What It Is: Pandora, the intelligent custom radio station service, on your cell phone. Pandora uses real human musicologists to pick out common patterns in music (pitch, instrumentation, rhythm, bpm, etc), then inputs those findings into the Music Genome Project, a technology that helps pick related tracks. Users pick a song and Pandora creates a personalized radio station based on your picks. Rate the songs you like with a thumbs up or thumbs down, and Pandora's personalized picks get even more precise. Now Pandora will work on certain phones anywhere you get an AT&T signal (it’s also available on Sprint cell phones, too), so it’s finally available to you in locations other than some dark and dingy office or apartment where your computer resides.
Who It's For: Picky, snobby, and savvy music aficionados who get around.
What We Like: Unlike the majority of “custom” radio stations you find at various online music stores and services, Pandora is actually smart and gets music selection right. So it stands out on the Web, but in the mobile space, it's a seriously towering winner. It syncs up seamlessly with your desktop account, meaning you can customize, create, or listen to up to 100 stations on either your home computer or your cell phone.
Our Only Gripe: It doesn't work on all AT&T phones, yet. Here's the list of compatible phones: Samsung SYNC, a717, and a737; Motorola VF3xx and RAZR 2, LG trax, CU400 and CU405. Pandora Mobile works with any Sprint phone running a Power Vision Pack.
Price/Where to Get It: Click on the music icon in your phone's main menu and go to “music apps.” You get a free trial for five days, after which time the service costs $8.99 per month.
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Gadget Envy: Pandora.com on Your Cellphone
