Radioactive is a Singapore based company which recently develop a proprietary streaming platform that allows users to get broadcast quality radio into the mobile phone. They have launched their first product, Laylio, an iPhone app which allows anyone to tune to their favourite radio stations in Singapore. We review their latest product Laylio (which has been the number 1 download app on iTunes store for a couple of weeks) and thought that you want to check out this interesting product which was launched a month ago.
The man behind Laylio and RADIOactive is Andrew Crothers, and the aim of the company is to allow radio to be accessed on 3G phones in an easy and cost effective manner. With a saturation of apps on the iTunes store, it is important for the developer of apps to identify their competitive advantage and how they might be able to carve a niche or a following for the app. Given that many users have grown up with radio, the demand for such an app becomes apparent. Till date, Laylio has 70K+ users. The key according to Andrew is to focus on thinking about the users first and making the app simple with thoughtful design and decent branding of the product. In an interesting note, the iPhone version of the Laylio app is assembled within 3 weeks. In the coming weeks, an android version of Laylio will be ready for those holding a Google Android handset.
If you have downloaded the iPhone app Laylio which is free in the iTunes store, you will find that you can access the popular radio stations on the iPhone, for example FM 93.3, FM 95.0 and FM98.7. As of today, Laylio has 8 stations that the user can access to. Upon selection of the station, the user can actually listen live to the radio station of his or her choice, the user might want to call or email the station, that could possibly facilitate interaction between the user and the DJs of the respective station. However, the “call” function on the Laylio app is limited to only some stations. On the technology side of things, Laylio is a player that is capable of handling standard WMA stream links, with many more formats (including their own) under the hood. What the Laylio wants to see is the real engagement between listeners with the station and the broadcasters who need to keep their numbers healthy in the space. Of course, their hope is to see more local players adopting their streaming platform (which helps broadcasting stations to cut costs & increase online audience who are listening to the radio) in the region.
While the product is flawless in delivering radio content to the iPhone, there exist limitations which the technology has to overcome. One interesting issue that we found is that if we are in an underground MRT station or in very tight enclosed where the 3G signals (and SingTel users will complain about this as much as I have) are weak, the app will take a considerable amount to buffer until the connection gets better. Of course, it will be interesting to see how Laylio can monetize for the near future. We will leave that when we get Andrew down for an interview in SGE soon.
On the long term, the aim of Radioactive is to build a set of tools for the terrestrial broadcasters to move into the mobile space. Andrew also stressed the importance of content in the app with the following thoughts, “We’ve got the delivery nailed, but content is everything – and our solutions will really keep content dynamic, engaging and relevant… which has always been the great thing about radio above all mediums.”
Meanwhile, if you have some time while traveling between places, why not check out the Laylio app from the iTunes store. Do let us know your thoughts about the app and perhaps, we can get the team from Laylio to get some feedback about the app as well.
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