Antenna Radio
www.antennaradio.com
One of the great advantages to Internet radio
is that you can cater for everyone's tastes and this
is exactly what Antenna does. The design is very
comfortable and the music well defined, so you can be
sure to find something you like.
Sound quality is excellent and it doesn't take long
to download any of the mixes you choose. You may even
try something new.
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BBC Radio 1
www.bbc.co.uk/radio1
This is a mean-looking site and a good example of the
BBC's Internet vision. Offering far more than a simple
radio rundown, the site involves you with a whole
range of up-to-date information (although it was a
little premature with a vote on a single that had only
been released hours earlier). The large amount of
material put up every day is kept in check by the
design, and of course to can listen to the station and
its highlights.
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BBC Radio 5 Live
www.bbc.co.uk/radio5live/
we hoped that Radio 5 would have changed its garish
design - yellow gets a bit too much after a while -
but then the station has always been a case of content
over style. Everything you would expect is here - live
chat, sports news and weekly schedules - but sadly not
a lot else. While other stations have tried to expand
beyond radio, Radio 5 is sticking to its roots. But
with a wide selection of downloadable moments, you
can't argue.
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Capital Radio
www.capitalfm.com
The Capital Radio and Virgin websites could have been
separated at birth as far as content goes. The colour
scheme is equally bright and the home page is packed
full of the latest entertainment news. Fair play to
Capital though it was one of the first radio stations
to broadcast over the Internet. The site is rounded
off by pages devoted to the Capital DJs and a tour
around the Capital studios. The interactive features
of the site are useful; allowing you to email your
requests in to Foxy's Jukebox and chat with other
Capital listeners.
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Classic FM
www.classicfm.com
A successful site will always cater for its audience
and this is exactly what Classic FM has done. A
calming blue design with subtle graphics wafts you
into the world of classical music. There's a good
selection of highlights too, if what is playing isn't
to your liking.
Another good feature that we mentioned last time was
the seamless move from the music you're hearing to
buying the CD online - something that a lot of sites
have subsequently included.
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CNET Radio
www.news.com
CNET News covers the latest stories on just IT. The
front page gives you the latest headlines to browse
through, which you can then use to move onto more in
depth news stories. It's an easy to navigate site,
although the advertisements can get in the way at
times. Apart from the new headlines, the news is split
into categories, which you pick from a menu on the
right of the screen.
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Essex FM
www.essexfm.co.uk
This is an imaginative and entertaining site from one
of the country's smaller stations. Witty cartoon
graphics and fancy animations keep you interested,
while a load of other information is pumped into your
brain. Why not meet the crew and get interactive with
them. As long as you don't want to actually listen to
the station - a link must be there somewhere, but then
if we can't find it there is definitely something
wrong.
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Hard Radio
www.hardradio.com
Claiming to be The world's largest online music
station, Hard Radio is very impressive and
comprehensive - if, that is, you like heavy metal. The
design will not be to everyone's tastes but it is
clear that the metal fraternity loves it and this may
account for the impressive stock of new tracks, albums
and live concerts that are available at the touch of a
button.
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Jazz FM
www.jazzfm.co.uk
You get some nice laid back and stylish website
design at the Jazz FM site - cooool. The content is
also impressive and includes reviews of the latest
Jazz CDs (often with track samples to download and
listen to), features and a comprehensive gig and event
guide. You'll find all the programme schedules for the
station on the site and you can tune into the live
broadcast, as long as you've got the Windows Media
Player. And Jazz FM hasn't missed out on merchandising
opportunities; there's an online store selling
clothing as well as CDs.
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Kiss FM
www.kiss100.com
It's hard to tell what Kiss FM is trying to do with
this site. Why a station playing mostly dance and
house music has dressed itself up in a My Little Pony
outfit is anyone's guess. Sadly, beyond the pink and
red love hearts there isn't much else going on. You
can learn about your favourite DJ in a Smash Hits
style interview or wander off to the chat room, but
just try and find how to actually listen to the
station.
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Martini In The Morning
martiniinthemorning.com
Rat Pack Music. If you are a young or old swinger Tune
In
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RTHK Cyber Radio
www.rthk.org.hk
If you doubted that the Web releases people's
imagination, then pay this site a visit. Set up by
Hong Kong students, the design is extraordinary. It
doesn't stop there either - listen to any of the four
channels on offer and the huge mix of music will make
you wonder why you've been listening to the same 20
albums for the past 10 years. There is a downside
though - you won't be able to understand a blessed
word the DJ says.
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Talk Sport
www.talksport.net
Talk Sport is the UK's first online sport radio
network (it's a spin off from Talk Radio at
www.talk-radio.co.uk). Sports fans who can't get
access to UK radio or TV stations can catch up on the
latest results at this site. A good selection of
sports are covered including football, cricket, rugby,
golf, motorsports, horse racing, greyhound racing and
cycling. The content includes professional sports
news, interviews with sporting stars and live
commentaries on sports events, including some of the
big footie matches. The Fan Chat area is a great place
for sports fans to get together and chat about the
latest scores.
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Town Hall
www.town.hall.org/radio
This is an extremely basic and low-tech site, but is
the perfect example of content winning out over
presentation. Obscure and uninteresting titles like
'club' lead to a large range of fascinating and often
rare speeches given by eminent people in their
different fields. We were so intrigued by some of
these hidden diamonds that an hour went by before
getting past the first page. It's almost a crime that
you can tell what's around the corner before you've
got there
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Virgin Radio
www.virginradio.com
It's possible that you haven't heard quite enough
from Chris Evans yet. Fear not, you can listen to
Chrissy Boy 24-hours a day from the Virgin Radio
website. Yes you can listen to all the 'best bits'
from Chris's Breakfast show in the Virgin audio
archives. The design is bright and brash with lots of
primary colours - don't visit if you've got a
hangover. Listen to the radio station live, check out
the Virgin playlist and listen to the tracks listed
there. Get the latest in entertainment and footie news
and enter online competitions.
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WWOZ Radio
www.wwoz.org
This New Orleans radio station makes the most of the
Big Easy's year-round jazz festivals, offering a large
range of live and recorded traditional and dixie jazz.
The site itself is decked out in pleasing pastel
colours and is extremely easy to move about, but it is
the music that has made it such a popular choice with
punters. Apart from jazz it also offers an equally
high-standard selections of blues, gospel, Brazilian
and Caribbean music.
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