Eric's Picks: Which Internet Radio App is Better?

Here is the answer you all have been waiting for! These are my reviews of iHeartRadio and Pandora. The victor is decided at the end! 

iHeartRadio

iHeartRadio seems to have the total package. Users can listen to radio stations from all over the country and create stations from a catalog of over 11 million songs. In my testing of the app, I have determined that there are many bugs to work out.

Pros:

The app has a much larger music database than Pandora, about a 10 million song difference. iHeartRadio allows you to long in using Facebook. I definitely like not having to make a new account. The app does a good job choosing similar songs for playback. iHeartRadio allows users to like or dislike certain songs to further personal the stations. The user interface is friendly. The app has live radio stations that are categorized under the find tab and personal station under the create tab. The sound quality is great and there is no lag while streaming.

Cons:

iHeartRadio constantly crashed on me. Every time I tried to exit a radio station (live or personal), it would crash. This was extremely annoying. When I would go back into the app to play a personal station, the same exact five songs would repeat. I expected a different variety of songs to play each time the app opened, especially when they claim to have a music database of 11 million songs. It does not seem that the 11 million songs are used to their full potential. To login into the app, one must have a Facebook account. This isolates many potential users without a Facebook account.

Overall, iHeartRadio has more potential. It has the opportunity to set the standard for future online radio apps. The inclusion of real radio and a large music catalog makes it a strong competitor to Pandora.

Pandora

Pandora Radio has been around for over a decade. They have a music catalog of about 1 million songs and a user base of over 100 million.

Pros:

Pandora has a great user friendly interface. It has 4 tabs for previous created stations, creation of stations, bookmarks, and settings. The bookmark feature allows users to save any song they hear and like. Users are able to go to the bookmark tab to listen to any saved song. Pandora plays different songs each time the app is opened. Like iHeartRadio, this app has the like or dislike button to further personalize stations. The app is great about replaying songs I like, and does not overwhelm me. Pandora is great at introducing me to new songs related to my liked songs. Pandora never crashed on me.

Cons:

Pandora does not stream live radio. It only lets users create their own stations. There are other apps that allow for live radio streaming, but it would be nice to have it included. The music catalog is not as big as iHeartRadio, but this was not noticeable. Pandora does not allow users to login using Facebook, therefore creating a need to for a new account. Pandora would play too many live renditions of songs no matter how much I disliked them. I prefer listening to original songs instead of remixes and live versions.   

  

Pandora does not have access to many of the songs or live radio stations as iHeartRadio does, but it has more experience in the business of internet radio. Pandora is the better app overall. The use of bookmarks and smarter radio personalization makes it a favorite of mine. I like that it does not crash on me and has a sleeker user interface. Pandora is the champion as of now, but iHeartRadio has much potential.