Bluewater iPhone App
Bluewater Broadcasting (Bama Country, Jamz, Q, News/Talk, The Gump) launched a new iPhone app today. The app is free and will allow you to listen to any of their stations plus a few additional commercial free formats.
I just installed it my own iPhone as I have been typing. When you go to the apps store you have to do a search for “Buzz Radio”. It took about 2 minutes to download the file through my extremely slow T1 Wifi connection. Q96.1 is the first station that pops up when you load the app. Again, my internet is really slow but so far at nearly 5 minutes of the circle spinning in the middle of the phone, I have yet to hear any music.
I’m not that patient so for a 2nd try I cut off the Wifi connection on the phone and let AT&T’s 3G connection go to work. Don’t try this on a iPhone 4 since you probably don’t have the unlimited data plan anymore but I am still using a lowly iPhone 3G with a broken glass courtesy my 18-month old son. The wheel again spun around and around with no music.
I switched over to News/Talk 107.9 and within 10 seconds I was connected. Next I tried The Gump and again within 10 seconds I was connected. One thing I noticed too was that what is playing is also being displayed near the bottom of my iPhone screen which happened to be PSA’s then a Agency Pay for Sales spot.
All in all it’s a pretty neat app. Apparently though the feed for Q96.1 isn’t working and unfortunately it’s the first one that the app tries to load. None of the other feeds had problems. I am not quite sure of the long term value of it, but it is definitely a very cool novelty.
Side note…Bluewater is working on the app for Droid users too.
Here’s the link to the announcement:
http://bluewaterbroadcasting.com/bluewater-iphone-app.html
Popularity: 5% [?]
Finally! After almost a year and a half since Montgomery locals were turned up on Direct. Picture quality is great. ...
Someone actually gets it. People aren’t sitting at huge computers (or even laptops anymore) and leaving a second web browser window open so they can stream a radio station in a memory hogging flash player.
Q96.1 loaded right up and the app worked just fine.
All the streams are working now. BTW, the non-broadcast streams (Hits, Classic Rock, Oldies, Adult) are all commercial free AND interactive on the Buzzmontgomery.com site. You can change the music stream order with the request feature.
“…I am not quite sure of the long term value of it, but it is definitely a very cool novelty…”
This isn’t a novelty. Either radio as an industry gets into the hands of the general population via their mobile devices or we can all start the countdown clock to our demise.
If your company doesn’t have an app, put $2,500 in the budget for 2011 and get one.
@Greg Rickaby
is the Iphone apps compatible with the Ipad?
i am disappointed that No app was made for the blackberry, if clear channel can launch a successful blackberry app, then i would have hoped Bluewater could do the same.
I still think it goes under the classification of novelty. Right now it is new and flashy, but will there be a long term value in an app like this, right now I don’t think so.
I installed it but I don’t see myself going “oh, I need to go bring up the buzz app and stream radio.” I have 4 pages of apps on my iPhone competing for my attention. Looking at my phone I have opened up maybe 10 of those apps in the past week.
Now if it pushed news, or weather alerts then it might have more value to me…but in all truth the WSFA app is already doing that.
On the other hand, I do think you have to be looking at doing these apps and it would be smart for other stations to be doing them also. Marketing is all about promoting the stations and distributing their products and services to as many people as possible. Even though I consider the app a novelty, so are pens, hats and t-shirts…but they all serve a general purpose in promoting your product. They all also get forgotten or thrown away too.
@Jack there are several reasons why we didn’t do the BlackBerry, first and foremost I want to remind you – we don’t have unlimited resources like Clear Channel.
We did extensive research before plunking $2,500 on an app:
1) Blackberry has lost 20% of it’s market share in the last 2 years
2) 40% of Blackberry owners say they will switch to iPhone/Android when their contract expires
3) 50% of all Blackberry owners have them through work, and “work” blocks app installs and audio-streaming.
Here is a great read: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/business/26views.html)
I’m not saying there’s no “place” for Blackberry anymore. I’m a former owner myself – and miss my BB Messenger; but moving to an Android based phone was a move I don’t regret making.
@Brian – Really? Did you just compare apps to pencils and t-shirts? Last time I checked, a t-shirt didn’t play our audio and tell you artist and title information while cruising down the Interstate…
If I’m in my car I would be listening to a radio versus an app.
Also bandwidth isn’t unlimited anymore with AT&T unless you have one of the old grandfathered contracts. If I was going to use the app it would only be with a wifi connection.
We agree on a lot of things Greg, this is one you will have to prove me wrong on that a radio app is nothing more than a novelty marketing and promotional tool.
Ah, well. I guess my BB will have to stick to Slacker for now. Benefits: 1) Gump has limited range. My husband and I both travel a lot and would appreciate our local station being with us. And no, satellite radio isn’t currently an option. 2) Useful even for local. Again, the Gump has limited range. (Yes, that’s the station I listen to so it’s the one I will use for example). They don’t even reach to the South Momtgomery County line.
But while I regret the lack of BB love, I understand it.
@greg
While i will agree with you about the drop in BB ownership vs droid and apple, you need to stop thinking about the people who dropped one phoen for another and embrace the other 80% who still have and love their blackberry and market your apps to those who aren’t using them work.
BB has a new podcast app that would be great for pushing the WMRK podcasts, or maybe have each Dj from the stations offer a “song of the day podcast” where they discuss why they chose a particular song, would be very beneficial for promoting new artists or doing specials like when an artists comes to play for the station staff in the lobby.
Droid app is out now too.
It’s not our app, it’s just “an app” that has 40,000 radio stations or something. We’re still developing our own.
Ahh…I jumped the gun.
Any updates on a droid app.? I can’t find one in the marketplace.