Top Windows Phone 7 Radio Apps

One way of using a mobile phone that has grown in popularity with the explosion of mobile internet is listening to the radio. There are many different ways of doing this on Windows Phone 7, from social radio streaming apps to native applications that allow you to tune into local FM bands.

Each of these apps listed here will deliver radio to your Windows Phone 7 device. They might do so over the airwaves or via a local Wi-Fi connection, or via the 3G or comparative high speed mobile internet network. If you’re using the last option, then you might find that a generous data plan from your network provider will save you some money; in each case, however, prolonged use of any of these apps will run down your phone’s battery.

One of the best internet radio apps I’ve found so far on the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace is for Last.fm. Using a free account (which you can get via Last.fm) you can program in – via simply listening to different songs – your preference for music. Like the desktop browser variant, this app will then choose songs that it thinks you will enjoy based on the songs you’ve already listened to. Last.fm is a great way to discover great music that you have never heard before.

On a similar note is Soundtrckr, which allows you to create and share personal radio stations and listen to what people in your area are listening to.

Fans of network radio will probably be more interested in one of these apps:

• Xfm – this app will stream the British XFM radio network channels to your phone.
• Ministry of Sound – ideal for anyone who enjoys hardcore dance music.
• Capital FM – the famous London-based radio station is now online for Windows Phone 7 users!
• Absolute Radio – another popular British radio network with stations covering classic rock, 80s and 90s and current.

Apps for each of these can be downloaded free from the WIndows Phone 7 Zune Marketplace, with the exception of the Ministry of Sound app which costs £2.99 in the UK.

If “talk radio” (that’s radio without tunes) is your thing, then you might be interested in TalkOnly, Hong Kong’s long-running tech radio station that goes out every Friday evening. The TalkOnly app features live streaming of all new material and archived podcasts so that you can catch up with what they’ve been talking about.

Another talk radio app is Neurons, which streams the latest scientific talks from Science Dump, FORA.tv and RSA to your Windows Phone.

Each of these applications is free and available from the Marketplace.

Finally, if all else fails and the stations you want to listen to aren’t available via a Windows Phone 7 Marketplace app, there is always the on-board radio, accessible via Start > Music & Videos > Radio.

To use the FM radio, you must connect your headset to the device, but once connected you’ll have access to all of your local FM radio stations. Browsing through the band is done by sliding your finger left to right to change frequency, and when a station is found you can use the add to favourites icon (a small star with a + sign next to it) to add it to your list of stations.