Open Your Ears For Radioline, A Cute Radio App [Review]

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Clean. Simple. Radio. Mmmm.
Clean. Simple. Radio. Mmmm.

Your iPhone is many things. My iPhone is many things. For each of us, the most important functions will differ. Some people might think it’s most useful as a mobile messenger client, others as a GPS device. For me, one of the most useful functions of my iPhone is that it can also be a radio.

Radioline is an internet radio player app for both iOS and OS X, with a focus on speed and simplicity. Let’s take a closer look.

The chances are that if you, like me, are a radio nut with an iOS device, you probably already use TuneIn Radio Pro to listen to your favorite stations. TuneIn is an excellent app, packed with features and extras. It can do recording, it can be your alarm clock, it can pause live streams. Oh, and it’s only one dollar. There’s a reason why it’s so popular among radio listeners.

So Radioline has a lot to live up to. But rather than copy TuneIn, Radioline takes a very different approach. It strips out all the extras and all the bells and whistles, and leaves behind a simpler, easier radio player app.

It’s actually rather lovely. Station search and selection is speedy, and there’s instant access to your favorite stations. If you’re bored of what’s playing, a simple swipe across the screen takes you to the next station.

Everything is presented in a clear, toned-down style. It’s very noticeably calmer and easier to navigate than TuneIn’s far busier screens – but that’s simply because TuneIn has more features and more controls to fit in.

Comes with scrobbling

As a result, I’d suggest that Radioline is much closer to being a digital replica of your old kitchen radio. You know, the one you’d just switch on a leave burbling for hours. It offers no additional features. It’s just a radio. It’s just for listening.

It’s a shame, then, that it costs more than TuneIn radio, priced at two dollars on the App Store. Now personally, I don’t think $2 is too much to pay, and if all you want is a simple electronic radio on your phone, I’d say it’s an excellent buy. But I’m aware that there will inevitably be people out there who complain, and say “Meh, buy TuneIn radio for less and get more features.”

I say, ignore those people. The choice you’re making here isn’t about saving one single dollar. It’s about whether you want a simple radio or a more complicated radio. If you prefer the simple kind, Radioline for iOS is totally worth having.

Pro: Clean, simple radio listening

Con: It’s more expensive than rivals, but not actually expensive when you stop and think about it

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