Internet radio streaming has been around for a long time on PCs and laptops. However, the latest trend is radio streaming going mobile. Though mobile radio streaming was already available on the earlier S60 2nd edition smartphones, it is only with the integration of Wifi on S60 3rd edition devices that radio streaming has become more widespread as Wifi allows to avoid the high mobile operator data connectivity costs .

While it is possible to enjoy the benefits of radio streaming on S60 3rd edition via free players, the best solution is currently offered by Lonely Cat Games in their recently launched music player LCG Jukebox.

The free Internet Radio solutions are described here and here. They are based respectively on the built-in RealPlayer which supports internet streaming (.ram format) and the free open source S60 Radio Internet client.

The built-in RealPlayer is limited to play streaming links via the Gallery application.

The open source S60 Radio Internet client does not much more than demonstrate the feasibility of radio streaming on S60 3rd edition devices.

Both solutions involve manipulating internal files to add radio stations and do not seem to be very reliable. Not all streaming formats are supported. Also, the user interface is extremely basic.

LCG Jukebox

LCG Jukebox offers the following advantages:

- supports both mp3 and ogg format
- built-in sleep timer
- minimized information on phone’s idle screen when switching to the background
- automatic download of album art images and lyrics
- 10 band equalizer

Most importantly the Internet Radio Streaming works very well, in fact LCG Jukebox is currently the only reliable radio streaming solution for Nokia S60 phones. It accepts a variety of formats and URL standards.

However, there are some shortcomings in the music player e.g. only search by folder, not by artist or album. See review by All About Symbian.

SpodTronic

Worth mentioning is SpodTronic, a free Radio Streaming player which only allows you to play sponsored radio streaming links. SpodTronic has an excellent user interface and produces excellent sound quality. The streaming is also very reliable. While the choice of featured radio stations is quite wide, the lack of being able to add your favourite stations is a major shortcoming. See AAS review.

However, the business model aimed at by SpodTronic is quite interesting. Realising it is quite difficult to make enough money out of selling software, they are targeting the revenue payed by the advertisers: the stations selected to feature on SpodTronic. While it remains to be seen whether this new business model will work, it does point out a possible direction in which mobile applications and content will evolve : a model based on advertising!

Conclusion

Radio streaming has now been extended to the realm of smartphones, at least when used at home via Wireless LAN. Away from home it remains a very expensive option as it consumes large amounts of bandwidth, unless your operator offers a flat data tariff.

There are currently 4 solutions for S60, three of which are free. However, the commercial LCG Jukebox solution is clearly the one to buy in terms of quality, ease of use and supported formats.

Some interesting business models are emerging based on advertising such as SpodTronic.