Pandora

This free app is awesome and an absolute must have for your iPhone! It’s like having thousands of CDs loaded onto your phone and all available for you – without having to pay a dime. It takes only a minute to set up and it’s not hard to do. To get started you set up “stations” by clicking on “New Station” at the bottom of your screen. Then enter in one of your favorite music artists, it’s that simple. You can add as many stations as you like. I’ve got the Michael Buble station, Barenaked Ladies station, ABBA station and Disney Radio Stars station, just to name a few and give you some insight into my musical schizophrenia.

When you want music you click on the station you want. Pandora then plays songs from that artist as well as songs that are similar to the artist and their style of music. If you like a song you press the thumbs up. If you don’t like it, you press thumbs down or skip it. Pandora keeps track of what you’re listening to and learns what your taste is so before you know it you’re only getting songs you like. Some very smart techy fellows will probably be offended that I don’t explain  how it all works. Truth is, I don’t know how. I just think of it as magic.

This app is my must have at the gym. I turn it on and select the station that best fits my mood. I like to go to my iPhone settings and turn off the auto-lock. That way my screen doesn’t shut off and I can see the names of the songs Pandora is playing and skip the ones I don’t like. My one complaint about this app (and it’s a very minor one) is that it shuts off when you have to go back to your phone home screen. It’d be fantastic if they could somehow make it like your iPod music so it kept playing.

Seller: Panora Media, Inc.

Price when Reviewed: Free

Click here to see the app at the iTunes store