FlyCast Mobile Broadcast Network – Review
By App Type: Uncategorized
Our rating: 
By: Sam Abadir
Version #: 1.2
Date Released: 2008-09-19
Developer:
Price: 0.00
User Rating:
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I really wanted to like FlyCast Mobile… I really did. I mean look at the description…
It’s time to ditch your Satellite Radio subscription! With over 1000 digital channels, including all genres of music, talk, news sports, weather and traffic – FlyCast offers the largest variety of digital broadcasts available today.
Fantastic! Then take a look at the features-
–pause live on all stations,
–song skipping on certain webcasts,
–StreamAheadTM to continue to listen even without a connection
–Top of the HourTM so latecomers can jump to the beginning of talk radio shows.
–background play
–battery saver modes
–a connection speed identifier
–the ability to play any of over 25,000 stations in the Shoutcast directory.
And the best feature of all… an embedded web browser so you can surf the web while listening to their favorite station.
Yet with all that, I found FlyCast to be an exercise in frustration. Half the stations I tried to load came back and told me they could not load for this reason or that. The sound quality of some that did load was awful. The time it took to buffer stations was far longer than I found on many other internet radio apps I have used. Then there was the fact that FlyCast Mobile crashed on my numerous times.
I love the embedded browser idea. It is a fantastic work-around until the day Apple sees fit t let a limited number of apps run in the background. Everything else, however, just wasn’t up to par for me.
I really wanted to like FlyCast Mobile but while other internet radio apps may have fewer features they are easier to use, more stable, faster, and just sound better. I’ll take a pass on FlyCast.
Quick Take
Value: Low, even with it being free
Would I Buy Again: No
Learning Curve: Low but the frustration level is high
Who is it for: Not me
What I like: Love the embedded browser idea- brilliant!
What I Don’t: Everything else
Final Statement: NotOnMyiPhone
The FlyCast native app includes features never before available in broadcast listening, including: pause live on all stations, song skipping on certain webcasts, StreamAheadTM, which allows users to continue to listen to a station even during extended periods without a connection, and Top of the HourTM, which allows latecomers to jump to the beginning of talk radio shows. Other new features include an embedded web browser, allowing users to surf the web while listening to their favorite station, background play and battery saver modes, a connection speed identifier, and the ability to play any of over 25,000 stations in the Shoutcast directory. You can also pre-set your favorite stations, search for stations that play a particular artist the most, review songs that you listened to recently, and have the ability to purchase those songs directly to your iPhone/Touch directly from iTunes. Settings allow you to launch stations in background mode, use a "battery saver" mode, and re-launch your last station when you launch the app. Background play mode allows users to perform other tasks on the device, like reading email, text messaging and playing games while their favorite station continues to play. Album cover art, artist info and song title are displayed, when available, during song playback. The FlyCast Mobile Network deploys a QoS (Quality of Service) software component to its broadcast partners and their stream hosting providers to ensure a high quality streaming experience. Access to the FlyCast Mobile Broadcast Network is completely free. What are you waiting for? Start FlyCasting now!
O U R T A K E . . .
