Very
good
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Last.fm - Your Personal Radio
Tested version: 1.4.1
Latest version: 1.9.6
|
Summary
Last.fm is without a doubt one of the greatest music sites on the web. You can stream your favorite songs directly on your computer. Entering a song title, artist name, or music genre is enough for Last.fm to compile a customized playlist for you in a matter of seconds. Now, Last.fm is also available as an Android app. Find out whether this app is intended for beginners or advanced user by reading our full test report.
Features & Use
Section rating:
The Last.fm app offers you a whole array of useful features that many of you are already familiar with from the web-version. Don't have an account with Last.fm? Not a problem. Registering through the app is just as easy as on the website itself.
Once you've set-up an account, you are greeted with the following features on the app's start-page. Under the "Radio" tab you'll find:
- Start a New Station
- Your Library
- Recommended by Last.fm
- Your Neighborhood
- Recent Stations
Under the "Profile" tab you'll find the same options as on the website:
- Top Artists
- Top Albums
- Top Tracks
- Recently Played
- Events
- Friends
- Tags
Clicking on "Start a New Station" presents you with several different options. You can search by artists, keywords (tags), or even search by other users to listen to other people's playlists.
Scrobbling, in my opinion Last.fm's coolest feature, is obviously also part of this app. When you are "scrobbling", you are in effect sharing the track, artist, and/or song you're listening to at the moment with Last.fm. Using this information, Last.fm can recommend music that fits you personal taste. All of this is integrated into the app so that track played on your Android Player is automatically synched with Last.fm. A small message appears at the top of your screen letting you know if you're "scrobbling" at any given moment. While any track is playing, you can view the artist's biography, similar artists, tags, upcoming events, as well the artist's fans. I think that's an awesome feature! You can turn scrobbling on or off in your settings at any time.
In the settings you have the opportunity to select your streaming quality and headset options.
If you're registered with Last.fm, you've got all the usual functions.
During playback you can click on:
- Love this track
- Ban this track
- Stop this track
- Next track
Pressing the menu button during playback directs you to these options:
- View info
- Share
- Tag
- Add to Playlist
- Buy on Amazon
I was really blown away by the variety of functions available. Feel like buying the track from Amazon? No sweat. If you've got the Amazon MP3 app already installed on your device, you can directly access the Amazon store from any track currently playing.
Last.fm's sharing option is also very comprehensive:
- Last.fm Friends
- Send via Bluetooth (if you have a Bluetooth app installed)
- Delicious
- SMS
Any additional communication apps you may have installed will appear in this selection. The Last.fm also features are pretty sweet widget for your screen, displaying the track title, remaining time, and all the other playback features. In my opinion, this app deserves a full six stars for the features & use section.
A small set-back that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone: the streaming really sucks up your battery life.
Bottom Line:
Whether for beginners or advanced Last.fm users, this app offers all the functions you could ever wish for. Users that already have an account get full-access to all these features. Newcomers have to satisfy themselves with just the basic "Start a New Station" button. All in all, a great piece of work, especially the look and feel of the app.
Screen & Controls
Section rating:
The controls can get a bit tricky because of the wide selection of different functions. Once you get a general feeling for the app, you shouldn't have any problems figuring out the individual menus. I found it a bit annoying that many functions were only accessible via the menu button. Some of these functions could easily have been placed onto the touchscreen, making things a little neater.
The real icing on the cake is the app's amazing look. The app's glass-like design makes use that more enjoyable.
Speed & Stability
Section rating:
The performance itself is good, but things tend to lag during streaming. With the newer Android phones, you shouldn't experience any more stalling and your performance should be much improved. During the test my biggest problem was trying to work on other things while letting a track stream in the background.
The fact that there were several crashes with the app is, for me, simply inexcusable.
Price/Performance Ratio
Section rating:
The app and streaming music are free just like on the website.
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Mar 5, 2010 5:44:26 PM
for like the past couple of years, i've been a total last.fm fan! i prefer it to pandora, because it works all over the world and not just in the USA. there have been rumors about last.fm becoming pay-only...hope it isn't true...
the app is pretty good, but it does tend to lag a bit, especially with loading a radio station.
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Market Comments
David, Jan 8, 2012
Was an amazing 5 stars, been a member for 3 years, now you have to pay to use, WTF Last.fm? Uninstalled
vexierspiegel, Jan 8, 2012
Not fair! Give paid subscribers over the world their access to the music they paid for!
Robert, Jan 7, 2012
Stopped working fully Doesn't seem to scrobble the first track, was working fine, is there a better alternative?
averageCanuck, Jan 6, 2012
Doesn't work in Canada Love having a music app that can't play music in my country. /s
dezfowler, Jan 4, 2012
Not updating due to permissions change I don't see why you need these new permissions. Sorry but I'm not installing an app that can email people without me knowledge!
Kristina, Jan 4, 2012
Awful interface You're right, last.fm. I only want to see my top 10 artists/albums/tracks, with no option of viewing more. OH WAIT THAT'S NOT TRUE AT ALL. Come on, I've been using you since 2006. Step up your UI game.
Red, Jan 4, 2012
I hate it! Not even 2 plays and it's expired! Stupid! And 50 plays? I don't recommend it!
corn crops, Jan 4, 2012
LESS THAN ONE STAR IF I COULD I downloaded this stupid crap, and immediately upon opening for the FIRST TIME, it informed me that my free trial was expired and invited me to pay money to use it. UTTER BS.
Anubis, Jan 3, 2012
Galaxy S Scrobbling Finally, after a year of waiting, I can now get it to scrobble the Touchwiz Music Player (SCH-I500 codename "Mesmerize" running Android 2.3.4)
, Jan 3, 2012
Fine when free but not worth paying for Gets caught up playing very similar music even though my radio is diverse
Anonymous, Jan 1, 2012
Subscription only. Free trial then £3 a month which I can't be bothered with but at least its still free on xbox live for the time being.
chad, Dec 30, 2011
Yeah u need to check your permissions, u don't need to modifying my contacts or sending email 2 guest. Uninstall
Ben Foster
for like the past couple of years, i've been a total last.fm fan! i prefer it to pandora, because it works all over the world and not just in the USA. there have been rumors about last.fm becoming pay-only...hope it isn't true...
the app is pretty good, but it does tend to lag a bit, especially with loading a radio station.