Radio by Phone

By Jeremy Caplan

You carry a cell phone all the time, but it's in use just a few minutes an hour. Why not turn it into a radio the rest of the time? That's the thinking behind MSpot, which offers 13 channels of on-demand radio through Sprint for $5.95 a month. There are eight channels of music (from pop to hip-hop and R&B), NPR, sports and weather. Founded by Daren Tsui and Edwin Ho, serial entrepreneurs with several successful start-ups, MSpot will soon be interactive, allowing you to buy an album (through Amazon.com or download a ringtone of a song you're hearing. "We're trying to build an interactive experience," says Tsui. "You can't get that with satellite, because it's one-way communication." --By Jeremy Caplan