Terrestrial radio in the car has been competing against satellite for years, but both may have plenty to contend with in Internet radio smartphone apps. The airwaves of the Web are opening up a world of content that spans the four corners of the globe - and you can listen to it all for pennies.
Livio Radio
Free Lite version ($4.99 for full access)
Available at: Apple App Store
With no less than 42,000 AM/FM and Internet-only radio stations for the taking, this app arguably has far more content than terrestrial and satellite radio combined. You won't find the unique channels satellite offers here, but you get the chance to sample a global selection of music and talk radio from the comfort of your car.
Almost every country has something to offer, and you can set up to five presets for quick navigation by just tapping the number you want. Like the other two apps, you can also add web streams you find by typing in the URL to gain access.
Naturally, you will need a data plan with decent coverage to make all this work. Many stations can play on EDGE technology, but 3G is obviously more reliable. And you won't eat up too much of your monthly data plan listening for a couple of hours on your daily commute to and from work because most streams run between 48 kbps and 128 kbps.
RadioBOX
$0.99
Available at: Apple App Store
RadioBOX essentially groups stations and streams from three directories (RadioDeck, SHOUTcast and Icecast) together to bring you more than 40,000 stations and streams, and each has its own menu system.
You can choose to have favourites from all three, but RadioDeck choices are separated into a solo list for some reason. If you find a URL stream that you'd like to include in your favourites, the app makes that easy for you to do, even if neither of the three directories has it. Like the others also, you can set a sleep timer (up to 15 minutes), and share via Twitter or e-mail (Livio Radio offers Facebook, too).
Just like the other two apps reviewed here, RadioBOX can play in the background, so you can use other apps without losing your connection. An EDGE or 3G connection is stable enough not to drop often, but this does also depend on the stream you're trying to listen to.
Xiia Live
Free Lite version ($3.99 for ad-free full access)
Available at: Android Market
A stylish and pleasant interface is just the window dressing of what is an otherwise outstanding app. Xiia Live is powered by SHOUTcast, which has its own iPhone app, but Xiia Live is very much along the same lines for Android phones.
A neat feature Xiia Live offers is a chime that indicates when a connection is made or dropped, so you're not left wondering whether the stream is still playing or not. You can also tag songs you like, and even keep a history of the streams you listened to on top of your favourites.
Despite its benefits, Xiia Live tends to be a bit hit or miss on 3G. It will go days running like a charm, but then go a day or two with a sketchy connection. Why this happens is unclear, but generally, streams run fine more often than not.