Terrestrial Radio Stations Have Company: In-Car Streaming

“The combination of smart phones, ubiquitous Internet connectivity and streaming radio may soon send the in-dash radio to the same dusty scrap heap that welcomed the eight-track, the Walkman and meals in tubes. KnowDigital released a new study today offering that two-thirds of listeners 18 to 44 years of age had recently consumed streaming media while on the move.

For many, this is in the form of plugging their smartphones or music devices into jacks  on existing head units. For others, the external speaker on their phone is sufficient. Sam Milkman, president of KnowDigital, offered that ‘many industry insiders think of streaming radio as primarily an at-work and at-home medium, but the majority of users we interviewed reported engaging in this activity in their cars.’

The study suggests 22% of Americans listen to streaming radio, based on a report commissioned by Arbitron & Edison Research in April this year. The conclusion of the KnowDigital study is that in-car streaming is happening today even though there are usability barriers such as changing stations and skipping songs when on the move.

The report notes that terrestrial radio is not dead by any means. Many terrestrial radio stations have offered streaming alternatives, seeing no difference between over the air and over the network delivery. Over-the-air radio still offers unique content such as news, traffic, weather and sports and has a hand up in terms of ease of use.

However, consumers are spending money to add in-car streaming, with respondents dishing out an average of $400 to enable connections with their phones and other devices. Many vehicle manufacturers are embedding connectivity options in their latest models, from the Ford SYNC offering to the more commonplace USB ports on audio head units.”

As they say, “There’s an App (Application) for that!”

For iPhone and iPad:

Tunemark Radio Tuner
http://www.stormyprods.com/products/tunemark_radio.php

For Android-based phones (like Droid, Droid X, etc.)

Retro Radio:
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.earthflare.android.retroradio

After it is installed, go to the application, do a search of “Shoutcast Stations” using the search phrase “WOFR” – when located, click on it and it will play, you may then add it to your favorites (called “Favs.”)

For all other major phones types (Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Java ME phones)

RadioBee
http://www.radiobee.com

Also, on your phone try just going to your phone’s Internet browser, and type in this URL:

http://feed.wofr.org:8000

You SHOULD then be asked if you want to play it, and it will start to play. That address is the same “string” you would need for the apps I mentioned above… or, as mentioned above, just do a search with “Shoutcast stations” for WOFR.

This string will also work for other Shoutcast (PLS format) players!

Again, the address string is:

http://feed.wofr.org:8000

Thanks for listening!