Igneous Software, not content with making their excellent BBC Podcast Lounge are surely striving for greatness with their upcoming launch of the BBC Radio Player. We had previously reported on their plans but were finally able to get hands on demo of it at last night’s Windows Phone User Group (WPUG).
The new player will improve on the previous version in a number of ways. The UI has been updated to closely follow that of the official apps on other platforms. Igneous have taken great care to replicate the colours and visual cues from the iPlayer whilst taking advantage of Metro’s inherent slick delivery of typography and graphics.
Tantalising Feature Set
Full 7 Day ‘listen again’ schedule and playback functionality, giving users access to National Stations. What’s interesting about this app is that it will actually go further and provide the full schedule for Regional Stations also. That will put is above the current iPlayer offerings available on competing platforms. Pro will also offer Live radio streaming and access to highlights.
So far the full list of features are as follows:
- Full 7-day listen again schedule and playback functionality
- BBC National stations
- BBC Regional stations
- Live radio streaming
- iPlayer Highlights & Most Popular lists
- Recommended alternatives
- Episode history
- Programme search
- List programmes by category
As for availability, the app is still work in progress but we have been told to expect a beta by end of this month and perhaps a launch around August time. Igneous have received a great deal of positive feedback from their BBC orientated products and it’s clear that Richard is keen to keep plugging away to bring new features and experiences to Windows Phone. I really like what I have seen so far of the BBC Radio Player Pro, it is a slick implementation of the BBC output.
When this app hits the marketplace, Igneous software look set succeed where the BBC themselves have failed dismally and bring the outstanding iPlayer content to Windows Phone. After all, the BBC is paid for by us all in the UK, I would expect all platforms to get similar treatment to that of iOS. I have often wondered if the folks at the BBC regard the iPlayer as an Apple first product designed to complement the fruit themed technology companies i-devices?
What do you guys think? What happened to the BBC’s cross platform availability for iPlayer content? Does the ‘I’ in iPlayer have a deeper meaning? Are you excited to try Radio Player Pro on your Windows Phone? Do let us know!
If you want to try the existing BBC Radio Player app here is the link. Or for the other apps click here and take your pick!
