• WHAT: Radio stations and broadcasts on your cell phone
• WHY: Handy, free and entertaining
• COST: Free basic service, charges upcoming for premium version (must have data plan from carrier)

There's a ton of competition for traditional radio stations today - iPods, satellite radio, back-seat DVD players, video games, PSP-type devices and so many more.  Sometimes, though, you just want to listen to the radio.  For example, there are a couple of shows on NPR that I enjoy listening to and, while I can download them on podcasts, hearing them live (especially when they are news shows) is a lot better than hearing them a day or two later.  The radio just offers a level of convenience that is tough to beat for music, too - find a station that you enjoy and forget about playlists, downloading, syncing your iPod, etc. 

The one place that radio has been historically missing, however, much to my surprise and chagrin, has been on cell phones.  Now, you'd think with all of the Bluetooth, WiFi, CDMA, GSM, HSPDA, EDGE, EVDO and other technologies packed onto a tiny chip that fits inside a cell phone that they'd be able to add a simple FM tuner - but I've never seen a phone that included one (including my iPhone, which does about everything else my computer can do but still can't tune into my favorite jazz station).  Especially in today's world of mobility, when you never know what city you're going to be in tomorrow, it would be nice to have a solution that would put a traditional radio on your phone.  

Well, recently, the closest thing that I've seen to having an FM tuner on your phone arrived for use on cell phones - it's designed mostly for iPhones but will work on other phones that have a standard web browser interface (similar to the iPhone's Safari browser); you'll need an unlimited data plan to use it but if you've got one it's sheer genius.  

The service, FlyTunes, seems to have been designed with me in mind.  And if you're anything like me (i.e., neurotic, always on the go, and a techno-geek) you're going to love it as much as I do.  FlyTunes is a simple idea, beautifully executed and, best of all, free (in the basic version).  Just head to their web site (don't try Flytunes.com - it's at FlyTunes.FM) and request a login.  Once you have it head on over to it from your iPhone - it's easiest if you retrieve the email that contains the link from your iPhone and just click on the link - and sign in.  Once you do you'll be ready to enter the FlyTunes environment and look through the available stations. 

Like many other services you'll access wirelessly this one works better when you're within range of a WiFi connection.  It will work using a standard EDGE connection on AT&T's service but I've noticed numerous stalls and disconnects using it that way - certainly not FlyTunes fault as it's directly related to the network.  All the same, though, FlyTunes will have to figure out some way to cache a minute or two of music on the phone for those times when the network is jammed so that there's no discernible dropout.  

When it's on a WiFi connection, though, it's a thing of beauty.  The functionality is quite simple.  When you login you'll be presented with several pages of "channels" that you can scroll through containing various categories of music such as "Decades", "The Beatles", "Dance Music" and even (heaven help us) "Grateful Dead Radio."  The selection is really large enough to satisfy all but the most crazed audiophiles and new channels are being added all the time (I've seen whole new categories added since the last time I used the service, in fact).  Once you select the station that you want played the magic begins - FlyTunes actually launches QuickTime and plays the music through the movie player.  I'm not sure why they need to do it that way but it works just fine. 

There are some things that other services, such as Pandora and LastFM, can do when run on a desktop computer that FlyTunes will ultimately be able to do, too - showing the name of the song currently being played, allowing the creation of your own channels to play just the type of music you like, time-shifting through a TiVo-like recording device (which is extra-clever because listening to a recorded version will consume much less battery life than listening live).  You'll be able to click a link to purchase a song that's been played or is currently playing and a lot more.  All that for just a few bucks per month - or just keep using the service with limited capabilities for free. 

The service will eventually be priced at somewhere in the $4/month range - significantly lower than satellite radio and with many of the same features.  One of the terrific side benefits of this service is that you'll be able to cancel your satellite service and reduce (yet again, my favorite thing - consolidating more and more gear into one device) the number of gadgets you carry.  Imagine just being able to plug your iPhone into your car's stereo system and listen to almost as broad a selection of music through FlyTunes as you currently can through XM or Serius.  

FlyTunes has all the potential to become the type of smash hit that actually pulls people into an Apple store to buy an iPhone - once you've seen (OK, heard) it work, it's intoxicating, useful and just a downright blast.