The Good
- Numerous preset stations
- Custom stations
- Fine-tune the music selection
The Bad
- Limited song skips
- Some stability issues
Slacker Radio (Free) is a free radio app that provides access to over 130 pre-programmed radio stations. Slacker is up against some tough competition from the likes of Pandora and Last.fm, but -- with the exception of a few crashes here and there -- it holds its own against other top-rated free radio apps.
Preset and custom radio stations
In addition to 130 preset radio stations, the Slacker Radio app allows you to create personalized radio stations based on your artist or song preferences. To get started, you’ll need to create a free account, which you can do right from the app. After registering, the app’s homepage displays a list of music genres, such as alternative, country, and dance. There are even more options within each genre. For example, the alternative genre includes stations for indie hits, punk, ‘80s alternative, and more.
To create a new station based on an artist or song, enter the details in the search tab and Slacker Radio will start playing similar songs. This feature works very well, and I’m always amazed at how Slacker is able to identify songs I may like based on just one song or artist. These stations can be saved to your favorites, but I was surprised that they didn’t show up under my custom stations list. It appears that custom stations can only be created on the Slacker.com website, and then they’ll be transferred to the iPhone app.
Limited song skips
Like other free radio apps, Slacker puts a limit on how often you can skip songs. In this case, you get six skips per hour per station. On the detail page, Slacker displays the album cover along with a banner ad. Underneath, you can pause or skip a song and help fine-tune the app’s music selection by specifying which songs you like and dislike. Slacker also provides a link to buy any song on iTunes or read artist bios.
Once you find a radio station you particularly like, you can share it via email, text message, or Twitter. I also like that you can “fine tune” stations by customizing song popularity or year. For example, you can elect to hear fringe groups or hits, in addition to specifying a preference for classic or current songs. Those who upgrade to the Slacker Radio Plus app (US$4.99 per month) can even cache songs for times when an Internet connection is unavailable.
Unfortunately, the Slacker app seems to crash more than other radio apps I’ve used. It doesn’t happen enough to warrant dumping the app, but it’s certainly annoying.
The Bottom Line
The Slacker Radio app generally works pretty well, although I was frustrated with some crashing issues. It is a great deal and I love that you can fine-tune each station based on your own listening preferences. The Twitter and email integration is also a nice touch. Overall rating: 4 stars out of 5.
What You’ll Need
The Slacker Radio app is compatible with the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.