Pandora question

[tlo07]

Hi folks,
I was wondering if current W7 users could tell me if its possible to stream Pandora through the browser since there is no app for it. Its one of the few apps on my 4S that I use regularly. I was disappointed to find out after contacting Pandora customer support that they "currently have no plans" to develop for W7. I just renewed my Pandora One account, too!

 

[markgrif]

Hi folks,
I was wondering if current W7 users could tell me if its possible to stream Pandora through the browser since there is no app for it. Its one of the few apps on my 4S that I use regularly. I was disappointed to find out after contacting Pandora customer support that they "currently have no plans" to develop for W7. I just renewed my Pandora One account, too!

Zune is $10 USD/mo. Personally I think it beats all others.

 

[jd914]

Radio Controlled App will stream Pandora content to your WP7 device. You can't stream Pandora through your devices browser.

 

[Matthew Mazzenga]

Before resorting to the browser, try Radio Controlled or MetroRadio. Both are 3rd party Pandora apps that are supposed to be very good.

Sent from my Samsung Focus using Board Express

 

[tlo07]

So $120 a year to stream music? Yikes!

 

[techygeek82]

So $120 a year to stream music? Yikes!

It also allows you to download music to your device for 'free'. It's DRM protected and can't be burned or shared with a PC without Zune, but it's a pretty good deal. You can also purchase music (which wipes the DRM protection) which can then be used on any pc/device as well as burned to a CD.

The 9.99/mo, in my opinion, pays for itself if you find yourself downloading a lot of music. You may not 'own' the song, but still.

 

[jdevenberg]

I use slacker for pandora like streaming because I don't like some of pandoras business practices. I much prefer iheartradio to any others though

 

[Siah1214]

I'd rather pay for Zune pass than the overage fees from streaming the amount of music I listen to... Love that Zune works offline.

Sent from my mwp6985 using Board Express

 

[jimski]

So $120 a year to stream music? Yikes!

Actually $99/year if you pay up front. I have the grandfathered plan ($129/yr) so get to keep 10 songs a month, 120 tracks a year. In addition I can download/stream as much of whatever I want. And can connect up to three PCs. PC, XBox, phone, etc. can all play my "protected" Zune tracks.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[Tyresian]

I just wanted to add to this that Zune and Slacker offer awesome quality if you allow for auto-updated smart playlists. This is one of the best uses and you get high quality audio.

I have been using iHeartRadio and MetroRadio (Pandora). Radio Controlled has given me issues but the dev contacted me today on it, both the devs of MetroRadio and Radio Controlled are very active in updates. I am sad that all of these apps seem to lack bluetooth control functionality to skip songs, and on MetroRadio it actually starts a song over, totally the opposite of what I want. But MetroRadio is my preferred app right now.

And if you're paying, Zune and Slacker are both excellent options. I just wish the offered some automatic playlists and discoverabilty.

 

[techygeek82]

I just wanted to add to this that Zune and Slacker offer awesome quality if you allow for auto-updated smart playlists. This is one of the best uses and you get high quality audio.

I have been using iHeartRadio and MetroRadio (Pandora). Radio Controlled has given me issues but the dev contacted me today on it, both the devs of MetroRadio and Radio Controlled are very active in updates. I am sad that all of these apps seem to lack bluetooth control functionality to skip songs, and on MetroRadio it actually starts a song over, totally the opposite of what I want. But MetroRadio is my preferred app right now.

And if you're paying, Zune and Slacker are both excellent options. I just wish the offered some automatic playlists and discoverabilty.

Have you tried creating a 'SmartDJ' playlist from the Zune software and uploading it to the phone?

 

[kenosando#AC]

I am on Zune Pass, and you can either listen to "Artist DJ" which is like Pandora, or listen to and download entire albums. Much better than Spotify IMO because you have the ability to purchase songs + videos plus handles all your podcasts. Pandora app is nice if you just want some music to play, but Zune Pass lets you eat all the music you want + you choose what you want. Zune Desktop will sync over WiFi too, so anything you download on your PC will sync once you connect to the network.

About the 3rd party Pandora players ... I am not sure why people complain about not having the official app - maybe there are features I never use, but I just want music to play as it were playing from Pandora.com but those apps are just as good as the official ones on other platforms from what I've read.

 

[GMJeff]

I also have the grandfathered Zune plan which allows for me to keep 10 tracks a month. While that was a selling point that I liked when I signed up for the service, I find myself downloading music to my phone to listen to offline, saving my data plan.

When a new album or song is released and I want to listen, I just download and wear it out. I could download gigabytes of music everyday if I wanted to, so when the next new thing comes along, I just download it. When I am done listening to it, I just delete it and find something else.

Zune marketplace has a comparable amount of music as iTunes marketplace, so unless it is a exclusive, you can find just about anything.

What I pay for Zune (14.99/month) is not a lot to me, for all that I can listen to.

 

[FrankieA]

I actually think MetroRadio is fantastic. I use it every day on my drive to work, and other than a few small quirks from time to time - it does the job very well.

Sure, we'd all like official Pandora support - but I'd say don't overlook MetroRadio - it's actually a usable Pandora app.

 

[Tyresian]

Have you tried creating a 'SmartDJ' playlist from the Zune software and uploading it to the phone?

That was actually the first thing I did because I love the SmartDJ functionality in Zune. However I created it from the phone, not from the computer, which seems to function differently and only allows 30 songs, and I don't think the playlists refresh. My experience with it didn't feel worth the money so I cancelled after the trial.

I may still go back but I prefer to use my phone without ever connecting to my computer. The only time I've connected my phone to a PC was for Updates. I use a laptop that I move everywhere and bring everywhere, my media sits on a NAS and I haven't worked to get a VPN open to it yet. So I question what happens when I'd hook my phone up if it can't find that media.

Also, something else that has made the Zune software on WP7 unusable is that I downloaded a lot during my trial, now it tries to play those songs all the time but gives me an error on every song, how do I just have it delete these songs for me?

 

[jmerrey]

i have a zune pass, but i'll also vouch for metro radio as well, especially the new version; no adds and an awesome zune hd-like screensaver

 

[tlo07]

Wow! Thank for the input. I think I'll stay away from a Zune pass for now because my family and I share an iTunes account so I probably wouldn't ever purchase music from Zune. I'm excited there are a couple of apps I can use for Pandora, though!