TuneIn Radio

CNET Editors' review

by: Jaymar Cabebe on November 04, 2011

With its supersimple interface, TuneIn Radio for Android makes it a snap to listen to streaming radio while you're on the move. It offers more than 50,000 stations and 120,000 shows from around the globe, plus, with the help of your Android's GPS, it can even serve up all of your local favorites.

Right from the launch page, TuneIn lets you drill down to exactly what you want to listen to. You can browse local radio, recommended stations, different language offerings, even podcasts. You can also choose from categories like sports or talk radio.

Like other radio-streaming apps, TuneIn gives you an enormous list of music genres to choose from, each with a long list of options from around the world, with local choices at the top.

Once you find a few stations you like, you can easily add them to your preset list, right from the station page. In addition, the station page gives you album art for the current song and the ability to share via Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail. In some cases, you may also find a shopping cart icon that brings you to the MP3 or album listing on Amazon.com.

For those who are a bit more serious about their streaming media, an upgrade to TuneIn Pro might be worthwhile. The Pro version adds some nifty DVR-like features, so you can pause, rewind, and even record live radio. TuneIn Radio keeps all your recordings in a special section so you can listen to recorded favorites later.

Finally, you may notice that some stations are marked "Restricted by Broadcasters," which means they're not available for streaming through TuneIn. What's nice is that if you happen to click on one of these, TuneIn will automatically find and connect you to a similar station, which is often just as good.

Overall, we highly recommend TuneIn Radio for all your streaming radio needs. It's easy to use, performs well, and is available for free in the Android Market. Meanwhile, an upgrade to TuneIn Radio Pro and all of its DVR-like capabilities will set you back a mere 99 cents.