Skip to main content

Pandora comes to Windows Phone 8, offers ad-free streaming for 2013

New-Pandora-Radio
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Looking for a music streaming service for your Windows Phone 8, but not a fan of the apps — Spotify and Rdio — available so far? Well then, you’re in lucky. According to its blog, Pandora is now available on Windows Phone 8.

Pandora promises that, for the remainder of the year, users will be able to enjoy its streaming music without the nuisance of dealing with intermittent ads playing. For the most part, the Pandora app is exactly what you’d expect, but it does have integrated functionality that’s unique to Windows Phone. You can pin your favorite stations to the phone’s start screen, plus, the Live Tiles let you see what song is currently playing without needing to launch the app.

Recommended Videos

The app also works with Windows Kids’ Corner functionality, so whenever it launches through this feature, it will automatically filter out any songs marked as “Explicit” for profanity/adult content.

To encourage people to try it out, Pandora is offering ad-free streaming for 2013 if you use the free version of the app, though you will still be limited to 40 hours of music streaming each month. (Which, according to PC mag, is not something that will have a huge impact on its users, being that the average users top out at around 20 hours of listening each month.) But paid subscribers can enjoy limitless streaming and never have to listen to ads.

You can take a look at the new app in action via the Microsoft video we’ve embedded. Are you a Windows Phone 8 user? Let us know what you think about the app in the comments below.

Joshua Pramis
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Spending a childhood engrossed in such technologically inspiring television shows like Voltron, Small Wonder, and Power…
5 phones you should buy instead of the Google Pixel 8a
The Google Pixel 8a's screen.

Everyone loves a bargain, and it's hard to argue that the Google Pixel 8a is anything but. With a flagship processor and one of the best phone cameras around, the $499 smartphone has the specs to make it a steal. But Google hasn't just crammed great hardware into the phone, as it also has one of the cleanest implementations of Android 14, all of Google's current AI roster, and an incredible seven years of software updates to boot. It's a cheap phone that can go the distance, and one we are more than happy to recommend.

But it's not perfect. The battery is a little weak, as is its charging ability — and the less said about the cheap-feeling plastic body, the better. So even though it's a strong phone, there are a number of alternatives that could pull your eyes away from Google's latest midrange phone.

Read more
Google Pixel 8a vs. OnePlus 12R: Which $500 phone should you buy?
Google Pixel 8a versus OnePlus 12R.

Google Pixel 8a (left) and OnePlus 12R Google and OnePlus

The Google Pixel 8a is in incredible and intriguing phone for its price. It runs much of the same hardware as the slightly more expensive Pixel 8 and offers a similar experience with onboard AI features. It is also the only $500 phone to get seven years of software updates.

Read more
Buy the new Google Pixel 8a and get a free $100 Amazon Gift Card
Google Pixel 8a home screen.

The recently released Google Pixel 8a is already available from Amazon's phone deals. There's no discount yet for the Android-powered smartphone, but if you buy it for its sticker price of $499, you'll get an Amazon Gift Card worth $100 for free. That's an excellent deal for a brand new device, but there's not a lot of time left for you to take advantage of this offer. To make sure that you get the gift card, it's highly recommended that you push through with your purchase as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the Google Pixel 8a
The Google Pixel 8a is the latest addition to the Google Pixel line of smartphones. It features a 6.1-inch OLED touchscreen that's both gorgeous and responsive, IP67 resistance against water and dust, and 128GB of internal storage. The smartphone also packs Google AI, which will make it much easier to accomplish your everyday tasks.

Read more