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Jango Review

On November 8, 2012

Sailing the high seas with a crew of stinkin’ seadogs can get a wee bit boring, especially when the day lacks the call of a cutlass or the siren song of a mermaid lassie. Not to worry, though. Me trust smartphone is always by me side to bring music to me old ears. Aye and I do mean that literally. With me phone and the Jango Radio app, me music stays with me wherever I be. Here is a quick look at what I be ramblin’ about.

Music at Your Fingertips

That is exactly what Jango Radio brings to your table – a selection of music that you want to hear whenever you want and wherever you are. Cool, right? But, what makes it stand out against the rest of the gang, the massive collection of similar audio streaming apps out there such as Slacker or Pandora – both audio streaming, custom radio apps. Well, let’s take a deeper look shall we?

Interfacing the Tunes

The Jango Radio interface is clean and very uncluttered. Well, that is because majority of its real estate is a solid white. As you scroll down though, you will find an interface that is quite busy. And this is largely caused by the social sharing element that the app integrates into its interface. Aye, this is actually the features I positively adore, the ability to see what other people, especially me buddies, are listening to. It is great for music discovery and for remembering tracks and tunes that your friends are listening to but forgot about. Other apps in the same genre do not normally come with this feature tucked in.

Now, apart from that nifty social sharing feature, Jango has everything a standard audio streaming app has – categorical music search, preset stations to listen to, and custom stations you can create with the type or kind of music you want to hear. If you have specific tunes in mind for a station (which pretty much doubles as a playlist), you can set that up in there too, making a virtual radio station that can cater to your exact musical whim.

The interface also comes with easy track sharing to Facebook and Twitter, an online music store for purchasing tracks (linked to iTunes and Amazon), and a slew of other standard functions you will see in every app of the same category.

Track Selections and Audio Quality

Tracks and tunes aplenty on Jango Radio. Aye, that is a given and a literal no brainer. Regardless of genre, you can find what kind of tune you are in the mood for. Well, that is if the track in question is of the mainstream kind. This means published and publicly commercial tracks that have official recordings. So, if you are looking for tracks of the indie sort, you are probably better off checking out the SoundCloud app or AOL Radio, both of which are great for obscure music discovery.

As for the audio quality, Jango delivers music without any hiccups. For as long as your mobile Internet link is up, running, and decently configured, then you should have no problem with the audio stream. So, in this regards, consider Jango a quality app for the typical mobile audiophile.

Verdict

I personally love Jango because of its cool features. The one thing I did find annoying with the app, though, is the constant popups that appear whenever a track is played. Aye, the app keeps asking you to rate the track, something I really don’t want doing all the time. But that is the only clear road bump, which I attribute to the app being totally free. Aye, free to download, install, and use as you see fit. Arrrr! Now, that is an app that will get a pirate humming Calypso’s lullaby in no time.

1 Comment

  1. Jessica says:

    I have emailed Jango to delete my account for their browser-based service because their Facebook app posted on my wall that I was listening to a Top 100 station even though I hadn’t used the site in several days and I hate Top 100 music. I view this as an underhanded way to get free advertising.

    Hopefully in the future Jango will turn to more ethical business practices but until then I strongly recommend avoiding the site.

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