Last.fm for Android review

If you’re a music-savvy Internet user then chances are you’ve already experienced Last.fm. The insanely popular Internet radio service has become an irreplaceable part of many people’s lives, offering the kind of freedom that traditional radio – with its regimented playlists, annoying DJs and restrictive commercial concerns – simply cannot hope to compete with.

For those of you that haven’t yet joined the audio revolution that Last.fm is part of, then allow us to explain the appeal. The core concept is one of customisation and personalisation; as you listen to music, Last.fm’s “Audioscroller” sofrware takes note of the tracks and creates a detailed musical profile. Using this, the service then recommends various songs that it thinks you’ll appreciate.

The service also offers playlists and custom radio stations which are targeted at the fans of certain artisits; for example, if you listen to The Beatle’s station, you’ll get tracks from associated acts, such as Wings and John Lennon.

Last.fm for Android is essentially a portable version of this service, and offers the same core functions as its online relation. Once you’ve logged into Last.fm (a registered account is required to effectively construct your musical profile) then you can listen to a stream of music that comes recommended by other users or you can choose to search for a particular act.

It’s this part of Last.fm that many users will struggle to grasp. When you search for a band you probably expect to hear nothing but songs by that artist, but as we’ve already mentioned, Last.fm instead offers up a selection of similar bands, or bands which have a strong tie to the act in question.

This seemingly random selection process is going to frustrate if you use Last.fm to listen to certain tracks, but that attitude is missing the point of the service entirely. It’s intended to replace your traditional radio station, and for that an element of surprise is necessary.

One of Last.fm’s biggest strengths is that it offers up all kinds of new and exciting bands, and because your musical tastes are taken into account, the chances are that the acts you’re given will be of particular interest.

Because of the high amounts of data being funnelled towards your Android handset, Last.fm requires at least a 3G connection (ideally a Wi-Fi one) to run agreeably. Indeed, speed is the one area in which the app struggles; skipping between tracks is a slow process and despite some much-need stability improves over the past few updates, Last.fm remains rather unpredictable at times.

However, the ability to install a home screen widget – which allows you to quickly and easily stop and start playback (as well as skip tracks and mark certain songs as favorites) – pushes up Last.fm’s standing, even placing it on a higher pedestal than its arguably more famous iPhone sibling.