NPR Mobile (beta) Help
What is NPR Mobile and what can I do with it?
NPR Mobile is a partnership between NPR and ten NPR local stations to bring news and features from both NPR and local stations to users of mobile phones and other devices. NPR mobile consists of two new
services: NPR Mobile Voice, and NPR Mobile Web. NPR Mobile Voice allows listeners to make a simple phone call, access a menu of listening choices including NPR and NPR station programming, and listen to the audio from any phone (landline or mobile). NPR Mobile Web brings text, audio, and pictures directly to users through a web site optimized for delivery to mobile phones and other mobile devices.
A complete list of NPR Mobile Voice phone numbers and NPR Mobile Web addresses is available here.
What programming is on NPR Mobile Voice?
NPR Mobile Voice contains a selection of short, frequently updated audio items from NPR and local NPR stations:
- Station Local News Summary (updates vary by station)
- NPR Hourly News Summary (updated hourly)
- NPR Top News Story (updated frequently each day)
- NPR Story of the Day (updated daily at 1:00 am ET)
- NPR Business Story of the Day (updated weekdays at 11:45 am ET)
- Frank Deford's Weekly Sports Commentary (updated Wednesdays at 9:00 am ET)
- Guest of the Week from "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" (updated Saturdays at 3:00 pm ET)
How do I stop listening to a story on NPR Mobile Voice and return to the main menu?
Pressing pound (#) will stop the audio and give you the option to press one (1) to return to the main menu.
What programming is on NPR Mobile Web?
NPR Mobile Web contains audio news summaries from NPR and the local station, text and audio of in-depth local station news stories (where available), text and audio stories from NPR, and an interactive quiz from "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!"
The complete list is:
- Local Station News Summary (audio only)
- NPR Hourly News Summary (audio only)
- In-depth local station news stories (text, audio where available)
- Story of the Day
- Politics
- Business
- Health and Science
- Movies
- Music
- Books
- Interview
- Commentary
- "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!" Quiz
Do I need to have mobile service through a specific carrier to use NPR Mobile?
No, both NPR Mobile Web and NPR Mobile Voice are available regardless of your carrier.
Do I need a specific type of phone or device?
NPR Mobile Voice will work on any phone, either landline or mobile. NPR Mobile Web requires a phone or device capable of accessing the Web and you must have a subscription to a data plan through your carrier.
How does audio work on NPR Mobile Web?
Audio on NPR Mobile Web is available in two ways: all users will have the option to listen to audio via a click-to-call phone call via a link labeled "call"; users whose phone and carrier network also support streaming audio will see an additional link labeled "stream" and will be able to stream audio (or video) directly from the phone or other device.
How do I know if my phone has a built-in streaming audio player?
Because of the extensive number of mobile devices and operating systems on the market, there is no single easy way to determine if your phone has a built-in streaming audio player. You can check whether you have a program with "media player" in the name in either your main or applications menus. If your device is running some version of the Windows Mobile operating system you should have the mobile Windows Media player. Previous experience may also guide you: if you have successfully listened to streaming audio with your device from other sites or services, your phone has a built-in player.
The easiest way to determine if you can use the streaming audio option on NPR Mobile Web is to go to one of the mobile web sites and check to see if you are presented with a "stream" link. If not, then your device either does not have the capacity to stream audio, or something about your carrier's platform or policies prevent us from offering you streamed audio. In either case, you will still be able to hear NPR or NPR local station audio via the click-to-call audio link.
What if I get redirected to NPR's web site when I try to access one of the NPR Mobile Web station sites?
Because of the way our mobile URLs are set up it's possible that some users may be erroneously directed to NPR.org through the URLs listed on this page. If you find this happens to you, try one of the following links instead:
Capital Public Radio (Sacramento, CA)
http://m.capradio.npr.org
KPBS (San Diego, CA)
http://m.kpbs.npr.org
KPCC (Los Angeles, CA)
http://m.kpcc.npr.org
KPLU (Seattle/Tacoma, WA)
http://m.kplu.npr.org
KQED (San Francisco, CA)
http://m.kqed.npr.org
KUT (Austin, TX)
http://m.kut.npr.org
OPB (Portland, OR)
http://m.opb.npr.org
WAMU (Washington, DC)
http://m.wamu.npr.org
WFAE (Charlotte, NC)
http://m.wfae.npr.org
WUNC (Chapel Hill, NC)
http://m.wunc.npr.org
What if I'm using an iPhone but I'd prefer to use an NPR Mobile Web site instead of NPR.org?
Because the iPhone has a fully functional browser — Safari — the NPR Mobile Web sites presume iPhone users would prefer to access the full internet version of NPR.org. If you are an iPhone user and would rather view the mobile sites and not NPR.org, please use the URLs listed above. (Note: This is the only way for iPhone users to hear NPR audio on their phones since the iPhone will not play web streaming audio.)
What is the cost of the service?
Neither NPR nor its participating local stations charge for this service. To use NPR Mobile Web users need to have a subscription to a data plan through their mobile carriers, and charges will depend on the specific terms and conditions of voice and data plan you have. NPR Mobile Voice as well as audio accessed through an NPR Mobile site via a click-to-call phone call use minutes from your calling plan. If you choose to send a text message (SMS) of a story to a friend from an NPR Mobile site your standard text messaging rates will apply (remember that your friends may also be charged to receive the text, depending on their calling plan).
Why is there an option for station donations?
Local NPR member stations depend financially on donations from listeners for everything they do including local content production, content acquisition (including NPR content), community events, outreach, station operations and administration. We have tried to make it as easy as possible for listeners to support their local NPR member stations by including an option to make a contribution directly from mobile phones and other devices.
By selecting this option you will be given the choice to make an anonymous contribution to the station directly from your mobile device by keying into the phone your credit card number, or by speaking with a representative on station's membership pledge line, depending on how the local station has implemented this feature.
The cost of maintaining existing station programming and services and of developing new products like this one is high and we encourage you to support your local station.
What stations are participating in this project?
A current list of participating stations is available on the NPR Mobile Web/Voice page.
What if my station is not listed?
You can still listen via your phone or other mobile device by calling one of the numbers above. All of the stations above provide national news and information from NPR in addition to local station news. You may wish to check this page from time to time as we intend to expand the NPR Mobile service to include additional stations in the future. If there is a station whose mobile products you would be particularly excited to use, please let us know using the feedback form on this page.
