iPod User Guide

Introduction: What is the TUN3R iPhone app?

The TUN3R iPhone app is designed to make it easy and fun to find and listen to high [CD] quality Internet radio stations on your iPhone. TUN3R is different from all other Internet radio apps in the following ways:

By dragging your finger on the screen, you can easy listen into music from all the stations, just like spinning the tuning dial on a classic FM radio.
You can search for stations based on what they play, so users can search by artist or song title, and find stations that have played the requested artist or song.
You can also have TUN3R suggest stations you might like (referred to as the “Might-Likes™” feature), based on songs you have most recently listened to on your iPod
TUN3R’s selection of stations has been hand-picked, to ensure the best variety and quality of stations to choose from.

Additionally, TUN3R provides these useful features:

The option of background listening through Safari, allowing you to use other iPhone apps, or even play games using Internet radio as the soundtrack (with game sound effects overlaid)
The ability to bookmark stations for quick access
Lists showing: Most Popular Stations; Recently Played Stations; Newly Added Stations; and Random Spotlights
No advertising or user registration is required

Audio (Preview Audio vs. Live Streaming)

One of the distinguishing features of TUN3R is its on-the-fly audio browsing of Internet radio stations. What makes this possible is TUN3R’s SingleStream technology which captures pre-recorded samples from each station, and then stitches those samples together in real time as you move around The Dial.

It is important to note that these samples are not the same as the station’s live streaming audio, which is also accessible through the TUN3R app. In this guide we will refer to the sample audio as “preview audio” and the live streaming audio as “live stream”.

Preview Audio Troubleshooting

By default, the first time you start TUN3R, the preview audio will begin playing. However, if you tune into a Live Stream the Preview Audio will automatically stop, and will not restart until you explicitly start it again. Preview Audio may also stop automatically for other reasons (e.g. no Internet connection is available).

To hear the Preview Audio tap the play button. To stop the Preview Audio, tap the pause button.

Getting Started

When you first launch TUN3R you will be presented with “The Dial”: A tiled mosaic of stations whereby each station is represented by a single tile.

Start by placing your thumb or finger on The Dial and dragging The Dial around. You will notice at the centre of The Dial there is an orange crosshair – “The Needle” – which, like an old fashioned radio, determines which station you are currently tuned into .

As you move the Dial around, you will hear Preview Audio from the station at the centre of The Needle’s box. It is important to note that this audio is actually pre-recorded and is of lower quality than the station’s Live Stream.

Once you find a station you would like to tune in to live, simply tap on the Action icon icon. From there, you can either choose “Listen Live Now” to listen within the TUN3R app, or “Use Safari to Listen” to listen through Safari. Listening through Safari will close the TUN3R app and open the radio stream in Safari allowing you to run other iPhone apps (including TUN3R), while listening to the live streaming station in the background. Alternatively, listening within the TUN3R app has the following advantages: you can tune into the stream faster; you can return to The Dial faster; and you can see station details such as the station’s homepage thumbnail.

Searching for Stations

To start searching, tap the Search Icon at the bottom of your screen.

There are three ways you can find stations using TUN3R:

Search by artist or song title. TUN3R will then look for stations that have played either in the past (we maintain a playlist database for each station). For example, you could find stations that play Pink Floyd by typing “Pink Floyd” in the search box at the top of the screen and tapping the “Tracks” button
By searching against the station’s home page. For example, you could find stations that are running a contest by searching for the word “contest” and tapping the “Stations” button .
The third way in which you can search for stations is by tapping the “Might Likes” button . This feature scans your iPod library for your most recently played artists. As a result, the “Might Likes” search will return different results nearly every time. Some important notes about the “Might Likes Feature”:
- Depending on the size of your iPod library this operation can take several seconds to complete. However, it works in the background so you can use the app while this is happening
- Although the app scans your iPod library, TUN3R does not upload your playlist, and only submits a few artist names for searching, so your privacy is protected.
- The feature is aptly named “Might Like” and cannot guarantee satisfaction. However, given the quirks of human nature and music, we are skeptical that there is such a thing as a perfect station, to begin with.

Once the search is complete, you will see the number of search results on top of the Search Icon. Tapping the View Matches button or TUN3R Dial icon will lead you back to The Dial, where you can browse through the results.

Unlike most other search engines, results are not presented as a list. Rather, you move around The Dial by tapping the “next match” or “previous match” buttons. When you’re done browsing the search results, press the “done” button.

Bookmarks / Presets

If you find a station you want to bookmark, tap the Action icon at the bottom of the screen. From there, press the “Bookmark” button to add the bookmark/preset.

To go directly to a bookmarked station, click the “Bookmarks” icon at the bottom of the screen and select your preset station.

When you select a bookmarked station, TUN3R will tune into the Live Stream.

Alternatively, you can go to the location on the TUN3R Dial by clicking on the Dial Spot

Pressing the Edit button will allow you to delete or rearrange the order of bookmarks.