Tuner, two point oh!

Posted: February 27th, 2009 | Author: Josh from Public Radio Player | Filed under: Version 2.0 | 21 Comments »

The Public Radio Tuner iPhone app is approaching 1 million downloads since its initial release last fall! But we’re not going to sit around and rest on those lofty laurels. Development of version 2.0 of the Tuner is already underway, and your input has been a big part of it. All the user suggestions and comments left here on this blog have shaped our planning for the next release. While there’s still a lot of work to be done and some details to be hammered out, I did get clearance to reveal a couple of great features that will included in the next release. 

First off, the new version of the Tuner will offer a program guide. With this feature, you will be able to open the iPhone app and see what’s on right now. The programs currently airing across hundreds of station streams will be right at your fingertips. A large number of users have requested this feature, and we’re planning to make it happen for version 2.0. This is a big job, and we’re gathering all the program schedules and related metadata from participating stations to create this new feature. 

But it’s not just about listening to public radio where you want. It’s also about listening to your favorite programs when you want. With that in mind, version 2.0 of the Public Radio Tuner will offer streaming of select on-demand content from both networks and local stations. With this feature, you will be able to pull up the Public Radio Tuner on your bus ride home and listen to recent episodes of Studio 360, Fresh Air, and Marketplace, just to name a few. The development team is working with the collaboration partners to determine the roster of programs and segments that will be made available for streaming on the Tuner. On-demand streaming has been another of the most common user requests, and it will be a great addition to the Tuner.

We are aiming to release version 2.0 of the Public Radio Tuner later in the spring, and we’ll be keeping you up to date on its progress here on this blog. Thanks to everyone who has downloaded the app (nearly a million times!). And keep the questions and comments coming – they have been a big part of the Tuner’s success. We’re very excited for the next phase of the project.

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21 Comments on “Tuner, two point oh!”

  1. Public Radio Tuner » Blog Archive » Bit rates and ballyhoo said at 4:21 pm on July 16th, 2009:

    [...] help users navigate these muddy waters, a new feature in the upcoming version 2.0 will provide some guidance based on a station’s bit rate. When you select a station, the app [...]

  2. PRX Grabs Yellow Jersey | Public Radio Exchange said at 4:03 pm on July 14th, 2009:

    [...] developers are hard at work on a major new release of the Public Radio Tuner iPhone app with live station schedules and on-demand programs. Bela Fleck helps make the Savannah Music Festival a must-listen. And, the folks at SETI explore [...]

  3. Rekha from Public Radio Tuner said at 10:18 am on June 26th, 2009:

    Jalt – Thanks for the suggestion. Your wish is our command. ;-) Keep an eye out in a couple of weeks for version 2.0. Not only will there be schedule data (for stations that have made that available), but there will also be on-demand listening to programs you may have missed. If you want a preview of the beta, join our Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/public-radio-player

  4. Jalt said at 5:09 pm on June 25th, 2009:

    Show station program / schedule as a clickable upper right button.

    Hi! I’ve been using the PRT for a week now, and I really like it. There’s a feature I’d like to suggest, if no one has suggested it yet. Can you add a schedule button on the upper right when playing a station, so that when I touch the schedule button the station image flips over ala iPod style but instead of showing music tracks it will show the schedule or radio program. Currently I need to go to Safari to get the radio program schedule. It would be nice to just get this from within the PRT itself.

    Much thanks for the PRT!

  5. Elisa said at 5:51 pm on May 15th, 2009:

    Pls. Pls. Pls.! Let me work on email AND listen to the radio at the same time!!!

  6. Nick said at 2:03 pm on May 8th, 2009:

    Sounds great. Only recommendation would be to focus on 1 or 2 major changes I’d improvements at a time.

  7. Public Radio Tuner » Blog Archive » Feeling the Love at 1.5 Million Downloads said at 9:53 am on May 8th, 2009:

    [...] the meantime, we’re making great progress on Version 2.0: The Public Radio Player. Designed with your input. Coming out in June [...]

  8. JimS said at 9:59 am on May 6th, 2009:

    Great App. Version 1.2 no longer responds to the iTouch clock’s “sleep” command. It keeps reconnecting after a sleep state has been initiated.

  9. Rekha from Public Radio Tuner said at 2:58 pm on May 1st, 2009:

    Hi everyone,
    We agree that playing in the background while you do other things on your iPhone would be great. But Apple doesn’t allow third-party applications to do that, unfortunately.

  10. Sam said at 9:27 am on April 30th, 2009:

    I agree with Roma and SkinnyD, I would love if the tuner worked in the background, like iTunes, so that I could listen and check e-mail or txt simultaneously. To me, this is more useful than on demand content. Thanks for a great app!

  11. SkinnyD said at 8:17 pm on April 15th, 2009:

    Great app!!
    Please make this app so you can multitask with it.

    Thanks

  12. Public Radio Tuner » Blog Archive » Public Radio, technology, and you said at 5:32 pm on March 31st, 2009:

    [...] in the iTunes App Store! This week, we’re meeting with local stations to discuss plans for the upcoming release and how to spread the word to public radio fans and get them set up with the Tuner on their [...]

  13. Blake L. said at 11:57 am on March 26th, 2009:

    I love the app, I think it be great if the tuner would continue to play when you left the screen to use another app on the phone, text, email, or whatever.
    Thanx

  14. Jim Leff said at 11:19 pm on March 8th, 2009:

    I totally love the app, and anxiously await he program guide function, but isn’t the on demand feature redundant to podcasts? All these shows are available via podcast, eg via iTunes…

  15. Drew H. said at 10:24 am on March 8th, 2009:

    Josh – thanks! This is a great app!

  16. Roma said at 8:23 am on March 7th, 2009:

    Is there a way to let the app to continue stream the radio stations while I browse the net or send text messages. I love this app but it seems like I can only do one thing at a time. I want to be able to listen to my favourite station while also reading my eBook through the Stanza app for iPhone or send a message to a friend or browse the news of the day. Will this feature be available in the next version or is it already possible to do it? Thanks for such a great app.

  17. Josh from Public Radio Tuner said at 12:53 pm on March 6th, 2009:

    Drew – yes, stations can refer to our Guide for Stations page as resource on submitting a stream for inclusion in the Public Radio Tuner.

  18. Drew H. said at 9:04 pm on March 4th, 2009:

    Is there a mechanism for submitting local NPR stations for inclusion?

  19. Jacob tucker said at 10:00 pm on March 3rd, 2009:

    I would like to see the ability to stream Internet stations to the iPhone or the stations 100.3 the edge out of little rock ar and 102.1 out of Springfield mo

  20. Steve R. said at 9:21 pm on March 3rd, 2009:

    I just discovered PRT by hearing about it on All Things Considered. It’s a great project, and the two major improvements described in the post above are exactly what I’d love to see in the next version. Keep up the good work!

  21. Mussie said at 2:25 pm on February 28th, 2009:

    One word. Awesome! I love my local station and to be able to access other stations is pure delight.