Pandora Internet Radio
June 15, 2011 by
Filed under Itouch Reviews
Pandora is an online radio service that does more than just play music; it specifically caters to your personal tastes.
Sign up is simple. You just input your e-mail address and a password to get started. Please note, Pandora will not spam you e-mail account. I have been using this service for a couple of years and have never received a single piece of spam.
After you set your account up, you type in a band or a song that you like. Pandora will find the band/song and verify that it's correct. They will typically start off with the song you chose or a song from the band that you chose. You rate the song by clicking buttons for "thumbs up" or "thumbs down." Based on your rating, Pandora will choose another song, usually from a different but similar band or artist. You then rate the next song in the same manner and so on.
Pandora chooses the next song based on your rating of previous songs. Perhaps the greatest thing about Pandora is that they have heard of just about anything you type in. I was very impressed with their knowledge of some of the "oldies" artists, from whom I often have trouble finding content. For example, they have a good collection of songs from Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, more than I was able to find on most download sites.
If you like the song, click the "thumbs up" icon and the song will play in its entirety. If not, click the "thumbs down" icon and it will skip to another song. You can skip several songs per hour. The left side on the screen is reserved for your "stations." Each time you want to add an artist or song, you create a station. You can even choose from categories if you want to listen to a particular genre (ex. Rock).
I'm not sure if there is a limit on the number of stations you can create, but I've not reached it yet. Pandora offers more than just music stations. There are also options to find concerts for a particular band, explore music festivals and give a station to a friend.
No access from a computer? If you have an iPhone or iTouch, you can download the Pandora app for free. There are also other mobile options to explore on the website. You do have to be on wi-fi to use Pandora on the iTouch, but it works very well on the wireless connection. Pandora is free, so there are some advertisements.
However, unlike many free sites, the advertisements don't seem to get in the way of your activities or hinder the playback of the songs. They are situated neatly on the right side of the screen. There if you want to click but out of the way in case you don't. Overall, this site is very impressive and I am surprised (and grateful) that it has remained free for so long.
The website works fast and is almost always accurate when it comes to my musical taste. I have discovered many bands through this site that I probably otherwise never would.
Pandora is normally limited to those in the US, however it is possible to listen abroad. Learn more about using Pandora outside the USA at GetTVAbroad.com
Article Source
