REVIEW: Slacker tunes into the right stuff with its new mobile endeavor

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Yay or Nay. Every week we’ll review a new wireless application or service from the user’s point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works and what doesn’t. If you wish to submit your application or service for review, please contact us at rcrwebhelp@crain.com.
Application: Slacker Mobile
Running on: BlackBerry Pearl with service from Sprint Nextel
Yay: Personalized, streaming radio to our BlackBerry. What’s not to like? Plus, the service’s innovative caching system provides hours of tunes without the support of a data connection. Also, it’s free, aside from carrier data charges.
Nay: There aren’t too many drawbacks that we can find, although the service’s caching system requires a user to plug their phone into their computer before heading outside of their carrier’s coverage area. Also, the application would be better served by a more easily accessible volume control.
We say: BlackBerry fans finally have a reputable and usable streaming radio service, although the range of such offerings available for the platform continues to pale in comparison to what’s currently on tap for the Apple iPhone.
Review: We remain shocked by the dearth of multimedia entertainment options available to BlackBerry users. Despite evidence that smartphone users consume more wireless content, and BlackBerries continue to top the list of popular handsets, the radio and TV options for the BlackBerry seem stuck in 2005.
Indeed, our cursory search for serviceable streaming radio offerings for the platform turned up only BerryTunes, for $25, which is functional but is has the aesthetic value of a garbage dump.
This was before Slacker Mobile.
The application is the mobile version of the Slacker.com Internet site, which provides more than 100 genre-based streaming radio stations, as well as the option to create new stations based on favorite musical acts. Indeed, the service appears to ape the best parts of Pandora.com, which also boasts a slick mobile effort.
BlackBerry first announced Slacker’s mobile intentions at the fall CTIA show last year, but the application became available to users last week.
Slacker Mobile offers virtually all of the same options as its desktop counterpart. Indeed, established Slacker users can log into their account via their BlackBerry to access their favorite stations.
The service itself streamed tunes quickly, and the sound quality we heard was excellent. We also appreciated the “skip” button (also available on the Slacker desktop service) that allowed us to move past clunky or overplayed songs.
But the most notable aspect of Slacker Mobile was the caching system. We were able to select any station – either a Slacker-developed genre or one we created – and flag it for caching. The application alerted us that the station would be cached on our microSD memory card the next time we plugged our phone into an Internet-connected computer.
When we established this connection, we were given the option on our desktop computer to cache the selected stations. This process apparently works through a transferring function inserted into our BlackBerry by the Slacker Mobile application.
The caching system essentially contacts the Slacker service and transfers several hours’ worth of a particular station onto a BlackBerry’s memory card. The tunes are then accessible via the Slacker Mobile application, and don’t require a cellular connection for playback.
Our cursory tests of the caching system provided highly satisfactory results, and had the added benefit of saving battery life by playing music stored on our memory card rather than streamed over a network connection.
One niggling aspect of Slacker Mobile: The volume control, accessed via the phone’s dedicated volume button, only works when a user is in the Slacker application. This means that, although we were able to send e-mails and access the Internet while Slacker Mobile played music in the background, we were only able to adjust the volume when we were in the Slacker Mobile program.
Slacker supports itself through advertisements, including audio spots inserted between songs. There is a premium offering that strips out the ads, and Slacker Mobile reminds users of the premium service every time they opt to quit the program. However, a simple “no thanks” bypasses this come-on.
Thanks to Slacker Mobile, BlackBerry users now have an answer to iPhoners who have access to seemingly thousands of multimedia services, including Pandora, Last.fm, AOL Radio and others.