Pandora adds recommended stations and lock screen integration in latest update

Windows Phone users have a lot of options when it comes to streaming music. Pandora is one of them. Their app has just received an update that should improve user experience. A change log is included in the store listing, so head past the break to take a look.

What’s new in version 1.1:

  • Lock screen integration
  • Recommended Stations
  • Richer sharing

We like the new Recommended section. It looks like Pandora analyzes the music you have played recently on your device and then recommends new stations.

Pandora is free, personalized radio that plays music you love. Just start with the name of one of your favorite artists, songs, comedians, or composers, and Pandora will create a custom station that plays similar tracks. This app has been available on iOS and Android devices, but Windows Phone 8 users have been enjoying ad-free personalized radio at no cost, courtesy of Microsoft. The offer lasts until the end of 2013, though. Download it now from the Windows Phone Store or scan the QR code below.

Is Pandora one of your favorite music streaming apps for Windows Phone or do you use something else? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks for the tip, Ismael!

Mark Guim

Mark Guim is Video Editor at Windows Central. He switched to Windows because the MacBook Pro isn't Pro enough. You can follow him on Twitter at @markguim.

58 Comments
  • I wish they made lockscreen like ios, where any app playing music can send their album art to it.
  • Any developer can add that feature...xbox music does it and now Pandora...
  • Nevermind....only Xbox music...the Pandora lock screen has to be always on..that kind of sucks..
  • Finally we got a freaking update from them..:)
  • Almost at the end of the free streaming with no ads.
  • Yeah and too many other options. I'm only paying for one music subscription and it's XBox Music Pass for me.
  • Well Pandora is still going to be free..
  • Just one more week of ad free music with this app! Take advantage of it!
  • yeah and listen everything you ever deemed in THIS very week! :)
  • The only music service I use. I try the others and always return to Pandora. Wide availability on so many devices is key.
  • Though I'm still waiting for RT version.....
  • Sun Dawg, my favorite place to eat!! Haha
  • Its already on RT? Not sure what you saying?
  • I'd love to be wrong, but there is no official Pandora app for RT.  MetroRadio is ok as an alternative, but is a bit wonky.
  • No. There is. I'm pretty positive I saw it in my Nokia 2520. I'll check when I get home and PM you if I'm wrong.
  • searching finds nothing.  can you show me?  Here's the search results - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/search#q=pandora&s=Store There was a hack someone did to bring the website as an app, but it sucked and looks like it was pulled.
  • I'll check when I get home.
  • Sorry mate, no official Pandora app in the Windows Store. The only Pandora app there, is a web app, which essentially just opens the Pandora site in a standalone IE11 window. Which would actually be fine if the Live tile worked . . . and background play was supported.
  • Hmm maybe I'm crazy. Could had sworn I seen one in there.
  • I find it does the best job of playing music that matches the artist I've chosen. Only LastFM comes close but Pandora has been great everytime i use it
  • I wish the UK had pandora -.-
  • Now I hope Spotify can update their app..  
  • Spotify seriously needs an update.  The current ap is about as barebones as a Spotify app could get, and it is often buggy when it comes to streaming music play.  Hell, there are times when even playback from their locally stored library just cuts out for no reason. And let's not even get started on how it mishandles playlists.  Be nice if they would fix shuffle, so that if you launch directly into a pinned playlist, it would not start with the very first track on the list . . . EVERY . . . SINGLE . . . TIME!   I could go on.  Spotify's WP app just needs some work done to it.  And considering customers have to pay a monthly fee just to use the app, should be reason enough for Spotify to stay on top of keeping the app updated and bug free.
  • Is Nokia mixradio same as Pandora?
  • Nope....sorry I'm too lazy to explain but its definitely different..
  • Which is better?
  • For me its mix radio bcoz it analyses my collection and streams music accordingly and the offline playback is also awesome and yeah one last thing Pandora is not available in my region.
  • Somehow I like mixradio too.
  • I prefer Pandora, it always plays the right songs, but Nokia not so much, but then again I haven't used it in a while so maybe it's improved since then.
  • Try them both. They both do the same job however MixRadio's UI is more pleasant to look at in my opinion. If I wasn't paying for the grandfathered Zune pass I would definitely pay for Nokia MixRadio... Only $3.99
  • I think for me Pandora is good. After using it for more than a year and some 1000 likes, It almost plays right songs for me. Except occassionally some "unpleasant songs for me" do creep up but not as frequently as nokia mix radio, which I just payed for a month to try it out. But percentage of "bad" songs are more. I think when one year period is over, i am going to start the subscription, its pretty cheap: 36$ a year!! where as xbox music is 99$ and mix radio is 48$(Approx). Even with the low price, pandora plays songs i like more so for next year its going to be pandora.
  • Still one of my all time favorite apps.
  • I want to like a song on the lock screen
  • Nokia Mix Radio is fine for me. The free streaming ends in 11 days anyway.
  • I feel like the music selection isn't as good on WP as on iOS.
  • Its in your mind.
  • I wish I could have this in Finland..
  • Pandora can kiss my ass. Ever since they tried putting that 40 hrs limit on mobile devices I cancelled my service and never went back. They obviously thought that 4% wasn't gonna be a factor till that 4% defunct and investors were upset.
  • Still upset I see...
  • Upset about? I'm a consumer. And a consumer with options. Also with opinion. Pandora has done this foolery several times. They always pull excuses of why they do it and then back down when people take them up on it. Unless you forgot the voice of consumers speaks volumes. Nokia and Slacker has filled that void in a day. So if you think I'm still upset then be it. And they can still kiss my ass. Nokia and Slacker outweighs them by a long shot.
  • So you don't think you're upset?
    You sound upset especially with the "kiss my ass" part but if you say you are not then so be it. As a consumer we all have options and as business it's their job to market themselves and gain your business. I just wouldn't be as upset as you sound unless I was charged fees for cancelling a service I no longer need. Guess I'm having a hard time understanding why your "level" of anger is so high if you have so many other options. To each his own I guess... Good luck!
  • Lol ok. You obviously have no idea what I'm even talking about, but its okay. Thanks for your concern though of my emotional "anger" and upset. I hope you never say google can kiss my ass... Lol WPC
  • You do realize that limit was for free accounts and not users who have Pandora One accounts(paid for the service) right? Can't have everything for nothing..  
  • Yes I know. That's why I said 4%. Alright let me break this down. I use Pandora only on my phone. I never cared about the commercial. That's how they got paid for free subscribers. I don't have radio access at work on the computer so my source of music was Pandora on the phone. Pandora thought that the 4% of their users that used more than 40 hrs a month should be stripped of it and forced to either 1. Listen to the site on computer (refer to my earlier statement), 2. pay a fee to listen for the remainder of the month, or 3. pay for their monthly subscription. So 4% basically said pay us or go somewhere else. Its the same BS they tried with computer users. So I left and said they can kiss my ass. No more than 3-4 months they reversed that decision cause what they thought was gonna be gained revenue was a loss in commercial ads and tried to get consumers to come back. So yeah kiss my ass. If that's being upset, whatever. They didn't care about that 4% until they lost revenue. How could I NOT realize that. They were trying to create a tier payment. I have no issues paying for service. I do have a problem trying to be coerced into. Didn't like it and as a consumer left :-\
  •    So you have a problem with any company that wants you to pay for access to their services?  Gotcha!
  • No. I have a problem with people trying to put words in my mouth. And more problem with illiterate people who can't read. ;-)
  • I'm literate enough to know that you wanted to be a freeloader and never pay for anything. Big f-ing deal they make money from ads. That doesn't cover the cost for access to their services, the bandwidth needed for said services, royalties paid to artists, employee salaries, etc.  3.00/month was a small price to pay for a service you seemed to value.
  • Upset much? Freeloader? LMAO. Sorry bro I pay for Nokia that offers a way better option that wasn't COERCED. So yeah illeterate along with ignorant assumptions. And your comment hold absolutely NO merits. Why might you ask? They REVERSED Their decision and offered back unlimited free with ads. So they can, you know, cover the cost for access to their services, the bandwidth needed for said services, royalties paid to artists, employee salaries, etc. Oh and lets not forget the sudden change of heart before the release of iTunes Radio. LOL but whatever. Keep feeling yourself.
  • You didn't get what I was saying but you do the same sir.  Hope this exchange doesn't ruin your weekend.
  • Ruin, from the internet lol. I got exactly what you said, you obviously didn't get mines.
  • Duly noted.
  • What about Deezer?
  • Still can't see my bookmarks, but I like the update so far.
  • Griped and griped when Pandora was missing.....realized metro radio is better ... No ad interruption more skips.......MP3 section..
  • Everything being centered stylistically really turns me off, but glad users got an update.
  •  I've been using Pandora because they are ad-free but I prefer Slacker and Nokia Music.
  • I do wish they would update this Pandora app for Windows Phone to stream with those car systems with Pandora.
  • Pandora did not add any RECOMMENDED music based on my what I've been playing on my device, they just copied the list of artists I have in my music+ collection, which I haven't listened to in many months.  If they would have based it on what I listen to on Pandora or my device thru other music apps like Aupeo or Nokia Music, it would have been Brazilian and Cuban Jazz and of course they didn't.