Comments on: FlyTunes on the iPhone – internet radio done right?

By: Julie

Julie — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:17:35 +0000

Hey! I just logged into FlyTunes. I usually just use my presets, but I decided to look for something different to listen to this time around … maybe a little talk …. they’ve added a ton of new stations!

By: Bored

Bored — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:20:21 +0000

This is a life saver for me. I can’t stream from my work pc and am able to listen to the radio all day thanks to my phone… there should always be something to be said for those that are able to deliver a platform or conceptual firsts. As for longevity of the app… you can only really speculate at this point as it is the only official app one can use.

By: Olaf

Olaf — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 15:07:28 +0000

I like Flytunes so far but it’s not clear to me if I
can add a radio station (like WUOT or WDVX) myself.
Is it possible, and if so, how?

By: Flytunes on iPhone - Disappointing? | Just Another iPhone Blog

Flytunes on iPhone - Disappointing? | Just Another iPhone Blog — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:13:33 +0000

[...] say that so far, Flytunes is OK and does provide access to a ton of stations, but like our friend over at the RMTWRKR blog, I find myself pretty disappointed with it overall – and for pretty much the same reasons. [...]

By: rmtwrkr

rmtwrkr — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:52:02 +0000

Hi Roy,

Firstly, thanks for checking this blog out. It’s great to get a response from somebody involved with iPhone applications development. I appreciate that a lot.

I think I understand what you are saying. The problem I saw was that when FlyTunes was announced, the media pounced on it like it was the be-all end-all solution for listening to radio on your iPhone. I guess this was because it ‘plugged a hole’ in the iPhone’s feature list. So as you are probably well aware, people’s expectations were extremely high. I also understand the difficulty in delivering internet radio (trivia time!: I was involved with the first ever streaming internet radio station, ‘Gaialive.com’ back in 1996. All running on an old PC that ran Real Player Broadcaster!) so I can see that it is quite a challenge to deliver ‘everything everyone wants’ right at the start.

I think that if the improvements (like moving from a webapp to native) happen, then it’s highly likely that you will do well, as you have already got the necessary infrastructure for it to work. I honestly wish you all the best with FlyTunes, as it can only add to the amount of compelling reasons to use an iPhone in the future.

Good Luck Roy!

Rmtwrtkr.

By: Roy Smith

Roy Smith — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:48:32 +0000

Hi, I’m a FlyTunes insider and your blog came up on my radar screen and I wanted to comment on it.

There is a limit on what is possible with absolutely no software installation on the iPhone or your PC.

We focused the entry level FlyTunes on playing IR streams on the iPhone – true, nothing earth shattering, yet many thousands of iPhone owners are streaming music on FlyTunes right now.

It isn’t logical to stream your personal music collection to your iPhone, since iTunes already performs the task of playlisting and maintaining your music very well. We opted to provide a “radio” experience that the iPhone lacked.

Shortly we’ll be announcing the FlyTunes premium version, which has a downloadable component that runs on your PC/Mac. It will offer users lots of interesting new features, such as time shifting (like TiVo for radio), personalization of channels, side-loading, etc. and ultimately premium content channels, at a price that is much cheaper than the $60 alternative options you described.

I guess the point I’m trying to get across is … We do understand the potential of aggregated Iradio, and we’ve got some very interesting things in store. Don’t judge FlyTunes by our initial product ..We just completed a rollout that was 5x what we planned for in 3 weeks.
Like everyone else, We’re waiting in line for the SDK, and are planning some additional enhancements that depend on how far Apple opens the device.

Thanks for the post!