Web/Mobile App Critique

 Pandora is an audio streaming service that provides music and podcasts. You can listen for free or pay a subscription. The free version offers personalized stations and looking-up songs, which are provided with an ad or two. Pandora offers two subscriptions, $4.99 per month and $10.99 per month. The first subscription gives ad-free stations and unlimited skips. The second subscription has the same benefits as the first but adds making and sharing playlists. 

Usability: Pandora's usability is relatively easy. Once installed, log in or create an account and start listening. 

 


You can browse to look for stations or artists you like. If you like a song, give a thumbs up to it, and you will get songs based on that recommendation.

 


If you don't like a song, click the thumbs down, and you won't hear that song again on that station. If you want to know more about the song, artist, or album, tapping the arrow up will give you more information, like the lyrics and background of the artist.

Design: Pandora's design is pretty simple and easy to navigate. When playing a song, you have your repeat, thumbs up, thumbs down, and skip across the bottom. It shows you the song, artist, and the album from which the song comes from. At the top, you can find the station that is currently playing and the back button that will take you back to your library of stations.


Functionality: The functionality is simple and easy as well. Search your library, read the lyrics, or search for something new, all without stopping the music. 


Recommendations for improvements:

1. Making cancellations easier to navigate. Depending on where your subscription is coming from, such as your cellphone provider or Pandora itself, it can be difficult to cancel your subscription. If your subscription goes through any source other than Pandora itself, Pandora cannot cancel your subscription. You must contact the other source to cancel your subscription. Making your subscription part of your settings could create less stress when canceling or downgrading your subscription.

2. Saving entire albums and songs could help build your library to fit your listening style more closely.

3. Being able to share a song with a friend or add a group listening session so you and your friends can all jam out simultaneously, no matter where you all are. This would be a great feature to help keep people connected.


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