In Review: Pandora Radio (Website)
It is my pleasure today to write a formal review of a website I use almost every time I am on my computer. The website in question, Pandora.com, is the home of a wonderful free web application that lets the user listen to nonstop music.
One of the great selling points of Pandora is that it is free! Applications such as Rhapsody and Napster require you to pay for their services. Pandora, on the other hand, is funded by ads. Also unlike other free radios, there are no ads in the actual audio of the radio. Instead, the background and parts of the web page are changed to display the ads.
The lack of ads in the audio in addition to streaming, free music may remind you of Last.fm. One major and defining difference between Pandora and Last.fm is that Pandora is web-based and therefore does not need to be installed or downloaded; Pandora can be used on any computer with Flash.
Another useful feature of Pandora is the ability to use stations to listen to music. Like your car stereo system, stations can be "programmed" and saved. Pandora uses the "Music Genome Project" to use keywords and your own input to play music that you will like. Additionally, the music Pandora plays for you to listen to will be more and more accurately enjoyable to you. For each song that plays, you can say "I like it" or "I don't like it" and the program will find trends in the songs you enjoy and the songs you don't enjoy and will find other songs and bands that follow the same patterns.
With no obtrusive ads, free service, and no downloads, Pandora is truly the greatest radio player to use. The patterns and variety in the possibilities of stations make Pandora a worthwhile radio player. Stations can be set to find songs of a similar genre, artist style, or even style of a song. Whether you are interested in constant critique of songs or you would just like to have the music playing in the background, Pandora easily molds to your mood and sets the scene the way you want it, without you even having to tell it to.
So check it out. Pandora Radio. Listen to Free Internet Radio. Find new music. It's definitely worth checking out.