Spirit FM Radio is a real, tuned, "over the air" FM radio app. It is NOT a streaming app which requires expensive data plans and drains your battery.
NOTE March 2014: Samsung and HTC are now actively preventing 3rd party FM apps from working on stock, un-rooted phones, using Knox, system permissions and other means. Reverse engineering undocumented APIs was hard enough, but this signals the death of access to stock, unrooted OEM proprietary FM APIs by "non-blessed" 3rd party FM apps (IE, Spirit, pretty much).
The existing Spirit support for stock, unrooted devices will remain, but due to these developments, it is now unfeasible to continue updating this support as I did just recently for the new Broadcom API.
The focus of Spirit will now, more than ever, be on AOSP ROMs. Even stock, rooted phones are affected. If you don't know what AOSP is, Spirit is likely not the app for you, and you should stick with the stock FM app.
Further details: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=50954346&postcount=7641
NOTE Jan-Apr 2014: I am still fixing bugs and adding some phone supports on "Spirit1 Unlocked". But new features and the bulk of my time are now focused on Spirit2, about to exit beta: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2537861
Satisfaction guaranteed or full refund. Cancel any time on request, within 30 days. To cancel, email mikereidis@gmail.com with at least your name, email of purchase, and/or order ID or email receipt.
If you're an average phone user, & don't know what Android "rooting" is, Spirit will likely not offer you much more than your stock FM app. If your phone does not have a stock FM app, it is unlikely that Spirit will work on it.
Spirit is mostly for Android enthusiasts who "root" & "ROM" their phones. But it also works on many stock, "store bought" phones.
Spirit Unlocked includes (in addition to Spirit Free features):
- Digital audio features on a few devices: supported ONLY on: ROOTED (non-stock !) International Galaxy S/S2/S3/Note/Note2/Player, ROOTED (non-stock !) HTC One/OneXL/OneS/Evo 4G LTE/Xperia T and most stock Sony 2012-2013 devices.
Digital audio features are no longer described here because WAY too many people think they will work on stock, un-rooted phones.
- RDS data display in App, Lock-screen & Notification window. RT, PS, PTY, PI & AF RadioText RT, Program Service PS, Program Type PTY, Program ID PI & Alternate Frequency AF.
- Lock-screen & Wired Headset Media Button support for mute, preset, seek, volume & record.
- Many settings: Audio, UI, AF, Digital & Debug categories.
- Unlimited Presets & Preset Lists.
FAQ / Frequently Asked Questions: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=31983089
I understand the price may seem high, but this is a niche app with 10,000 hours of work required over 3+ years. How many other "Real FM Radio" apps are on Google Play ? Almost none.
Why ? Because Android FM is extremely difficult. Google doesn't support FM radio and carriers suppress it. Intensive reverse engineering is required. In the over 3 years since Spirit was first created, nobody else has been "crazy" enough to attempt to compete in this niche (OTA radio) within a niche (AOSP ROMs) or without (all phones with usable FM).
Spirit is not a throwaway game app you play for a few days. How many hours will you spend listening to FM radio in the next several years ?
How much can you save on data plans by listening to free, over the air radio versus streaming ?
If you care about app quality, note CNet article "We're not paying enough for apps": http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23568502&postcount=2523
I'm one developer and Spirit is my only app and income. I'm trying to do a job Google said they couldn't for lack of developer resources. :)
Your support for Spirit is appreciated.
For tons of further info, and links to free test versions, please see my XDA thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=13385163
Thanks !
Mike.