RIM has launched a new application called BlackBerry Radio Beta. It is basically jams up to streaming music apps like Slacker and iheartradio service, as well as networks of traditional radio as Corus in a single, unified discovery mechanism. You can play the audio stream to the JPA, buy songs pop-up or download applications dedicated radio, if you prefer. The nice on the BlackBerry Radio thing is that you do not have to register for an account for all of these various services listening; ideal for casual listeners, but if you are a premium subscriber you want probably to Polish your custom stations.
Recently, RIM has been doing really good subject pumping into their own applications of quality. They aren't exactly breathtaking, but they are simple, polished and meets a need with the bandwidth level that only a manufacturer can provide. It is good to see that they making you no unnecessary existing software partners in this case; I felt like the official Twitter app undermine many applications of third parties be preloaded on blackberries immediately the bat. Then there was the podcast app, who was a niche nicely occupied by Podtrapper for profitable months. In addition, there is protect the BlackBerry offering essentially followed SmrtGuard-style and remote wipe for free. Once RIM puts some serious weight behind RSS news feed, I suspect that BerryReader will be out of luck as well.
That being said, BlackBerry Radio seems like a much more collaborative installation, which should encourage other partners like Pandora and rdio and get involved. The layout of the app is reminiscent of Podcasts, and it should not be surprised to see that it recycled again to store MP3 like drifting, using, say, Amazon and 7digital to start.
If you want to try BlackBerry radio, hit the Beta area. Unfortunately, it is only available in the United States for the moment, probably because of license problems.
