Aha radio app

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Sonex51

I'm there with you.. for now ...

But I think this is total BS:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/0...ed-data-plans/

So if you get the discount on a new phone - which is why you always signed a 2-year contract - you ALSO lose your unlimited data. I see no reason to sign a contract if I have to pay full price for a device I WILL exceed my data cap on each month. As was mentioned previously, 2GB (even 4) is nothing when you're streaming media... ESPECIALLY with 4G connection speeds.

I'm quite unhappy with Verizon for this change.

I don't know that I'd call it BS, it's just what they've chosen to do. You can choose differently with your feet. When Mozy went from unlimited data to limits on their home backup service, it became less expensive for me to roll my own, so that's what i did, and they lost my revenue.

And this is why I'll never sign another contract with Verizon. I happen to like their service but for now, if I want a new phone, I'll just buy a "slightly used" one.

The nice thing about tech is if you are willing to stay behind the leading edge you can get great deals.

This is the same thing I do with video cards and games on the PC. I tend to buy last year's best model and last year's hot games. I call it "tech time shifting". It's still always better than what I have (usually by a quantum leap) so I don't know any difference, except in my wallet. I'll add Verizon to that list as long as I continue to have use it for work, and as long as it keeps me grandfathered into the unlimited data.

[MmmHamSandwich]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

I thought they did away with that? Not that it matters; 2gb/mo is still an absurdly large amount of data transfer.

Well, I'll agree with you on the absurd part, not so sure about large...

Right now I am content with my virgin mobile plan. Only 300 minutes and so so data at 2.5gb before they start slowing you down, but it's what I consider a reasonable deal at $25. If I trade up on phones though I get hit with the upped monthly prices so I'll probably stick with this phone until it croaks. My previous record was 5 years for my first P.O.S. phone. Considering my current one shrugged off being run over by a Tacoma while on gravel, I remain optimistic.

Contract prices these days are absolutely ridiculous.

[Sonex51]

Originally Posted by Jayde

That's unfortunate. Although I never really use my phone in the car to listen to music (I have an almost full 64GB iPod Touch for that), it would be nice to not have to worry about going over usage. Although, my usual average for data a month is just under a gig.

If I stream music, it's usually the Trance channel from DI.FM. Maybe I'll go with Sirius with this car, but they only really have 1 electronic station I like.

I do a lot of IheartRadio to pickup an LA based AM station. For music, I'll probably enjoy switching to the iPod for the quality gains, and my wife could probably almost fill a 64 at this point too, so I'll just link to her iTunes account. I'll probably start using satellite radio too, since I haven't had it before.

Still, I don't like losing options I'm already paying for and used to having. If their coverage ever strengthens over my normal routes (or my route changes), I'll seriously look at Sprint.

Now, I do understand why Verizon is changing their service, and that the nature of time division multiplexing means that on person using TONS of data infringes on other user's access availability unless a quota (or constant rate limit) is applied. But data access speed isn't increasing for the sake of speed itself. People are using more data every year, and faster connections are necessary to A) support the data demand, and B) continue allowing multiple users to share channels.

IMO, they should apply throttling techniques over plan limits since limiting data access is taking a step backwards from what the consumers clearly demand: MORE data & faster access.

[Cadenz]

I'm hoping one of the lucky few brz owners can download the aha radio app and confirm for us if it will successfully integrate into the nav unit. I've seen some user video reviews of the nav unit and didn't see aha as an option, but maybe it has to be loaded on the user's phone for aha to show up?

[Symbiont]

Originally Posted by Cadenz

I'm hoping one of the lucky few brz owners can download the aha radio app and confirm for us if it will successfully integrate into the nav unit. I've seen some user video reviews of the nav unit and didn't see aha as an option, but maybe it has to be loaded on the user's phone for aha to show up?

I just downloaded it. I'll check it out in a few and let you know.

[Symbiont]

Ok, there is no entry there by default. I briefly glanced through the other options, settings, and such, and I didn't see a way to enable it easily, if that's why it's not there. The deck may require a software revision, but I'll look into it more later.

Sorry, I got kinda distracted. Ended up driving from the OC up to LA, down to SD, and back. The car just kind of does that to you.

[Turbowned]

Does it really use that much bandwidth streaming music? I was thrilled when I went from AT&T paying for only 400MB to Verizon and getting 2GB for less money...

[Cadenz]

Originally Posted by Symbiont

Ok, there is no entry there by default. I briefly glanced through the other options, settings, and such, and I didn't see a way to enable it easily, if that's why it's not there. The deck may require a software revision, but I'll look into it more later.

Sorry, I got kinda distracted. Ended up driving from the OC up to LA, down to SD, and back. The car just kind of does that to you.

I'm jealous of your "distraction." Thanks for trying out the app!

[Smokinbuffalo]

I can't get the Aha app to show up. I have an android phone. I hook it up via USB and nothing shows up on the head unit. If anyone gets this to work let me know. I would really like to use this for podcasts.

[Sovran]

I downloaded the Aha Radio app a while back to use for podcasts, thinking that it would be handy whether the BRZ supported it or not. After using it for a month, I concluded that I wouldn't use Aha Radio either way. The service is just too crappy. Here are a few things that bothered me:
1. When you add a podcast to your home page and click its icon, it automatically starts playing the most recent episode of that podcast, even if you were previously in the middle of another episode.
2. The streaming buffer is way too small. There's a fairly small signal hole in my normal commute, and while using the app it would inevitably run out of buffer halfway through the hole. Then I'd have to force-quit the app and start over to resume play (which always leads to problem #1 above).
3. If you listen to a podcast with lots of episodes, it's very cumbersome to find an older one you want to play. The app loads 10 episodes at a time, and if you want to see an additional 10, you have to wait 10-20 seconds for it to load another batch.
4. Aha Radio touts that it has lots of content other than podcasts, such as audiobooks and dedicated content stations. So far, they're all atrocious.

I ended up just using iTunes to subscribe to podcasts, even though that requires me to plug my phone in and sync every day.