Listen to the Radio on your PDA, FREE!

Why would anyone want to convert a $375. PDA into a $10.00 radio? Answer: because you could, plus, why not? It’s Free!

Yes, you can now listen to your favorite radio programs on your PDA.

What’s really nice is that you can also listen to radio stations that are not in your regional listening area. This includes out of state radio stations including many from all around the world.

Did I say you get all this for free yet?

Whether you have a Windows Mobile, Palm, Blackberry or any Pocket PC / Smartphone, as long you have web access, you’re good to go. Just make sure that your phone plan includes unlimited access to the web or it may cost you a bundle.

In this post I’m going to introduce to you five sites where you can get FREE Streaming Media (or Internet Radio) for your PDA. The first one is my favorite.

1. Point your device to: http://www.thestreamcenter.com/pda/ or the specially formatted alternative shorter url: http://www.tuned.mobi/. Here you’ll have access to just about all of the AM and FM radio stations broadcasting in the United States (plus stations from Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and the Netherlands). This is way cool if you ask me. I like the option to search for stations by either station name, callsign or music style. Since most of the stations display a short description you can search keyword “Christian” to find all of the Christian radion stations available or you can just scroll down (for a long time)until you find one.

You can also use “TheStreamCenter” to listen to streaming internet radio on your computer desktop. Just visit: http://www.thestreamcenter.com/, scroll down to a station and click on it’s stream. Two of my favorite stations there are KDUV (for Christian music) and KKLA (for Christian Talk Radio).

2. Another place to listen to Internet radio on your smartphone or Pocket PC shows is: RadioShows.mobi. Once there, you will see a directory of Internet radio shows and stations. You can listen live or on-demand. The directory includes schedules and stream links for talk radio, current events, business, the arts, and other programming. Many top talk radio shows can be found on the Popular Internet Radio Show channel, including Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Al Franken, and others.

3. MSMobiles.com has put together a mobile site with links to some of the most popular streaming sites in English. Go to http://mobile.msmobiles.com/radio.php click on the stream you want to listen to, sit back and enjoy. Links include CNN, adio, NPR – National Public Radio, Bloomberg Radio, Air America Radio, the BBC, and more.

4. Live365.com is a very popular music site that also allows you to listen to the radio on your pda and desktop. They have a great music selection. Just type:  live365.com in the browser of your phone or PC/Mac and get access to a plethora of music. Select Inspirational from the Stations by Genre then simply select a stream. Three of my favorite internet radio stations are: eXTreme Gospel, Church Beat Radio and Praise Broadcasting. Check them out.

They also have a paid version at: www.live365.com/mobile . The paid version removes ads, and has access to additional stations. What’s nice is that you can try it out for 15 days “without” using a credit.

5. Last but not least, visit Shoutcast.com. Here is a spot where you can tune-in to thousands of free online radio stations from DJs and broadcasters around the world. Once you arrive click on Comprehensive Genre List, select Gospel, then click on Search. The result will display a list with a variety of stations for you to choose from. It’s awesome.

Keep in mind that this technology (streaming internet radio) isn’t perfect so you may notice short pauses or “buffering” while you listen to your streaming radio. Also, make sure you have a strong wireless connection (as many bars as possible) on your phone for a good experience. If you receive an error, just try it again, click on your refresh button, or the big red X and start over by returning to your home screen on your pda. If you really have problems take out the battery, put it back in and try again.

Be Creative. Listen to internet radio from your desktop speakers.   Plug in a stereo audio cable from your pda earphone jack to your computers desktop speakers line-in jack (if it has one).  You may need an adapter to convert the connection from the pda headphone jack to the cable.  Just ask your local electronics store manager for help  (I use a female mini to male sub-mini stereo adapter for my Palm Treo 755p ).

Note: If you listen to internet radio on a PC (not on your PDA or Smart Phone) you may want to restart your computer every 3-4 hours since it will cause your pc to slow down because of all of the resources it takes to run.  If you are on a network, streaming internet radio could also slow down the overall network performance especially if several people are streaming from the internet simultaneously and you are on a slow internet connection. One way around this problem is to stream internet radio from your web enabled phone and not from your computer.

If your car stereo has an audio-input jack, plug in a audio cable from your pda headphone jack to the car audio-input and enjoy your streaming internet radio while your drive! (I use a stereo audio cable, male mini to male mini, you may need the adapter mentioned earlier)

If you car has a cassette deck, get a cassette deck adapter.  Slip the cassette adapter in your cassette deck and plug the other end in your PDA Smartphone headphone jack (using the adapter).  Now pick a station and enjoy your streaming radio. This will work for the music files on your phone as well, see below.

Listen to worship music on your iPod/Mp3 player/Smartphone  through your church, office or home sound system, FREE.

I know what you’re thing, “if I can stream internet radio, can I listen to my phone’s music files in my car, house, church or home stereo system too?”  The answer is absolutely YES!  Just follow the same procedure used earlier.  Just connect one end of the cable (with or without the cable adapter) to your phone and the other end into your sound system, now sit back and enjoy!

Something else you may want to consider is to connect your phone to an FM Transmitter (you will probably need the adapter again).   This will allow you to enjoy streaming internet radio (or your music files) from your phone to your car, home, office, or church stereo system without long messy cables.   Just select the FM station indicated on the FM Transmitter and enjoy.

Have Fun. If you enjoy having access to a variety of music I’m sure you will appreciate the ability to stream internet radio on your pda.  Just remember to save your favorite stations to your pda favorites.  Another thing to keep in mind is that streaming internet radio on a pda drains the battery fast.   It’s not that big of a problem.  Just plug in your pda while your in the office, your car and at home.   The only situation I run into when streaming internet radion or listening to my music files on my pda is, wouldn’t you know it, when I get interrupted by a phone call.  In that case I either ignore the call and continue listening (that’s what voice mail is for right?) or just take the call.

If you really enjoyed this post you will definitely like this one.  What’s your favorite Internet Radio Station?

© 2008, Nick Gonzalez, TheoloTech.com
For permission to reprint this article, send an e-mail to: NickG at TheoloTech.com

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Would you sponsor me for the Run for Hope? There’s only 3 days left.

Do you like this post? If so, subscribe to TheoloTech.com by Email or RSS FREE

TheoloTech.com
“Helping People in Ministry do Stuff Better and Faster
with Good Theology and Good Technology FREE! “

Church, Ministry, Evangelism, Bible Study, Theology, Technology and More!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++