Slacker Lands on Roku AND Windows 8 Preview!

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Yesterday Slacker made me a rather happy Roku user– they launched Slacker Radio on the Roku set-top box, thereby bringing my favorite internet radio and on-demand service to the streaming media center my family uses on a daily basis.

Here are details on the Roku integration:

Slacker, Inc. today announced the launch of Slacker Radio on Roku, the leading streaming platform in the U.S. Slacker Radio listeners in the U.S. and Canada can now enjoy the personal radio service on Roku’s popular streaming players.

The Slacker Radio lineup includes more than 200 expert-curated music stations, personalized ESPN Radio and ABC News stations, comedy programming, custom artist-hosted showcase stations and leading music festival stations. With a music catalog that is more than 10 times larger than the leading radio competitor, Slacker Radio offers more personalized content than any other radio service.

“We want to give our listeners access to Slacker wherever they happen to be, and launching on the Roku platform is a big step forward for us in the connected home,” said Jonathan Sasse, senior vice president of marketing at Slacker. “We are excited to deliver Slacker Radio as a free service for Roku owners, effective immediately.”

“Slacker Radio brings an impressive selection of Internet radio programming to Roku and we expect it to quickly become a customer favorite,” said Ed Lee, vice president of business development at Roku. “Customers can find and add the Slacker Radio channel from the Roku Channel Store starting today.”

Delivering entertainment to millions of customers, Roku streaming players are affordable, are easy to use, and feature more than 500 channels of entertainment

Later in the day I got even more news with word Slacker had released a Metro UI-based app for the Windows 8 Release Preview (a preview just unleashed yesterday by Microsoft.) For those who are checking out the Windows 8 release, this app allows you to have all of the power and choice of Slacker in a Metro app that will always be playing!

Here are details on the Windows 8 Preview app:

Slacker, Inc. today announced the availability of its Slacker Radio app for Windows 8 Release Preview. Slacker designed the app to make full use of tiles, multitasking and other powerful Windows Metro style UI features.

The Slacker Radio experience includes over 150 expert-programmed music stations, artist-hosted showcase stations and leading music festival stations. The fully customizable online radio service also includes a range of content, including a music library that is 10 times larger than the leading radio competitor, personalized ESPN Radio, ABC News, comedy and more.

“Great apps make a great Windows 8 experience,” said Aidan Marcuss, senior director of Windows Core Marketing and Ecosystem at Microsoft. “Slacker Radio designed its personal radio app to integrate with Windows 8 features, employing the same striking visual design principles as Windows 8.”

Listeners can enjoy the expert-programmed stations or create custom stations based on their favorite bands and artists. While listening to Slacker Radio, use the Share charm in Windows 8 and send your favorite stations to your friends. Offering the ultimate in music discovery, music fans can explore as they listen with detailed artist biographies, in-depth album reviews and song lyrics.

“Windows 8 with the Metro style user interface gave us a great canvas to create a unique Slacker Radio experience,” said Jonathan Sasse, senior vice president of marketing at Slacker. “Our mission has always been to eliminate the barriers between you and the radio you love. The features and capabilities of the Metro style UI make it easy for Slacker listeners to get their favorite radio.”

With three complementary service tiers, from the entirely free Slacker Basic Radio and the ad-free Slacker Radio Plus to the on-demand access of Slacker Premium Radio, Slacker has the right listening experience for every music fan.

Definitely some great news from Slacker – I have continued to be thrilled at how they advance both internet radio and on-demand services while pushing out some of the best mobile apps- the latest being these moves onto Roku and Windows 8! For more info head to Slacker.com or check them out on Facebook or Twitter.

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About the Author

Michael Anderson
I have loved technology for as long as I can remember - and have been a computer gamer since the PDP-10! Mobile Technology has played a major role in my life - I have used an electronic companion since the HP95LX more than 20 years ago, and have been a 'Laptop First' person since my Compaq LTE Lite 3/20 and Powerbook 170 back in 1991! As an avid gamer and gadget-junkie I was constantly asked for my opinions on new technology, which led to writing small blurbs ... and eventually becoming a reviewer many years ago. My family is my biggest priority in life, and they alternate between loving and tolerating my gaming and gadget hobbies ... but ultimately benefits from the addition of technology to our lives!