Survey: Tell Us What You REALLY Think

The Public Radio Tuner has been around long enough now that many, many iPhone users have had a chance to try it out, and even make it a part of their lives.

That’s just about the right time to ask you to take a survey.

• What kinds of stations do you listen to?
• When do you use the Tuner (exercising? cooking? falling asleep? waking up (we hope)?)
• News or Music or both?
• Live or On Demand or both?
• Chocolate or Vanilla or swirl? (just kidding)

The survey is hosted by NPR. Please give us a few minutes of your time. Not only will it help improve this iPhone app (with version 2.0 due out soon, we promise), it will inform all sorts of public radio mobile efforts, iPhone and otherwise.

Plus, it’s anonymous, so you can tell us what you *really* think.

Take the survey!

Version 2.0: The Home Stretch

Remember back in college pulling all nighters leading up to finals? Lately, that’s been the vibe around the PRX headquarters in Cambridge as the development team works on completing Version 2.0 of the Public Radio Tuner. Sometimes that’s what it takes to get our best work done. The payoff is that we’re closing in on submitting the new version to iTunes for approval and public release in the App Store. The new release will be called the Public Radio Player - and it will take the mobile enjoyment of public radio to the next level. The team, pictured above left to right, consists of Bill Heyman, Giuseppe Taibi, Andrew Kuklewicz, project manager Matt MacDonald, and Eric Sagalyn (not pictured). In addition to adding new features, the team is also addressing your feedback about streaming troubles in the latest version and is working on a fix. We’ll keep you all up to date on when 2.0 is submitted, approved, and ready for download to your iPhone and iPod Touch.

Updated Guide for Stations

To our friends at local stations - be sure to note some recent changes to the Guide for Stations. Stream submissions to the Public Radio Tuner are now being handled by Public Interactive. If you have a stream you’d like to add to the Tuner, or make changes to information on existing streams, you can do so through Public Interactive’s stream submission page. Also, we’ve added some additional promo copy and web graphics in the Guide for Stations to help you get started promoting your station’s stream on the Public Radio Tuner. Participating station WUWM sent us audio of some great promos they’re running on-air, and we’ve posted them in the Guide for Stations for you to hear.  If you are running on-air promos or web graphics to spread the word about the Public Radio Tuner, drop us a line. We would love to showcase your work to other participating stations. Thanks!

Feeling the Love at 1.5 Million Downloads

The Public Radio Tuner has been downloaded 1.5 million times. Thanks to those of you who helped get us here by spreading the word! But we’re not done yet. We want to be on every iPhone and iPod Touch out there (who wouldn’t?). You can help by joining our Facebook group, twittering about the app, and, of course, simply TALKING about the Tuner with your real-world friends. Given the interesting tug-of-war happening in the iTunes reviews, you might be tempted to participate there, too.

In the meantime, we’re making great progress on Version 2.0: The Public Radio Player. Designed with your input. Coming out in June 2009.

Looking for Beta Testers for Version 2.0

We’re looking for a handful of guinea pigs beta testers to download a trial version of the Public Radio Tuner v2.0. Volunteers should be iPhone power users and devoted public radio fans willing to give feedback on the performance and usability of the new Tuner as we work out the kinks on some great new features. Participants shall be showered in praise, gratitude, and perhaps some public radio knick-knacks when all is said and done. Just express your interest in the comments below and we’ll be in contacts. Thanks!

Update: We’ve got our volunteers! Thanks to everyone who offered to help.

New Update & New iTunes Store Location

Update: The new Public Radio Tuner is available in the PRX iTunes store!

Good news! We have submitted the connection performance update and it will show up in the iTunes App Store as soon as Apple approves it. Testing took a couple weeks longer than planned, so we want to thank you for your patience. This update will bring some real improvements to the way the Tuner handles stream connections. In beta testing of the updated Tuner, we’ve been able to hold a stream as we transitioned from Edge to 3G to WiFi connections without missing a beat.

Also, with this update, we are moving locations in the iTunes App Store. The Tuner will move from the American Public Media store to the Public Radio Exchange store. This will allow the PRX-based development team to more efficiently manage the app, and streamline the process for future updates to the Public Radio Tuner.

The new app location means we won’t be able to automatically “push” an update to current users. Instead, you will need to download what’s effectively a new app in a new store. We have worked to make this small extra step as easy as possible. Here’s how it will work: 

1. If you currently have the Public Radio Tuner on your iPhone, you will receive the standard notice to update to the app. 
2. Once updated, your current Tuner will direct you to download the new version and provide a link to the PRX iTunes Store
3. Once there, you just download the updated Public Radio Tuner and get your stream on. All done!

The desktop icon of the “old” Tuner on your iPhone will be grayed out, so you won’t get the two versions mixed up. Next time you’re in iTunes doing housekeeping on your iPhone, you can toss the old version.

The “old” version of the Tuner will continue to function just fine, but it will no longer be supported and will not receive any further updates. So be sure to make the switch over to the new Public Radio Tuner. You’ll enjoy the improved performance, and we’ve got big plans for future updates.

Public Radio, technology, and you

The Public Radio Tuner is fast approaching 1.5 million downloads 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 iPhones and iPod Touches. 

The enthusiastic reception to the Tuner demonstrates that public radio audiences are willing and eager to embrace new platforms and new ways of enjoying their favorite programs. But when you strip away all the smart phone technology and application development, the Tuner has been a hit for one reason: it delivers the great content you know and love from public radio. Look at the photo above. Is the family gathered around the table because of the fancy radio? Or are they brought together by the story that’s on the radio. It’s the content that leads the way, and the technology plays an important but supporting role.

It got me thinking about a new report from the Center for Social Media about the relationship of technology to public media. The report, “Public Media 2.0”, frames the mission of public radio (and public media generally) as a vital part of the media landscape. More than offering just news and entertainment, public media plays a central role in facilitating our democratic society by creating an informed citizenry and guiding public conversations on important issues and ideas (If you doubt the claim, just think about your own driveway moments, or how many times you find yourself in discussions based on stories heard on public radio). 

When introducing new technologies and platforms to public radio, it becomes important to consider how these channels can reinforce public radio’s core mission and invigorate the relationship with the audience. Technology for technology’s sake is not worth the investment. So whether you’re talking about smart phones or social networking sites, the question for public radio becomes, how can technology allow us to grow the impact of our work?

Read the rest of this entry »

Stream issues fix on the way

We’ve seen quite a few comments about stream connection problems with the Public Radio Tuner. The development team is on the case, and working on a fix that will be released later this month. The fix will be aimed at enhancing how the Tuner handles network connection issues. When this release is pushed live, the Tuner will be more readily able to reconnect with streams when they are interrupted or buffering. Improving performance of the Public Radio Tuner is our highest development priority right now, and you won’t have to wait for the release of version 2.0, set for May.  We’d like to thank everyone who has told us about the issue and for providing the details that allowed us to trace the problem back to the source. We’ll get this fix out as soon as possible.

Public Radio Tuner on All Things Considered

Welcome All Things Considered listeners! We are happy to have NPR news fans visit this site and get to know the Public Radio Tuner. You can find out all about the Tuner and who’s behind it on the About Page, and by reading through the posts below. Of course, if you are an iPhone or iTouch user, now is the time to download the Public Radio Tuner from the iTunes App Store. It’s free! Jake Shapiro, Executive Director of the Public Radio Exchange was on ATC this afternoon to discuss the Public Radio Tuner.

Tuner, two point oh!

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.