Many Nokia users appreciate the possibility to listen FM Radio on a typical Nokia phone. Therefore the disappointment was big, when Nokia announced that the N9 wouldn't come with feature. Fortunately this wasn't the final state, since the N9 actually has all necessary hardware (FM Receiver). It was just a question of how long it would take until a developer could write the necessary software. Now we have two amazing FM radio available at Nokia Store - we had a look at both of them.
The wish for a functional radio application got satisfied a couple weeks ago when more or less at the same time two different radio applications showed up at Nokia Store. Whoever was searching for it in the past, knows that the first possibility to use N9's FM receiver was Thomas Perl's application. Regrettably this version never quit beta status and wasn't working reliable in most cases.
A big step forward was Andrey Kozhanov's solution which gave us FM Radio with a retro-look and feel. Kozhanov's beta application was the first one to use a channel-search function and a possibility to save them. Through further development we have now the fully functional final-application in Nokia Store.
But there are more good news: Not only Andrey Kozhanov FM application got published, but also another one by the a small developer company called Strix Code. Both applications are big gain for the N9 and offer about the same functionalities - but are very different in their own way. We tested them both and show you the differences.
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| Andrey Kozhanov's FM Radio application running on Nokia N9 |
FM Radio by Andrey Kozhanov
The beta of FM Radio can be considered as the first well working FM radio solution for the N9. We had tested the application previously on AllBoutN9 and were thankful, that the developer gave everyone a change to try out a free beta version. Many user-feedbacks were collected and analyzed to complete the public version. The final product is outstanding and was the first of its kind available in the official application store.
FM Radio is a piece of art and very original. Once you start the application you have a old-looking radio which has the style of a 1950's device. The running frequency glows up in classic electronic tubes, whose original are used to amplify electric signals. Below them, there is the frequency range and an indicator about the signal strengh. Additionally there are several buttons with different function:
-On/off button
-Forward-, backwards button
(single click to increase or decrease frequency by 0.1 or long-press to jump to next available signal)
-Memory-buttons to save up to 12 radio stations
Furthermore there is a headphones button which lets you decide whenever you want to listen radio with your headphones or over the N9 speakers. This is very useful, since headphones are needed to receive radio signal (being used as an extended antenna). Don't forget to have a look at the included manual, which explained the functionalities very well.
Despite the classic look, FM Radio is filled up with all modern and necessary features you can expect of such an application. It's also to mention, that the application is very well adapted to the N9. By pressing buttons certain buttons you get vibration feedbacks which increases the feeling of using a real button.
Moreover volume control is implemented very well. In case you're listen to radio while doing multitasking, the volume can be changed from within any other application - in our opinion a very important feature.
Summarized we can say that FM Radio has a very intuitive user interface with an absolutely beautiful and unique design. Running Radio FM really gives you the feeling of holding a radio device in your hands - try it out and you will know what we are talking about.
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| Amazing design and great user experience |
FM Radio N9 by Strix Code
The second FM Radio application is called "FM Radio N9". In contrary to the other application, the developers focused more on adapting the general N9 user interface.
Make sure have your headphones plugged in before you start the application - otherwise you'll be nicely asked to plug in any headphones. First you should run the automatic radio scanner which puts all available stations to a list. Good idea, since this way you have an easy way to switch between channels next to pressing a forward-/backwards button or scrolling through the frequency range. This list will be stored until you scan again, what is recommended if you change location.
Similar to the other application there is a possibility to save stations. It's very handy that you can name any saved station - else it will have a name like "Untitled 1". It would be better though, to show the frequency since many people recognize a favorite stations by their frequency. Saved and renamed stations won't be overwritten if you do a re-scan.
Strix Code's application supports RDS (Radio Data System). RDS makes it possible to send and receive small amounts of digital information in conventional FM radio broadcasts - like name of channel or title of a playing song. This is a nice accessory which makes it easier to differentiate between channels. Unfortunately it didn't always work very reliable for us (but that's probably no mistake by the application) and it would be very preferable, if RDS information are saved within the list of scanned channels.
FM Radio N9 also lets you choose between listening radio with headphones or over speakers, by simply clicking on the shown white headphones (a speaker will appear instead).
A big deficiency is the volume control, which can only be adjusted while the application is running in the foreground. If you try to adjust the volume within another application the profile switcher shows up - which makes usually sense but not if you have music running in the background.
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| Supports RDS and advanced channel-management |
The question is: What do you prefer?
Both FM Radio application are very well done and are worth to buy (about 2 Euros). Both come with all the necessary functionalities and can satisfy any expectations. We tested them with various headphones - all were supported except for a cheap external speaker. It is worth a try to use Nokia Play 360° speakers; even if headphones are plugged in, the music will be transmitted to the speaker with NFC.
In our opinion Andrey Kozhanov's application is more fun and easy to use, has a unique, pleasant design and supports important features like system-wide volume control. On the other hand, Strix Code's version supports RDS and uses typical N9 menu navigations which looks nice without being too fancy.
You won't be disappointed by any of the 2 applications - the choice is yours.
