{"id":3075,"date":"2012-03-26T11:57:53","date_gmt":"2012-03-26T15:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=3075"},"modified":"2012-03-26T14:27:50","modified_gmt":"2012-03-26T18:27:50","slug":"rethinking-internet-radio-part-two-using-the-cricket-muve-zte-score-mobile-phone-as-a-web-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/rethinking-internet-radio-part-two-using-the-cricket-muve-zte-score-mobile-phone-as-a-web-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking Internet Radio, Part Two: Using the Cricket Muve ZTE Score Mobile Phone as a Web Radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the\u00a0SWLfest<\/a>\u00a0this year, I attended a forum about web\/Internet radio that had a significant influence on my thinking about the subject, and which I discuss in Part One of this post.<\/a><\/p>\n

In short, I decided that I wanted to take a considerable plunge into web radio and get to know the medium a little better. But I needed to do it on the cheap!<\/p>\n

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The Cricket Muve ZTE Score<\/p><\/div>\n

Fortunately, serendipity stepped in to assist my cause: Last week, I saw a post on the Herculodge<\/a> about a no-contract, Android smart phone called the\u00a0Cricket Muve ZTE Score<\/a>. Best part? It was (then) on sale for only $29.99 and I could pick it up at my local Best Buy retail store.<\/p>\n

Teamed up with my Goal Zero portable amplified speaker<\/a>, I knew this would be a great, portable wi-fi radio to use around the house, office, and on the road.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, I jumped onboard!<\/p>\n

The Cricket Muve ZTE
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have an Android phone now (the Droid 3) and have the TuneIn app on it that I mention in the previous post. \u00a0But, frankly, I don’t like using it to stream radio. \u00a0First, it kills the battery in no time flat, and secondly, it’s a phone<\/em>, so when someone calls, I have to unplug it from speakers to talk. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer a dedicated<\/em> internet radio, if I’m going to have one.<\/p>\n

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The Goal Zero Rock Out Portable Speaker and Cricket Muve ZTE Score<\/p><\/div>\n

After unpacking the Cricket Muve ZTE Score, I was pretty impressed with the included kit. It has internal memory and, by means of a (4GB) micro SD card, expandable memory, too. It also comes with a charger and is packaged very securely.<\/p>\n

What surprised me most, however, was the fact that no hacking was required to use this phone as a mobile device without,<\/em> of course, signing up for the Cricket pay-as-you-go account! In fact, I turned it on for the first time, found my wi-fi network, entered the password, and was online within a minute. I really expected to face annoying prompts or something similar to prevent me from using this phone without service. What a surprise…!<\/p>\n

I then installed the TuneIn app (see previous post) via the pre-loaded Android app store (now called Google Play). Within seconds, I had access to TuneIn’s extensive and well-organized directory of radio stations from around the world. Readers, take note:\u00a0 This was so<\/strong> easy!<\/em><\/p>\n

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The Cricket phone easily fits inside the Goal Zero's zipped case--total wi-fi audio freedom<\/p><\/div>\n

Coupled with my portable, capable little Goal Zero amplified speaker, I now have a portable and completely wireless web radio. I should mention that the Goal Zero speaker, like the phone, can be charged and operate without being plugged into an outlet. I found that the phone would stream radio quite easily for 4-5 hours without being recharged. The Goal Zero speaker will run on a fully charged internal battery in excess of 10 hours.<\/p>\n

But back to the Cricket Muve ZTE Score.\u00a0 Since this is an Android phone, it’s basically a phone and<\/em> handheld computer. It takes photos via the built-in camera, will take movies, and has a built-in GPS. I have not tested other apps on it, but in theory, you could use most any of the thousands of applications available in Google Play.<\/p>\n

Negatives? Well, don’t get me wrong, this is a very inexpensive phone. As such, it doesn’t have the smooth feel of my Droid 3’s screen and feels lightweight, cheap and “plasticky,” if that’s a word.\u00a0 Longevity is in question.<\/p>\n

Still, for just $32 with tax, it was excellent value and a no-brainer to put it into service supporting my favorite medium. Since last weekend, I noticed that the price has increased to $69.99. I still<\/em> think it’s a good deal at that price.<\/p>\n

I imagine that either Best Buy or Cricket will have this phone on sale again in the future. I’ve provided links below to help your search:<\/p>\n