TuneIn Radio Pro for Android review: TuneIn Pro isn't perfect, but it's pretty close

9.2

TuneIn Radio Pro for Android

The Good

TuneIn Radio Pro for Android has an impressive variety of programming, including more than 100,000 stations. DVR-like recording capabilities are a nice touch.

The Bad

Performance bugs sometimes prevent you from playing stations.

The Bottom Line

As a total package, TuneIn Radio Pro is one of the best streaming apps we've seen, if you can stomach the $10 price tag.

Editors' note, July 8, 2015: See CNET's guide to Internet radio services for a more up-to-date evaluation of this service, along with an analysis of how it compares to competitors.

With its completely revamped interface, TuneIn Radio Pro for Android makes it easier than ever to listen to streaming radio while you're on the move. Not to be confused with an algorithm-driven service like Pandora, TuneIn lets you listen in on more than 100,000 AM/FM and Internet stations, plus 2 million on-demand programs from around the globe. It is, quite frankly, the best such streaming-radio app I've used. There is also a free (non-Pro) version of the app, but the Pro version offers DVR-like functions for $9.99.

From the Browse page, you can browse through local radio, recommended stations, different language offerings, sports stations like ESPN, podcasts, and so much more. Tap the Music button, and you'll get an exhaustive list of categories like Classical, Hip-Hop, Reggae, and Oldies. No matter which path you choose, you will be impressed by the number of different stations available through the app.

Since you probably don't want to browse through thousands of stations every time you fire up the app, the best way to use TuneIn is to add stations to your Favorites list as you go. While listening to any station, just hit the Favorite button at the top of the screen to either add the station or the current song to your list. While you can't listen to favorite songs on demand, you can pull up stations that are related to them.

TuneIn Radio Pro impresses on many levels (pictures)

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The best thing about TuneIn Radio Pro is its DVR-like functionality. While listening to music, you can pause, rewind, and even record radio content for later playback. Of course, you will be limited by the amount of storage space you have available on your device, but I found that around 3 minutes of radio content took up less than 2MB of space.

Along with the "DVR" controls, the Now Playing screen displays station and track info, as well as album art if it's available. From here, you can also swipe left to related stations, recent stations, Favorites, and a Twitter widget that lets you join in on any social media banter mentioning the TuneIn app. Lastly, there's a share button up top, and in some cases, link to purchase the song on Amazon MP3 (provided you have the app installed).

Some other neat TuneIn features include a sleep timer and an alarm, which you can set to any station. There's also a car mode that gives you basic controls in the form of giant buttons, ready for mashing while your device is docked on your dashboard.

My only issue with TuneIn had to do with its performance. Its streaming was stable, for the most part, but I did experience significant glitches in the updating of track and station info. For instance, I would sometimes see track info for a single song, even after three or four songs passed. It was only after reloading the station that I would see an update. With its incredible selection of AM/FM and Internet radio stations, DVR-like capabilities, and neat bonus features, TuneIn Radio Pro is unquestionably worth its 99-cent price tag. But if you're still not willing to shell out the cents, you can always get the free version, which comes without the ability to record.