Free Alarm Clock Software

Radio Cheapo

When cable television rates got too expensive, people began to return to over-the-air TVs with new HD antennas, which offered better reception and various free subchannels. Combined with online services like Hulu, it was finally possible to replicate, if not duplicate, the cable experience on the cheap.

  Satellite radio isn't much different. If you love the variety of Sirius or XM (but not the monthly bill), you can closely replicate the satellite radio experience in your car for free with an Internet-enabled smartphone and some inexpensive accessories. You'll need one of the following downloadable apps, as well as a way to connect your smartphone to your car's speakers (an auxiliary cable or a cassette adapter are the cheapest ways). The technology also has improved in recent years; stations generally don't drop unless you're going through a phone dead zone. About all you can't do is change the station by yourself when you're driving.

  All these apps are available for iPhone, and several are available for BlackBerry or Android. The basic versions are all free, except where noted.

• AOL Radio: This app features Sirius/XM-style stations from various musical genres and subgenres, some of them highly specific. Under the category "Alternative," for instance, you'll find sub-stations like "emo," "goth," "'80s alternative" and "'90s alternative" — along with more than 350 local affiliates of CBS Radio from cities across the country, making this a good choice for someone who misses a specific station from another city. Both the genre stations and the affiliate stations here come with commercials, and you often have to listen to ads at startup, which is a drag and very AOL of them.

•Pandora and Slacker: Both apps offer plenty of pre-programmed stations, as well as highly personalizable stations: Tell Pandora or Slacker an artist or song you like, and the app will create a station on the spot with songs that are similar — from familiar and unfamiliar artists. You can give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to each song, which further refines the station to your tastes, and both offer a limited number of song skips per hour. Both Pandora and Slacker offer limited commercials and the option of upgrading to an inexpensive ad-free subscription, which also allows an unlimited number of skips.

• ooTunes ($4.