January 9, 2009 4:35 PM PST

Slacker Radio brings BlackBerry a neat caching trick

by Jessica Dolcourt
Slacker on BlackBerry(Credit: Slacker)

This week at CES, Slacker made good on its word and released a version of its mobile, streaming, Internet Radio app for BlackBerry.

Slacker Radio for BlackBerry, a free over-the-air download for BlackBerrys running version 4.3 and above, gratifies with crisp album art, intuitive navigation, and all the customized streaming stations you could want.

What impressed us most is Slacker's newly added feature--right now just for BlackBerry--that caches songs as they play, allowing you to essentially play back your stations offline. It only works if you've got a microSD card, mind you, but once you're set up, you'll be able to crank tunes in the background while e-mailing and otherwise futzing with your phone.

The only catch: the app currently works for U.S. customers only.

Topics:

CES - Cell phones and smartphones

Tags:

CES 2009,

Slacker,

BlackBerry

Share:
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Recent posts from CES 2009
3D is coming to a living room near you
Haier launches new line of Rhapsody Ibiza players
Alpine KTP-445 Power Pack adds easy amplification
CES 2009: Computers and hardware wrap-up
CES 2009: Home audio wrap-up
CES post-show wrap-up: HDTV
CES 2009 home video wrap-up
CES 2009 wrap-up: What killed in the monitor category
Add a Comment (Log in or register) (6 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
by January 9, 2009 5:09 PM PST
I downloaded this and tried it this morning. Other than slowing down my blackberry a little bit, I was pretty impressed with the functionality.

I also rode BART with it playing - from 16th street station to Montgomery station and it continued to play the entire ride. Not sure if that's one of the caching features or I just happened to get TMobile service the entire ride, but I not expecting it to play for my whole ride.
Reply to this comment
by danisnotstan January 10, 2009 10:37 AM PST
I first tried Slacker on my computer a few months ago and was impressed. I was thrilled when I got the email from them telling me the app was available for Blackberry! I think this is a pretty bold move on their part considering if they had someone on the fence about buying the Slacker Portable player, they pretty much just helped nudge them in the right direction! Now I just saved $200 that I almost spent on their portable player and I dont even have to carry another device with me! The app works and looks really nice. It seems that all features of the "PC" version are still there. It can be a little sluggish for a few seconds every now and then but overall very smooth most of the time. This is on a Sprint 8330 using whatever factory OS that came installed (4.2 or 4.3?). I finally discovered how the "cached" stations work. All you do is select the station you want to cache by selecting the option on the menu. Then you plug the Blackberry into your Internet connected computer and select "mass storage mode". In Windows it will give the pop-up box and you select to connect to Slacker. I have 4 stations saved and it took 6 minutes to update my stations and settings. After this, go to the stations list and select "cached stations". This is where you access your stored stations for use without an Internet connection, thus where they claim significant battery savings. I will say that skipping songs is much faster when theyre cached. I just figured this out this morning so I cant confirm the battery claims, however, if its not streaming non stop using EVDO then its a no brainer that this will save battery life. I did test my battery life the first full day that I had Slacker installed by leaving the app running in the background for faster start up and by playing music for a few songs here and there throughout the day while using Opera Mini at the same time and my battery still had 40%. I charge it over night and had it on from 7:00am until 2am so thats fine with me. Slacker also automatically paused when my phone rang... nice! Volume could be louder (I plug into a direct AUX jack in my car) but this is probably more to do with the phone since MP3's play quiet also. Overall, the question isn't if you should download this, it should be WHY HAVENT YOU DOWNLOADED THIS YET?!?! Sorry Sirius Satellite Radio , but my service will be cancelled shortly!
Reply to this comment
by sarah_oneill January 10, 2009 3:15 PM PST
That's an interesting part of one day where lots is happening. There's some more CES stuff at <a href="http://www.atelier-us.com/events-and-conferences/article/day-one-at-ces-shows-microsoft-panasonic-and-palm">this article</a>.
Reply to this comment
by TBolt January 11, 2009 11:51 AM PST
I'm glad to see that Slacker is getting stronger by adding even more innovative services. Yahoo is canceling its radio service option, which never made it beyond the computer.

Way to go, Slacker! Love streaming my tunes on my Berry!
Reply to this comment
by Sukki007 January 14, 2009 2:07 AM PST
I wonder what I'm doing wrong. I downloaded Slacker onto my BB Pearl last night, tried to get it going this morning. All I keep getting is warnings saying that the application is "trying to break into a firewall", which is in "violation of IT terms." Until I can figure out what's wrong, all I can do is uninstall it and give it a big, fat ZERO.
Reply to this comment
by shane_amj February 26, 2009 2:57 PM PST
You have to disable the Firewall in your BB. Go to Options>Security>Firewall the disable
(6 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
advertisement
mySimon Outdoor Gear mySimon Swimwear mySimon Home and Garden

More from CES 2009

CES awards and nominees

Best of CES, 2009

Best of CES and People's Voice Award

Since 2006, CNET has presented the Best of CES Awards, given to the top product in 10 categories as well as one coveted Best in Show award. See the gadgets that topped our list for this year, and find out the People's Voice winner, decided by more than 10,000 member votes.

LATEST FROM MACWORLD

After Wikipedia, Jockipedia

Posted by Chris Matyszczyk July 5, 2009 12:05 PM PDT

Apple MacBook Air: Cooler graphics

Posted by Brooke Crothers July 5, 2009 10:45 AM PDT

Ramen robots invade japan restaurant

Posted by Dave Rosenberg July 5, 2009 9:34 AM PDT
See our full Macworld coverage

RSS FEEDS

CES 2009 Awards


Best of CES and People's Voice Award

Since 2006, CNET has presented the Best of CES Awards, given to the top product in 10 categories as well as one coveted Best in Show award. See the gadgets that topped our list for this year, and find out the People's Voice winner, decided by more than 10,000 member votes.

See all CES 2009 coverage


About CES

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the world's largest consumer electronics trade show. CES 2009 is scheduled for January 8 through 11 in Las Vegas, and it will feature thousands of exhibitors showcasing their latest tech products. CNET's team of reporters and reviewers will be at the show, covering technology's heavy hitters and previewing thousands of products before they are released to the public.

Each year, CNET, in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association, produces the Best of CES awards at the International Consumer Electronics Show. The CNET editorial team recognizes the best new products at the show with awards in 10 categories, an overall Best of Show award, and the People's Voice award, which is selected by CNET's online audience.

Popular topics
Apple iPhone
Apple iPod
Cell phones
Dell
GPS
LCD TV
CNET sites
CNET Site map
CNET TV
Downloads
News
Reviews
Shopper.com
More information
Newsletters
CNET Mobile
Customer Help Center
RSS
CNET Widgets
About CNET
sponsored