TuneWiki (FREE)

TuneWiki bills itself as a social networking music app that streams music and video files, allowing you to play the music stored on your smartphone’s memory card.  The app lets you stream YouTube video, and connect with other TuneWiki users around the globe.

TuneWiki separates itself from other radio apps in several notable ways. For starters, the lyrics are included with each song and can be synced to the music, even if the song is stored on your phone. This is a great tool, particularly for singers who are learning songs, for spontaneous karaoke fun, or for anyone just interested in the lyrics.

Additionally, users can see the hits that are trending at any given time. See what’s hot so you can stay on top of breaking chart-toppers.

TuneWiki also includes a social map feature, which lets you see what other users are listening to, around the globe or right in your hometown. Hear a tune and want to say something about it? Registered users can jump onto the Shoutwall and post comments, or read what others are saying about a particular song. This is a great way to create a social network based on similar musical tastes and preferences.

The app also includes access to the Shoutcast network of radio stations, giving users access to an impressive array of music genres. TuneWiki is more than just a radio app, and is proving to be one of the most useful and impressive radio apps available for smartphones.

Last.fm (FREE)

At just 1.70Mb, the Last.fm smartphone app is among the smallest footprints available. It’s also a free app, which makes it very attractive. The app is straightforward and works as easily as their website. Simply enter in your existing user name and password, or create one on the spot.

The app lets you browse your recommendations, favorite artists, and stored radio stations, as well as creating new stations in an instant. You can also add new artists to your profile, increasing the breadth of possible recommendations. With their massive back-catalog of artists, and wide array of available genres, Last.fm through its smartphone app is sure to satisfy the musical tastes of even the most demanding music buffs.

Pandora (FREE)

The Pandora app is the natural extension of the Pandora website. Powered by the Music Genome Project, Pandora considers more than 400 musical attributes when creating its lists of recommended music designed to match your music preferences.

The smartphone app provides users with the same controls as the online app, including the ability to “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” each song. The app also provides one-touch access to all of your stored radio stations.

To help pay for the service, Pandora runs a lot of ads and commercials. If you’re just using the app to provide an endless stream of music and don’t care about popup ads, then the copious amount of ads won’t really bother you. However, if you’re looking for a more visual experience, like checking out album artwork, then the popup ads could prove to be a distraction.

An upgrade to the Pandora One premium service removes all advertising at an annual cost of just $36. Additional benefits of Pandora One include an increased number of skips per day (the 12-skip daily max has been removed), and a wide range of custom “skins” to give your player an appealing look and feel.

OurStage (FREE)

If you’re looking for something a little different, a little smaller and super hip, then you’ll definitely want to check out OurStage. They don’t have the impressive music catalogs that you’ll see with Last.fm and Pandora, but what they do have is a fresh platform for fans of new music, indie music, and even unsigned bands.

Unlike some of the other free apps, OurStage contains no advertising and they give away $5,000 each month to the indie artist with the highest rating. Users can rate music with standard “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” features. The app tracks your preferences and begins making recommendations of the new music you’re likely to enjoy.

The focus on new and indie music makes OurStage an excellent app for music fans that are looking for something off the beaten path.

Slacker Radio (FREE)

With more than 100 preprogrammed radio stations, the Slacker Radio app is a true portable radio station. Designed for the BlackBerry, the app lets you listen to any of your personalized radio stations, or choose one that was configured by their music experts. The app allows users to create their own stations on the fly, as well as reading up on musician biographies and album reviews.

Out of range of your network? No problem. Slacker Radio includes an awesome feature that allows users to temporarily store their music preferences offline, which means even if your BlackBerry isn’t connected to the internet, the music is still available. This makes Slacker Radio an overall excellent choice for anyone looking to turn their BlackBerry into a portable juke box.

The post Top 5 Free Online Radio Apps for Your Smartphone appeared first on Tech Tips.

Email Apps

These are the number one culprits behind smartphone battery drain. Every time your phone checks for email, it’s running down your battery. If you’ve got multiple email accounts on your phone, it only gets worse as your phone is constantly pushing for email updates.

Radio Apps

As these apps ping your network and Wi-Fi to find signals, they’re eating away at the little battery life you already have.

GPS Apps

Similar to radio apps, GPS apps require a constant search on your network for GPS location information.

Game Apps

Many games out there don’t just turn off when you close them—they keep running in the background even after you exit out of them.

There are easy ways to save battery life by just turning off unnecessary apps and adjusting some settings. Here are some simple tips to optimize your smartphone’s battery life:

T

urn off GPS apps:

When you’re done using them, exit them completely so your phone can stop constantly searching for a network.

To shut down the app completely, double tap the home button to reveal the Multi-Tasking bar, press and hold on an app until the “x” icon appears, and then press the “x” to shut down the app.

Dim your screen:

While most smartphones have a feature that adjusts screen brightness to your surroundings, it’s best to leave it at the lowest setting you can tolerate.

Adjust your screen brightness by going to Settings > Brightness. You should also switch Auto-Brightness to Off.

Keep screen time-out short:

Most smartphones allow you to set how long your phone stays awake after setting it down.

Set this to the lowest amount of time possible by going to Settings > General > Auto-Lock.

Turn off push notifications:

Most apps come equipped with push notifications so you can always know what’s going on.

You can turn off push notifications for specific apps by going to Settings, scrolling down to the app you wish to edit, and selecting Notifications.

Turn off Wi-Fi and BlueTooth:

Wi-Fi and BlueTooth features will constantly search for a signal, so turn them off when you don’t need them. Doing so can save up to a whole hour of battery life.

Turn off Wi-Fi by going to Settings > General > Wi-Fi and switch to Off. Turn BlueTooth off by going to Settings > General > Bluetooth and switching to Off.

Limit multi-tasking:

Exit out of apps when you’re finished using them. Running too many apps in the background will slow down your phone and kill your battery life.

To shut down the app completely, double tap the home button to reveal the Multi-Tasking bar, press and hold on an app until the “x” icon appears, and then press the “x” to shut down the app.

Turn off location settings:

Many apps offer location services so you can find restaurants nearby or tag your photos with location info.

To turn off location settings, go to Settings > Location Services. From there, you can off location settings for any apps that don’t need it.

Smartphone batteries aren’t perfect, but until they improve, these simple adjustments can help you get the most out of your battery life. What tips do you have to preserve your battery life?

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