One of the many doubts people had about the success of Windows 8 was its rather weak apps ecosystem compared to the ones from rivals Apple and Google. However, with the enthusiastic response that Windows 8 seems to have received from users all around the world, developers of popular iOS and Android apps have released the Windows 8 versions of their products. Below featured are three ways that will give you access to some wonderful music on your Windows 8 device.
PRadio
On first look and feel, PRadio is pretty much like Pandora, which is considered to be the big daddy of music streaming apps but still doesn’t have Windows 8 version. But PRadio works wonderfully well as a substitute. The app lets you log in to your Pandora account and access all your tweaked and saved stations. It is free as well but not ad-free, which is to be expected. With PRadio, you can continue to tweak your selected stations by liking or disliking a particular song.
This is apart from the ability to create new stations or modify existing ones. The app can also be pinned to the homescreen of your Windows 8 device. Overall, there isn’t a better way to access your Pandora music than PRadio.
iHeartRadio
iHeartRadio is popular among users for its orderly layout, which contrasts with that of TuneIn Radio’s. The app allows you to listen to radio streaming and just like TuneIn Radio, enables you to tap into terrestrial radio stations as well. There are also some stations exclusive to this app. Notable examples include ‘Chillax’, a workout station and some holiday stations. And like Slacker, users can access stations by custom artists after logging in.
On the downside, the app can only be used by those residing in the US. It also allows users to skip tracks only a limited number of times per hour. iHeartRadio allows you to search for certain tracks or artists but just like Pandora, it won’t allow you to play them. Rather, it would have you startup a station based on your search. And more often than not, the launched station starts with a song other than what you were looking for.
Non-App Streaming Service
Although the above two options require you to download the respective apps from the Windows app store, there is also a way to listen to the music offered by those services without the accompanying download. You can listen to both Rdio and Pandora streams on the Metro version of IE (Internet Explorer). On the other hand, some streaming services like Spotify and MOG don’t have an app or a web client, so a desktop client is the only option in their case.
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