Spotify Radio launches for Android users in the U.S.

Spotify for Android

Spotify for Android

Spotify for Android

On-demand music streaming service Spotify has launched its radio feature on Android devices in the United States. First made available to iOS devices last month, the new Radio feature provides Pandora-style stations that Spotify members can personalize to discover new music.

Spotify Radio creates stations based on an artist, album, song, or genre. When someone notes that he or she is a fan of Melody Gardot, an evolving station of jazz and easy listening music is instantly created. Listeners can tap thumbs up or thumbs down icons to provide clues about what types of songs to play on the station, and favorite songs can be marked with a star to listen to later or add to a playlist.

While the on-demand aspect of Spotify still requires a Premium account to stream on a mobile device, Spotify Radio is open to non-paying members. Radio is ad-supported for free members, who are also limited to five skipped songs per station. Premium members do not hear ads or face any skip limitations.

Spotify Radio also has a feature that allows users to stop listening to a station on one device, and then continue listening on another. It doesn't pick up from the same song, but a listener can pause playback on a Google Nexus 7 tablet and then get a shortcut to that station when switching to a Samsung Galaxy S III phone, for example.