Pandora Finally Comes to Windows Phone With Ad-Free Streaming For 2013

Today Pandora is finally available for all Windows Phone users, about five months after Microsoft announced it would come to the platform.

The new Pandora for Windows Phone brings the popular streaming service to Microsoft’s mobile platform, complete with a Metro redesign that makes it look at home among Microsoft’s apps. The app gives users access to a large catalog of music to listen to for free, and for the rest of 2013 Pandora won’t play a single ad on Windows Phone.

https://youtu.be/pj6D93w8hEs

Typically users who want an ad-free Pandora experience have to pay $3.99 a month or $36 a year for Pandora One. Windows Phone users don’t have to pay for a full year unless they want the ad-free service on other platforms. Pandora One also offers higher quality audio, but it’s not clear if Windows Phone users get that for free as well.

Thanks to the unique features of Windows Phone 8 the Pandora app has a few features that aren’t present on other devices. Windows Phone users can pin their favorite stations to their Start Screen for instant access to music, for example. Station Live Tiles will display the name of the station, and will also show what’s playing while users listen to music.

Pandora for Windows Phone also has a special feature for Kid’s Corner, Windows Phone 8’s feature that lets parents control what apps their kids have access to.

When launched in Kid’s Corner Pandora for Windows Phone will automatically filter out any music labelled as explicit. That way parents can let their kids listen to music without fear that they’ll hear new four letter words.

Pandora was just one of the many apps Microsoft promised would come to Windows Phone by the holidays last year. The app obviously missed that window, though it’s not alone. Microsoft also promised popular apps like Temple Run would come to Windows Phone 8, but many are still missing from the Windows Phone Store.