FlyCast 2.0 For BlackBerry Released…

FlyCast, an internet radio service with over 1500 channels of music, news, sports, and weather, has released v2.0 of its software for the BlackBerry.

FlyCast 2.0 for BlackBerry features include:

• 3 Plays/30Days –Cached content is maintained in the context of the station and can be kept for a maximum of 30 days or three plays, whichever occurs first;
• In-Application Purchasing – Users can purchase tracks with the click of a button from within the application, even after the song has been broadcast;
• Twitter integration — Users can Tweet or “recommend” songs they like from FlyCast. Links are then posted to their Twitter account and followers can click on the link from any Twitter reader and be immediately taken to that station and hear the entire song.

You can download FlyCast 2.0 for BlackBerry here.

Read the press release after the jump…

FlyCast 2.0 Allows BlackBerry Users To Cache Radio Wirelessly To Their Mobile Devices

Users can now take enhanced versions of their favorite stations with them, with or without a connection

Lancaster, Penn., – July 21, 2009 – FlyCast, the popular mobile broadcasting service, today debuted “wireless station caching,” the ability to enjoy favorite radio stations on a mobile device anywhere, even without a wireless connection. With FlyCast 2.0, users can quickly store their favorite stations to their mobile devices when connected to a cellular or Wi-Fi network, then disconnect from the network and listen to the stations at their leisure.

Version 2.0 of the company’s popular BlackBerry application, available today, offers an enhanced listening experience by presenting music stations in a track-based cover flow, enabling in-application music purchases and providing time shifting skip-ahead and skip-back functionality. FlyCast 2.0 solves many common mobile music challenges – significantly reducing battery drain and cellular data usage charges, improving the listening experience, and making it easy to buy songs, even after they are broadcast.

FlyCast 2.0’s caching technology allows users to enjoy the following features:

• 3 Plays/30Days –Cached content is maintained in the context of the station and can be kept for a maximum of 30 days or three plays, whichever occurs first;
• In-Application Purchasing – Users can purchase tracks with the click of a button from within the application, even after the song has been broadcast;
• Twitter integration — Users can Tweet or “recommend” songs they like from FlyCast. Links are then posted to their Twitter account and followers can click on the link from any Twitter reader and be immediately taken to that station and hear the entire song.

Unlike other services, FlyCast 2.0 offers over-the-air (OTA) caching of stations and does not require a USB connection. Additionally, stations can be “burst-cached” much faster than realtime, requiring only minutes of connectivity to cache hours of web and terrestrial broadcasts. Listening to cached stations can dramatically reduce battery drain and cellular data usage charges.

“With FlyCast 2.0, we’ve introduced a new type of broadcast experience that benefits listeners, broadcasters, and content providers alike,” said David Kennedy, FlyCast CEO. “We’ve focused on addressing common problems encountered by those who enjoy the mobile media experience, and in doing so we’ve also dramatically enhanced the quality of that experience. Now, listeners can see what they are hearing, audition it prior to purchase, recommend it and buy it.”

Pricing and Availability
FlyCast 2.0 is available as a free download by browsing to http://www.flycast.fm from a supported BlackBerry device and has been submitted to the BlackBerry AppWorld store and will be available there shortly. The free version allows unlimited streaming. Users can also choose from two, one-time only premium upgrade fees that offer station caching — $9.95 for five hours and $19.95 for 20 hour versions, good for the life of the device. This one-time pricing model is unique in the industry. Individual tracks from the cached stations can be purchased at any time from within the FlyCast application.

FlyCast 2.0 supports the BlackBerry Storm, Bold and Curve and will be available for the iPhone, iPod Touch and Android devices later this year.

Extensive Channel Line-up
FlyCast now has over 1500 channels of content in the network, including local radio stations, news, talk, sports, weather, traffic and all genres of music. Partners include FOX News, Entercom, AccuRadio, Bonneville International, Bryan Broadcasting, Crawford Broadcasting, the Cromwell Radio Group, the Genesis Communication Network, KGOW Communications, KFMB, Midwest Television, Sandusky Radio Seattle, .977 Music, 1.FM, 1Club, Sky.FM, Digitally Imported, RadioIO, LA Talk, Radio Paradise, Martini in the Morning, FuzeBox Media, Jelly, Radio, Liberty News Radio, Blog Talk Radio, SmoothJazz.com, The Score and Comedy104. The company also offers “White Label” and DirectLink products for any content owner seeking to stream media over mobile, including bands, sports franchises, universities and athletes.

About FlyCast
FlyCast delivers radio and video content – music, sports, news, traffic, weather and talk – to portable cellular and WiFi devices. The company has more than 1500 content partners providing regional, national and specialty content to subscribers every day. Founded in 2006 by a group of seasoned media industry veterans, FlyCast puts the content consumers crave in the palms of their hands. FlyCast also works with CDNs and ISPs to improve quality of service for stream delivery.

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FlyCast is a registered trademark of FlyCast Inc. The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. The iPhone and iPod Touch of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Apple Computer Corp. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

[Via BlackBerry Rocks]