Crave

Start configuring Twitter from Slacker.com.

(Credit: Slacker)

At the CTIA Wireless conference (see all stories) this afternoon, Slacker Radio showed off its new applications for Android, BlackBerry, and Windows phones. Unfortunately, Slacker isn't sharing a time line for those release dates. That's not to say we'll walk away empty-handed. On Wednesday, Slacker will turn on Twitter integration, so registered members can tweet songs they're listening to in real time.

Know up front that this is a limited service that Slacker will flesh out later with those updated smartphone apps they teased us with. Think of the Twitter feature as a working preview.

Using a new feature, tweet your tunes from Slacker Radio.

(Credit: Slacker )

Starting tonight at 9:00 p.m. PT, a Twitter box will appear on the Community tab of Slacker.com. (If it doesn't, wait a few minutes and try again.) After signing into Twitter, you'll be able to configure Slacker to auto-tweet any combination of the following: whenever you change or play a station, a favorite song, a banned song, or a banned artist. According to Slacker, when the Twitter integration appears on those future Slacker Radio apps, you'll be able to manually tweet any of the above from the mobile interface so you won't bludgeon your buds with your musical taste, no matter how impeccable it is. Until then, it's automatic tweeting or nothing for you.

After integrating Twitter, Slacker will look to other social networks, such as Facebook and MySpace.

While Slacker's new Twitter integration gives cell phone rockers and crooners the chance to share streaming ditties within the Slacker Radio experience, it's not the only service to tangle with Twitter. Here are six more ways to tweet your musical faves.

In mid-July, Verizon began automatically pushing Slacker Radio to BlackBerry Storm phones. Starting Tuesday, Verizon's partnership with Slacker Radio begins extending to BlackBerry Tour devices in its U.S. network as well.

As part of the agreement, Slacker Radio will hook into Verizon's V Cast store (which itself taps the Rhapsody catalog), giving BlackBerry Storm and Tour users the capability to purchase one of 4.5 million songs.

Slacker Radio's streaming music player competes heavily with similar Internet radio services, particularly Pandora.

(Credit: Slacker Radio)

Don't have a streaming radio application on your BlackBerry Storm yet? If you're a Verizon user, all you have to do to get one is wait.

On Thursday, Verizon started rolling out the Slacker Radio application to every BlackBerry Storm user in its U.S. network. The free version of Slacker Personal Radio App will appear as an icon on the Storm home screen. Those who would rather opt out can hide the button and ignore the service.

In addition to discovering and rating songs, Slacker's edge on BlackBerry is its ability to cache stations for offline listening. This is particularly useful when traveling through weak Wi-Fi areas or dead data zones that would make streaming music a challenge.

A hook into Verizon's V Cast service, which itself taps the Rhapsody catalog, gives BlackBerry Storm users an opportunity to buy one of the service's 4.5 million songs without interrupting the tune's playback.

Verizon will begin pushing the Verizon version of Slacker Radio app to BlackBerry Storm users over the air Thursday and will continue to do so in waves. Slacker Radio operates a two-tiered service. The free, basic streaming service pushed to the phones can be upgraded to a premium subscription, Slacker Radio Plus.

Yes, Last.fm--like CNET--is owned by CBS, but it's also pretty awesome.

In a world teeming with increasingly similar tech products, Apple is one company that seems to have no problem churning out standout products. This might be attributed to sleek designs, fun features, and friendly interfaces--or maybe you want to chalk it up to good ol' marketing tactics. However, in the case of the iPhone and the iPod Touch, there's one attribute that undeniably separates these devices from the masses: the ever-expanding cadre of third-party applications. You can find everything from cookbooks and weight-loss trackers to games and productivity tools, but the area in which the iPhone and iPod Touch really excel is music, and there are hundreds of applications to choose from in this category.

To help you sort through the mass of options, we rounded up five of our favorite iPhone music apps. To keep things simple, we limited our scope to free selections that have a heavy focus on full music playback. Not everything included here will be a perfect fit for every iPod user, but you're sure to find something that will float your boat.

Top 5 free iPhone music apps

And so does Jasmine. Tune in to hear Jasmine (and Donald, to a lesser extent) gush about the upcoming Sony X-Series Walkman, a sweet-looking touch-screen MP3 player that has us hooked with its integrated Slacker capability, tactile playback buttons, and fun and innovative interface. Also, we manage to drag ourselves out of our Walkman infatuation long enough to discuss some upcoming Creative headphones, as well as give some tips on how you can move an iTunes library to an external hard drive. Finally, find out where you can find plenty of free (and legal) MP3s all over the Web. They may not be good songs, but free counts for something, right?

(Credit: Slacker Radio)

Music lovers, this week's CNET Crave giveaway is for you. This time, five lucky winners will receive a yearlong subscription to Slacker Radio Plus, which Slacker is offering to CNET readers in celebration of having its service on the BlackBerry named an April 2009 CNET Editors' Choice winner.

To win, you don't have to have a BlackBerry or use Slacker Radio. The prize is good for Slacker's streaming-Internet radio in all its destinations: on the Internet, BlackBerry, iPhone, Slacker's portable G2 player, and on the Sony Brazia TV, Logitech Squeezebox Duet, or Logitech Squeezebox Boom.

Slacker's premium Radio Plus service nixes the ads and includes song lyrics, a new Mini Mode, unlimited skips (versus a six-skip limit per hour, per station), and unlimited song requests (versus 20 per station).

So, how do you attempt to win a year of Slacker Radio Plus? Good question, and a perfect segue to lay out the basic rules. Don't skip these, or you may not win.

• Age. You must be 18 years of age or older.
• Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, no need to register again.
• Leave a comment below. You can leave any comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.
• Leave only one comment. You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.
• Register for Slacker Radio. You must have the free, basic Slacker Radio account to win Slacker Radio Plus.
• Winners will be chosen randomly. The five (5) winners will receive one (1) year of Slacker's Radio Plus service. Approximate retail value is $50 based on a $3.99 per month subscription fee.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Monday, May 18, at 12 p.m. EDT.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 11:59:59 a.m. EDT on May 18, 2009. See official rules for details.

Good luck. Now may the entries begin!

If you've been drooling over the Sony's touch-screen Walkman, the X-Series, since it was initially announced at CES 2009, I've got some good news and some bad. The bad news is that you're going to have to wait some more--the player isn't expected to hit shelves for another month or so. (SonyStyle will start taking preorders today, however.) On the plus side, the good news is considerable. The new Walkman is a joy to use, and it packs in a cadre of fun features, not the least of which are onboard apps for YouTube and Slacker.

Yep, you read right: you can get all the free music you want on the X-Series Walkman. And unlike with the Apple iPod Touch, you won't need a constant Wi-Fi connection to have access to it. While the X-Series does include a wireless antenna for hopping on to hot spots, the Slacker app only needs access to the network when refreshing station content. Each time you refresh, music is cached to the Walkman so that you can listen to it wherever you are, regardless of Internet access. (In other words, it functions in exactly the same way as on the BlackBerry.)

The beauty here is threefold. First, the music is completely free, though you will have to tolerate a few audio ads and skip limits (you can do away with these by signing up for Slacker Radio Plus for $3.99 per month). Also, you don't have to spend countless hours creating custom playlists, and when you get sick of your library on shuffle, you can simply choose from the wide variety of genre- and decade-based stations in the Slacker rotation. Finally, you don't need to connect to a computer to get brand-new music on your MP3 player, although it is worth mentioning that you must hook up the Walkman initially in order to customize which stations you want to live on the device. In addition to the Slacker content, the player supports transferred songs in MP3, WMA, AAC, and WAV format.

(Credit: Slacker Radio)

When Slacker Radio first introduced its streaming Internet radio app for the BlackBerry, it only worked on standard BlackBerrys running version 4.3 and above. Starting Wednesday, the free app gets touchy-feely with a brand new version for the BlackBerry's touch-screen Storm.

Slacker Radio for the Storm brings with it everything we loved on the Curve and Bold, including its best feature ever, caching a song to play offline later. It also throws in some touch-screen specials, like support for landscape mode.

The app still serves U.S. customers only on the BlackBerry and iPhone.

To get it, go to www.Slacker.com from the BlackBerry browser.

Related stories:
First Look video: Slacker for BlackBerry
How to cache Slacker stations on BlackBerry

Donald and Jasmine discuss Pandora 2.0 and the new Slacker app for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Also on deck: a bit of info from the NAMM show and a little good-natured ribbing at Haier America's expense. Oh, and we poke some serious fun at Microsoft...prepare for your ears to bleed a little first, though.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

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