Using Pandora in your Model S

[ToddRLockwood]

While Pandora's web site will not work on the Model S browser due to the lack of Flash, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Pandora works very nicely via my iPhone and Bluetooth. Once a Bluetooth connection is established between the iPhone and the Model S, simply open the Pandora app on the iPhone and select your favorite station. On the touchscreen, touch Media > Browse > My Music and Devices > (your iPhone). On the Model S media player, the Pause/Play button and the Next button will work exactly as they do on the Pandora app, and the album cover art will display. (The Previous button is non-functional, as is always the case in Pandora.) The only limitation is that you can't vote on songs through the media player. You still have to do that on the iPhone.

For those who prefer Pandora over Slacker, this is great news. Personally, I like Pandora because it pre-loads the next song while playing the current song and thereby eliminates the delay between songs. Also, if you have Pandora's premium service, Pandora One (~$35/yr) the audio quality seems better than Slacker, even through the Bluetooth connection.

Warning: If you don't have an unlimited data plan on your iPhone, keep an eye on your data usage.

 

[bonehead]

Thanks a bunch for the info, Todd. Another way to enjoy music for those who are considering ditching the 3G/Slacker service!

 

[pguerra]

While Pandora's web site will not work on the Model S browser due to the lack of Flash, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Pandora works very nicely via my iPhone and Bluetooth. Once a Bluetooth connection is established between the iPhone and the Model S, simply open the Pandora app on the iPhone and select your favorite station. On the touchscreen, touch Media > Browse > My Music and Devices > (your iPhone). On the Model S media player, the Pause/Play button and the Next button will work exactly as they do on the Pandora app, and the album cover art will display. (The Previous button is non-functional, as is always the case in Pandora.) The only limitation is that you can't vote on songs through the media player. You still have to do that on the iPhone.

For those who prefer Pandora over Slacker, this is great news. Personally, I like Pandora because it pre-loads the next song while playing the current song and thereby eliminates the delay between songs. Also, if you have Pandora's premium service (~$35/yr) the audio quality seems better than Slacker, even through the Bluetooth connection.

Warning: If you don't have an unlimited data plan on your iPhone, keep an eye on your data usage.

I used to think Pandora was better until I tried Slacker with the Model S:

1) Slacker has 8M songs to Pandora's ~1M
2) Slacker (paid version) allows for unlimited skips unlike Pandora (paid version).
3) Slacker plays any song you search for immediately. With Pandora, you have to be lucky to play the song you ask for.
4) Cost for both is minimal although Slacker costs more. Both allow for voting for favorite songs.

 

[ToddRLockwood]

I used to think Pandora was better until I tried Slacker with the Model S:

1) Slacker has 8M songs to Pandora's ~1M
2) Slacker (paid version) allows for unlimited skips unlike Pandora (paid version).
3) Slacker plays any song you search for immediately. With Pandora, you have to be lucky to play the song you ask for.
4) Cost for both is minimal although Slacker costs more. Both allow for voting for favorite songs.

Do you experience the delays between songs with Slacker? I also frequently get dropouts in the middle of a song. It could be my 3G connection in the Model S, but I find Pandora on the iPhone plays much more consistently.

 

[TheAustin]

I used to think Pandora was better until I tried Slacker with the Model S:

1) Slacker has 8M songs to Pandora's ~1M
2) Slacker (paid version) allows for unlimited skips unlike Pandora (paid version).
3) Slacker plays any song you search for immediately. With Pandora, you have to be lucky to play the song you ask for.
4) Cost for both is minimal although Slacker costs more. Both allow for voting for favorite songs.

I agree with everything you said.

 

[100thMonkey]

I too have found that Pandora blue toothed from my iphone 5 plays more consistently than slacker through the car... frankly disappointing. As for which one is a better service, I find them both to have a rather different algorithm. I've got a couple years of thumbing up and down music on Pandora, when I want a known quantity I play Pandora, when I want more random new stuff, I go with Slacker. I may end up keeping them both.

 

[mknox]

I've used Pandora off and on (using a VPN here in Canada) and have to say that I'm really impressed with Slacker by comparison. At first I wondered why Tesla just didn't go with Pandora (maybe because of the US-only thing), but now feel Slacker was a great call.

 

[Hank42]

I've used Pandora off and on (using a VPN here in Canada) and have to say that I'm really impressed with Slacker by comparison. At first I wondered why Tesla just didn't go with Pandora (maybe because of the US-only thing), but now feel Slacker was a great call.

+1 I was a diehard Pandora user and was like "What's this Slacker garbage Tesla is sticking me with". Boy was I schooled - what a positive experience I like it! I think it's a great choice. (I still wish Pandora would roll and app so we'd have a choice without being tethered).

 

[Cirrus]

I am a slacker fan, especially pulling up a specific song, however for my musical tastes I like Pandora's algorithm better. As a general rule, I personally like the pandora station started with a specific song over the slacker station started with the same song. I also really like Songza's concierge service when I am looking for background music for a specific mood.

 

[jhs_7645]

I too have found that Pandora blue toothed from my iphone 5 plays more consistently than slacker through the car... frankly disappointing. ...

I would imagine that the pausing issue when a new song plays is primarily due to Tesla's implementation of the Slacker client and not buffering properly. I haven't tried but I would guess that playing slacker on your iPhone over bluetooth would not pause/glitch.

 

[jomo25]

You could Slacker through the iOS devices as well. I guess you lose the convenience of it being embedded in your car, but it should solve the buffering/bandwidth/skipping issues and gives you a more full client that also takes advantage of premium memberships, if you have a personal one.

 

[eelton]

The streaming, pausing, and skipping work fine for me with either Pandora or Slacker (Samsung Galaxy S3), but album art doesn't display correctly. Instead, the art from the last thing I played in Poweramp on the phone continues to show. Not a big deal.

A nice thing about Poweramp is that it has a setting to automatically resume on A2DP connect. I'll have to try to find a way to do that in Slacker or Pandora...I suppose I could use Tasker or an NFC tag in the car to trigger it. If that works, it would help me decide not to get the $30 per month data plan.

While Pandora's web site will not work on the Model S browser due to the lack of Flash, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Pandora works very nicely via my iPhone and Bluetooth. Once a Bluetooth connection is established between the iPhone and the Model S, simply open the Pandora app on the iPhone and select your favorite station. On the touchscreen, touch Media > Browse > My Music and Devices > (your iPhone). On the Model S media player, the Pause/Play button and the Next button will work exactly as they do on the Pandora app, and the album cover art will display.