Slacker's features include a library featuring millions of songs (claimed to be four time bigger than their leading competitor), high quality playback on any wireless connection, 130 professionally programmed (by DJs and other music experts) and customisable stations, the ability to view artist biographies and photos, view album art and rate songs.
Stations are customised by entering the name of an artist or song, and can be further customised by rating, skipping or banning songs from a station. The basic version of Slacker is available for free in both web and mobile versions and is advertising supported. A 'Plus' version is also available, which removes the advertising and adds additional features.
Steve Cotter, senior vice president of business development at Slacker, said:
"Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker has been a leader in the industry from the beginning. We are excited to offer our free app for Nokia users, enabling more music fans to play their favorite Slacker Radio stations wherever they go."
Slacker note that they have developed the application using the Qt application framework, which suggests Nokia's Qt push is starting to find a receptive audience in the key US developer market.
Nokia will need to build relationships with US based service companies if they are to succeed in the US market. Slacker is a good start and should be a helpful proof point in on-going engagement efforts.