spodtronic - Radio Application
A big THANK YOU to Krion for introducing me to spodtronic - a great alternative to Nokia's Open Source Radio Client.
spodtronic is a sleek looking radio and podcast client previously available on S60 2nd edition and now available for the Eseries and other S60 3rd edition devices.
The application is branded by Virgin and does contain some other pieces of advertising as well.
However, as annoying as advertising and commercially sponsored applications can get, this is not bad at all. Also, given the fact that the application is free and that there is an open source alternative, spodtronic is a welcomed addition to the field of radio applications.
The user interface is very polished and easy to navigate. One of my favourite aspects with the application is that it adds a visual experience of radio.
For an example, many of the radio stations available through spodtronic comes with a description of the style of music played. The logos of the stations are also displayed.
Another feature which creates this new visual aspect of radio is that the album cover of the songs are often displayed.
The application also makes a certain level of "interactivity" possible with a feature which lets you rate the songs as they are played and send the information back to the radio station.
It's easy to find stations with a a wide variety of stations from various regions covering all kinds of genres.
The application also includes a podcast directory so that you can listen to podcasts in addition to the radio stations.
Although the application itself is free bear in mind that unless you have an unlimited data plan or use the application over a WLAN it can cost you a lot so be careful.
Once again, thanks to Krion and everyone else who told me about the application.
Now go and try out the application.
May 20th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Interesting!
I’ll try it out! I’m just waiting for the Sirius Internet Radio application for Symbian
May 20th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Hmm… just tried to install it on my E61, and it sort of locks up, It’s as if the program’s running, but I can’t see it… When I try to select it in the application switcher(holding the application key), the screen will display the spodtronics interface for a moment, but a “freezeframe” of what it’s doing. Odd… Anyone else notice this?
May 20th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
My E62 does exactly the same thing. I thought it was because it is an E62 and not and E61.
May 20th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Gelan,
It worked for me. Did you try to download it again and re-install it?
May 20th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Installed flawlessly and works very smoothly. I have an E61 with Cingular/ATT.
May 20th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
I experienced the same ‘lockup’ thing when i tried to open the app. Using an e61 btw.
May 21st, 2007 at 12:58 am
Which Firmwares are you guys using? Maybe that is the problem. At the moment I dont have a way to download and install it on my phone. But when it works I’ll report back.
May 21st, 2007 at 1:15 am
I am using E61i and i do not experience any problem.
It’s really cool! Pity Nokia couldn’t design something similar built-in.
May 21st, 2007 at 1:15 am
Running it on E61i FW 1.0633.22.05 15-02-07 RM-227 Nokia E61i-1
May 21st, 2007 at 2:08 am
I have FW 3.0xxx and it works fine. My friend tried to install it but the program hung and he’s stil on FW 2.0xxx. So, I guess you must update your FW for this to work.
May 21st, 2007 at 2:33 am
Gelan , im having exactly the same problem with me E61
May 21st, 2007 at 3:32 am
Works fine with my E61i. Awesome apps I must say.
May 21st, 2007 at 6:11 am
Hello,
Be warned that on running the application for the 1st time, a SMS will be sent OUT to +447781484010 to register the application. After that, a SMS will be sent to the phone which contains a certain WEB password. I really wonder why all these are necessary?!?! Shouldn’t the user be pre warned in the 1st place? Sending overseas SMS for someone like me in S’pore is a costly affair and I’d appreciate it if the application can forewarn me.
So if you receive a bill from your phone operator for an overseas SMS sent, you know who the culprit is!
REgards.
May 21st, 2007 at 6:12 am
I haven’t updated my firmware yet. The problem should lie there i guess. Might update it soon. Will try it then.
May 21st, 2007 at 6:37 am
where does it send the sms too? im in the uk, and im not paying for sms to the US or wherever.
May 21st, 2007 at 6:48 am
Reading the eula, it says the target for the sms is UK.
Dont know whether its worked out that im in the UK and filled in the blanks, check your eula before agreeing.
The relevent section is right at the end.
May 21st, 2007 at 7:27 am
I have E-70 Fw 3.0xxxx and works fine.
May 21st, 2007 at 7:27 am
Bloatware.
Its slow and a bit cumbersome to use, you cant listen and do other things like surf the web. I would stick with nokia’s podcast and internet radio app or use LCG’s Jukebox.
the idea of a podcast section is attractive, but you cant import you own opml file to choose feeds from and the streams are recoded to a lower bit rate.
all in all, its not for me.
May 21st, 2007 at 7:55 am
Hey Hey Hey, works great on my E 70. Real slick program. Downloads a bunch of stuff that i don’t need beside the music but all in all I have replaced the Nokia version in my standby apps for a while to see if I really like using this interface. It’s very visually impressive to my friends. I only listen to radio when bored or traveling but I give it a thumbs up. THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP.
May 21st, 2007 at 8:24 am
my E61 working just fine with out any problems. thanks
May 21st, 2007 at 4:29 pm
HI, I have the E61 with the “old” firmware and this app will not work because of it. I’ve had my E61 for a year and dont want to mess any of my settings up if i upgrade the firmware. So if you could please confirm that all my settings/apps/notes/calendar entries ect… would be fine with the upgrade. Let me know if any of you have done this in the past with no problems. In the past i’ve had to factory reset my phone and i did the backup before I did the reset, but when i tried to get my backup back on my phone everything was not restored so i’ve been hesitent on doing anything that would disturb it. Thanks!!
May 21st, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Ok, everyone. Update your firmware to the newest available, and it’ll run perfectly. I was still running E61 v2 firmware. I upgraded today to v3, and everything is perfect.
May 21st, 2007 at 10:07 pm
I’m not sure it’s related, but this is where it started from, so here goes. Tried installing Spodtronic on my E50, and as mentioned by many others, the app didn’t work with the phone hanging when the app was run. Subsequently, the text messaging started acting up. On restarting the phone, the phone flashed a message that it could not detect the external memory and was shifting back to phone memory (or something like that). The funny part is that, all other apps installed on the external memory (widsets, google maps etc) are still accessible, the memory is accessible through the tools menu, but the text messaging app refuses to change the ‘Memory in use’ to the external memory. The error thrown is equally cryptic - ‘Server is busy!’. Thankfully, the text messaging app is working again, but I can’t get it to use the external memory and hence cannot access old messages.
A cry for help to Ed and everybody else on the forum. Any ideas? The phone is running FW V 06.41.3.0.
May 21st, 2007 at 10:59 pm
I got a problem!!! on my E61i. the display light doesn’t turn-off and it is not play in background mode. anybody got the same problem?
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:33 am
I’m in Malaysia. the application installed with no problems ! Thank you for a very sleek programme ! I use E61 with the latest update (as I follow this blog!)
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:44 am
Hi, I attempted several times to install it via usb but every time it is showing “Certificate error, contact your application vendor”. Can anyone tell how to solve this problem?? I’m using a Nokia E61i…..
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:17 am
Hi i am using it on e62 i bought last month in india.. The application does not show up until i hold the menu key i can make it play by pressing the enter key thrice but the screen light is always on… I like the application ..am still using it on my 6630 ..please help..dont know much about upgrading the firmware.. How can i check the firmware and what firmware is required to Run the application smoothly…. Thanks
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:17 am
Great application thanks ed much better then the internet radio application. Free TV anyone click here to find more http://e61i.blogspot.com
May 24th, 2007 at 2:27 am
works fine with my e60, FW: 3x
but: where ist the volume control? i found no way to change it - any idea?
regards from hamburg, GER
b.
May 29th, 2007 at 3:31 am
sorry, i found it (volume control)….
BUT, why the heck does the app stops playing by automaticly turning off the display backlight… phew!
May 30th, 2007 at 4:37 am
The application does not work on my e62.. Tried upgrading the firmware… There is no firmware available for my phone… What can be done now.. I want it work.. Help
May 30th, 2007 at 7:26 am
I am running spodtronic on my n95. Im on t-mobile web n walk, but have only tested it using my home wireless connection and it works fine. It sends out a text costing 20p to +447781484010 on setup - duno wat for (comes back with a web password). it doesnt warn u it jus sends it out so be warned.
June 17th, 2007 at 11:56 am
wow! cool radio… clean, fast and choice! ive downloaded and installed this app but the list is a bit limited outside US/UK radio stations… can someone tell me where i can find french news radio files to download into my E61i? or can someone explain i do i go online to my favorite radio stations and download their mobile link to listen to french news? Please help this n00b!
July 25th, 2007 at 5:46 am
There is a nice internet radio app. TunIn.FM, it has much better quality it can play in the background and its free…
October 22nd, 2007 at 3:19 pm
NEW - spodtronic 3.0 release NOW available - http://www.spodtronic.com/de/specialpage.html?pid=3