One of the features many people wish to be added to iOS is the ability to stream music. For those unfamiliar with this, streaming music is when rather than keeping music files on your iPhone, they are stored externally and you listen to them over the internet. This has two great advantages; firstly you don't have to buy any of your music as streaming legally allows you to listen to whatever you like, provided somebody has uploaded it. Secondly, it frees up space on your iDevice as you don't need to keep any music files on your device.
I'll start by saying that there are tonnes of ways to stream music to your iPhone and the most popular option is Spotify. However, I'm not going to be reviewing Spotify, rather, I am going to be reviewing what I consider to be the best alternative, Grooveshark.
Before you try the app, I suggest you try the website. It's great. Unlike Spotify you don't need to download any software (great if you are using a computer that isn't your own) and you also don't need to make an account (great if you can't be bothered with things like that).
But this review is for the iOS app for Grooveshark so i'll get back to that. Firstly, it is important to note that bizarrely the app is available in Cydia only and not the official App Store due to Apple having rejected it. So before you try it out you will need to jailbreak your device. Don't let this put you off however, Grooveshark is one of the best designed Cydia applications I have ever seen and looks nicer than many of the apps available in the "real" App Store.
The app comes with a 14 day (or 50 song) trial. This is great, if, like me you aren't really sure if you need a streaming client for your iPhone. After the trial, the service costs $9 per month (abut £5.50 today, which is £4.50 cheaper per month than Spotify).
I tested it out by searching for some pretty obscure music and the app didn't let me down (though if you do have an issue with finding something, please let me know!). The app also lets you download songs to your phone for offline listening, which is great if you are going somewhere without adequate coverage and don't wish to lose access to your music.
There are the half-standard sharing options including Facebook and Twitter if you wish to let other people know what you are listening to. You can also set "favourite" tracks and see the most listened to tracks. You can also make playlists.
Sound quality is better than I expected, though it may not be enough to please audiophiles and can be adjusted between high and low bitrate in the app settings.
In summary, if you want to try streaming music on your phone, this is a great place to start. The 14 day trial should be a long enough period to get a feel for the service and after this period the monthly subscription of less than £6 makes this service great value for money. For a jailbreak app the quality is far beyond average and I would not let the fact that this app is Cydia only put you off!
9/10
Thanks for reading!
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