Later today, select BlackBerry Beta Zone users in the United States will get the opportunity to test out an upcoming radio discovery app, BlackBerry® Radio, and provide feedback to help us perfect it. This app will put multiple mobile radio services at your fingertips with no set-up and no cost for the beta user beyond their standard data plan costs.

BlackBerry Radio is not a traditional radio app, but instead works with multiple radio apps to make the process of finding and listening to radio on a BlackBerry® smartphone quicker, easier and more integrated by presenting a sampling of services from some of our most popular partners.

Here are four things you should know about BlackBerry Radio:

1. Simple discovery

With BlackBerry Radio, you can access popular digital radio services from one place. For example, users can choose from preset genre-based radio channels provided by popular radio services. BlackBerry Radio features a combination of Internet radio (including Slacker) and terrestrial radio (including Clear Channel, Corus, and others). Music discovery from within BlackBerry Radio is also simple, as you can choose from a variety of genres like Rock, Pop, Hip Hop, R&B, Jazz and more, with just one click.

2. Easy access to radio apps for more stations and features

If you really enjoy the channels provided by Slacker, for example, you can easily download their premium radio app at any time from within BlackBerry Radio.

3. Seamless integration into the BlackBerry Media Experience

While listening to music streams from participating radio partners, users in the US will have quick access to the recently launched Amazon MP3 storefront to purchase songs currently playing. Users can also access BlackBerry Radio at any time from within the music menu on their BlackBerry smartphone.

4. Trying services out – for no additional cost!

With BlackBerry Radio, you will be able to sample all of the various preset stations even if you aren’t subscribed to the partner service(s).

For now, this app is only available to beta testers in the US, but we’ll keep you posted once this app is available for all to enjoy. If you haven’t already, make sure to sign up to become a BlackBerry Beta Zone user to try out BlackBerry Radio and other great beta apps.

What’s your favorite BlackBerry Radio service? Let us know in the comments.

We’ve got another guest blogger for you today, Inside BlackBerry readers — Sonia, who’s excited to tell you all about the newly-released Amazon MP3 music store app! Read on for all the details. Ed.

Recently I had a chance to play with the new Amazon MP3 music store app for BlackBerry® smartphones. Using the Amazon MP3 app, I had access to Amazon’s entire catalog of music, and could browse, search and discover tracks in all kinds of ways. I was able to preview tracks, download and integrate them into my playlists, and I found that I could easily keep my inner circle posted on my latest finds. Click the link below to read my walkthrough of some of the app’s key features.

Search & Browse

I found it really easy to find the music I was looking for within the app. Users can swipe through the top nav on the landing screen and then browse by New Songs, New Albums, Top Songs, Top Albums, and Genres. You can also browse by Sub Genres (such as American Alternative, British Alternative, Goth, Hardcore Punk, Indie & Lo-Fi, and so on). I also used the standard keyword search quite a bit.

Free Song and Album Deal Daily

One of my favorite features was definitely the free song of the day – the new album deal of the day is also a great feature.

Social Networking functionality

There is social networking functionality built into the app, so I was able to quickly let my friends know about some of my top choices and new finds. The Amazon MP3 app BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™), email, SMS, Social Feeds, Facebook®, Twitter®, and more.

Select a delivery option to suit your data plan

The ability to control my download preferences within the app is another handy feature. The Amazon MP3 app allowed me to download over Wi-Fi®, which is great if you do not have an unlimited data plan; otherwise, users can download via Wi-Fi or OTA (over-the-air). Another option is to only download when not roaming – if you choose this option and try to buy a song while roaming, the song will be held in the download queue until you return to local soil where it will download, sparing you roaming charges.

Bookmarks

This is a great feature for multi-taskers like me. In case of interruptions, the app allows you to easily bookmark the song so that you can preview or download it at a more convenient time.

Other great features

• Enter promotional or Amazon.com gift card codes directly from the Amazon MP3 application.
• Access a 30-second preview, so that users can be sure that it’s the song or version they intend to buy.
• All songs downloaded are integrated into the ‘on device’ media library for easy integration into playlists.
• This app is integrated with Universal Search, so that users are presented with Amazon findings the next time they perform a search on your favorite artist.

Coming soon: Amazon MP3 store ‘buy’ function for app developers

Look for this app to be integrated into other upcoming apps. For instance, ISV partners can now apply to be members of the affiliate program, and approved partners will have access to a developer toolkit available in February – allowing application developers to integrate a ‘buy’ function within their own apps that connects with the Amazon MP3 store.

Device Requirements:

To enjoy the Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry Smartphones app, you will need activation with a data service plan and a device running BlackBerry® OS version 5.0 or higher.

Starting on December 14th, this app will be available in open beta in the US on BlackBerry App World™, and on mobile.blackberry.com. For more information, visit www.blackberry.com/amazonmp3

I look forward to reading your comments!