadable content since the console launched a year and a half ago.
But the iPhone is something else. Apple--likely at the behest of AT&T--has kept much streaming video from the iPhone. Afterdawn points out that the streaming would likely be via Wi-Fi, only to keep bandwidth on the already overloaded network down.
What's interesting is the lack of mention of the Apple TV. Sure, the iPhone and iPod Touch are much more popular devices, but the Apple TV--which already features streaming media via YouTube and the iTunes Movie Store--seems like a much more natural choice. People want to watch the movies on their TVs.
Apple wants you to rent or buy from iTunes and has never been happy with an "all you can eat" subscription service. But if Netflix can convince Jobs and company that "Watch Instantly" will be OK on the iPhone, then it can argue the same for the Apple TV.
Listen to your favorite public radio shows on your schedule.
Is today my birthday? No? Because I just got one helluva gift: Public Radio Player 2.0, the latest version of the killer radio-streaming app, which now lets you listen to your favorite shows on-demand.
Missed last week's "This American Life"? No problem. The app has the latest episode. Want to catch up on "Talk of the Nation Science Friday?" You'll find several weeks' worth of back catalog. Same goes for "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me," "Fresh Air," "Marketplace," and countless other radio gems.
Granted, you can get a lot of the same content in podcast form, but those downloads require precious space on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Here you just tap and listen.
As before, Public Radio Player also lets you stream live broadcasts from public radio stations around the country, and it easily zeroes in on local stations if that's what you prefer.
One particularly nice touch is that each station listing shows what's currently playing, be it "Morning Edition," classical music, or whatever.
The Public Radio Player app lets you search for shows and/or content.
You can use the search function to look up station call letters, show names, and even subject matter--and searches span both live and on-demand content. There's also a favorites list so you can easily return to specific shows and stations later on.
The new version seems a bit slower to load than its predecessor, but that's my only complaint. The addition of on-demand content cements Public Radio Player's status as one of my all-time favorite apps. I freakin' love this thing.
