| Software Author: ? |
eBook Software |
| Product: |
Pocket Streamer Pro 2.0 |
| Cost: |
$12.95 |
| Reviewed By: |
Tim Hillebrand |
| Rating: |
|
Did you ever wish Windows Media Player could do more? Now it can with the help of Pocket Streamer. You can listen to live broadcasts from around the world on radio and TV. Get the latest weather, financials, and breaking news. Listen to music in almost any genre you can think of. There?s talk radio too.
Here?s a list of the menu choices: Rock, Blues, International, 80s, Classical, Country, Jazz, News, Contemporary, Christian, Rap, Latin, New Age, Pop, Alternative, Sports, Weather, and TV. You can add your choices to the Favorites file for quick access.
Radio
I found that the radio streaming worked quite well with a few exceptions here and there. The astounding array of music choices within each category is gratifying too. It?s best heard through earphones of course, but it isn?t all that bad without them. The fidelity is excellent considering that its coming over the Internet with a Wi-Fi connection through a small handheld unit.
 The capture above shows some of the choices for the Jazz category with scores of choices for other categories as well.
 Live video weather reports are only available for selected major U.S. cities. So, if you are traveling abroad, you will have to find another weather source.
 Sports is all radio, no video, and no TV. I was only able to connect to a few of the stations.
TV
I will tell you straight out the TV aspect is disappointing. It?s like watching a Seurat pointillistic abstract painting in slow motion. Most of the channels are from places such as Turkey, Germany, and Italy. There is no real TV programming as one may expect. There is no way to add your own channel or tune in to the TV program you may have on your desktop. This function would be an improvement. In switching between Media player back to the PocketStreamer menu, my Dell Axim X50v would often lock up and I had to reset it. I feel certain that this aspect will improve over time and prove to be the most exciting component of the program. I was unable to capture any screens playing video for this review.
 Here is a list of some of the TV channels available, not all of which work, and most are foreign. The TV is blurry and jerky.
Conclusion
If you want a program that will stream a wide variety of radio programs, including music, weather, and talk radio, PocketStreamer does an excellent job at a reasonable price using the familiar Windows Media Player already on your device. However, if you expect to watch TV programs or video, you will be disappointed, for the performance is like watching an intermittent impressionist slide show through someone else?s glasses, and there is little of interest in the way of programming. There is much room for improvement in this aspect of the program, but when that happens, it will be exciting indeed. Meanwhile perhaps it would be a thought to focus on capturing the TV programming available on desktop computers using a Wi-Fi connection. It would be nice if you could add your own favorite channels too. I found it disappointing that the program does not function while your PDA is docked. I was thinking it would be pleasant to listen to it while charging. Still, what it does do, it does well and is worth your consideration for a good way to stream radio over the Internet into your Pocket PC. |
