• by katherine , September 21, 2011

Pandora? Oh yes, I remember you.

You were the one that went and left me high and dry when I became too attached—forty straight hours just isn't enough to appreciate all of your goodness. Oh Pandora. Your coldness and lack of social networking drove me to sites like Grooveshark and 8Tracks where I felt unconditionally loved. They were so new and exciting.

"Pandora, have you been working out?" You're lookin' fine with a sleek and interactive new design. What did you say? You want a second chance? Hmm.

Give me one good reason, other than your, now unlimited free music, that I should come back to you.

There are several reasons that I just might choose Pandora again. According to Pandora's press release on Tuesday, these are the new features of the "New Pandora."

1. Simplified Station Creation - "Enhanced auto-complete choices and personalized suggestions." Personalization is similar to Grooveshark's search feature, which gives options for related stations.

2. Discovery of Music with Friends - A new profile feature where you can see you bookmarked stations, followers, and users that you follow. New also, is the sharing of stations on Facebook and Twitter through specified URLs.

3. Improved Control - The "like" buttons are larger and you can shuffle stations.

4. Enhanced Artist Information - I had trouble seeing lyrics and bios with the old Pandora. The revised version is actually pretty cool. You can even sample music from selected discographies. And, while you are skimming comments from other users and what not, the music player's bar at the top of the page allows you to effortlessly continue listening.

5. Unlimited Listening - 40 hours? Not anymore.

Is there anything else to ask for? Oh yes, you must be wondering if it will work on your iPhone. No worries, the "New Pandora" uses HTML5.

I think I fell in love.
Again.