BBC launches iPlayer Radio streaming app

BBC has previously made available its fine (I’d dare say, the finest) television programming, documentaries and news channels on the iPhone and today the London, United Kingdom-headquartered public service broadcasting corporation revealed a new radio streaming app.

The BBC iPlayer Radio app allows you to stream live shows and download already-broadcast shows. It sports a nice dial interface akin to Apple’s Podcast app, letting one quickly scan available shows and enjoy BBC’s radio programmes on the go, even if it’s limited only to UK residents (there’s a way to bypass that)…

BBC writes in a media release and a blog post that the new BBC iPlayer Radio app, previously known as the Radio and Music Product, is available across PC, mobile and tablet.

A new radio station homepage at bbc.co.uk/radio lets you tune in to almost all radio stations and listen to both live streams and pre-recorded shows.

The BBC Radio on the web also lets you browse radio stations by categories, check out the full schedule or the detailed page for the current and next programmes and access your favourite shows, “a feature that we are looking to build out further over time to make this page more and more valuable for our users”.

Here, your release notes.

BBC iPlayer Radio version 1.0.1

• take BBC Radio with you wherever you go
• listen to live radio from all the BBC’s UK radio stations over Wi-Fi and 3G
• quickly switch between stations using a radio tuner dial
• see what’s on-air across all stations via an EPG
• listen to on-demand programmes from the past 7 days
• find out what music and guests featured in on-demand programmes
• set an alarm so you wake up to your favourite station
• set an alert for upcoming programmes
• watch video clips including music sessions
• listen to BBC Podcasts
• stream radio programmes to Bluetooth and Apple AirPlay compatible devices
• browse programmes by Schedule, Featured and Most Popular

As for the new BBC iPlayer Radio app, you can conveniently use it to set the alarm and wake up with your favorite DJ or programme, set programmer reminders, share individual tracks with friends and more.

I love the the touchscreen dial interface that lets me spin through the available radio stations with ease. Another handy feature: just swipe to reveal on-demand catch-up content and videos on every station page.

The BBC iPlayer Radio app is a free download for your iPhone or iPod touch.

Again, the app is only available on the UK App Store but you can use a proxy service to fool your iPhone into thinking that it’s in the UK.

BBC said that a version for Android devices is set to “follow soon”.

I don’t know about you, but I think the radio is yet to have its finest hour.

Radio is part of my daily routine, I tune in every morning to get local news and weather information and then leave it playing in the background throughout the day.

Call me romantic, but I just love the radio’s combination of spoken word, quick shows and music, without knowing what track is going to play next.

Plus, music-focused radio stations I regularly listen to expose me to obscure tracks and songs by up and coming artists I would have never bothered searching for on the web.

Do you use radio at all?