Personalized Radio for Your Smartphone

LAS VEGAS -- The word Slacker is frequently considered a derogatory term. If you check on dictionary.com, it will tell you that slacker has three meanings:

-noun 1. a person who evades his or her duty or work; shirker. 2. a person who evades military service. 3. an esp. educated young person who is antimaterialistic, purposeless, apathetic and usually works in a dead-end job.

But Slacker is also the name of a company that makes a really cool music app for smartphones. At a preview of the CTIA cellular industry show in Las Vegas, we got a personalized tour of its recently announced software application for Research In Motion's(RIMM Quote) and Verizon's (VZ Quote) BlackBerry devices and the touch-screen Storm in particular.

Slacker's Mobile application for the BlackBerry smartphone allows users to listen to their favorite Slacker radio stations anywhere they go, whether they are connected to a wireless network or not (a Slacker Mobile feature exclusive to BlackBerry smartphones). There's a version that is optimized for the BlackBerry Storm's unique touch screen and is available as a free download via Slacker.com from your Storm.

Slacker Takes on Sirius

The Slacker Mobile application provides U.S. users with a personalized music discovery and listening system, pulling from more than 100 expert-programmed Slacker "radio" stations, more than 10,000 artist stations -- meaning a nearly unlimited number of custom-created stations for the listener.

The touch-screen Storm features include vertical as well as horizontal modes, an intuitive interface optimized for touch operation, as well as a "peek ahead," allowing the listener to see a preview of the next artist and album in their stations' rotation.