Essential iPhone / iPad Apps – A Look At TuneIn Radio

I am always surprised at the number of iPhone users who I see out and about that only have the default Apple apps installed on their devices. Without third party apps, the iPhone is just another phone in my opinion and those who don’t try out new apps or only install the free ones, are missing out on the opportunity to greatly enhance their device.

Over the next few weeks I will highlight apps (most that have been around for a long time) that I believe all iPhone users should give a try in order to get the most out of their phones.

Today I will be talking about ‘TuneIn Radio’ (59p), a sensational app that turns your device into a radio with the capability to listen to over 40,000 radio stations worldwide on both the AM and FM frequencies.

How does it work?

Well the app will work over both wifi and 3G, although if you are in a weak 3G area, the quality of the streaming over wifi will be significantly better.

When you first load the app you are given the option to: browse local radio stations, browse talk based stations, browse those mainly dedicated to music, sport etc or you can be more specific and search for stations based on language or location.

The app is really easy to use and you’ll soon find yourself listening to both mainstream and weird/wacky radio stations from around the world. I use the app primarily for listening to football matches live or when I want to brush-up on my Spanish by listening to Spanish language stations broadcasting out of Spain and Latin America.

Whilst browsing stations, if you come across one you like, you can easily add it as a bookmark to save wasting time searching for it again. One killer feature of this app is the ability to record live radio, so if you really like a radio show but are busy doing something else, you can load up this app, press record and listen to it later at your convenience.

TuneIn Radio also supports multi-tasking, so you can even listen to your favourite radio show, whilst surfing the net with Safari, reading your Twitter feed or checking your email. It is also universal which means it will work on both an iPhone and iPad.

I cannot recommend this app highly enough. Below are some screenshots of the app in action.