Radio scanners cater to a handful of niche audiences. You may have had people tell you about the weird or interesting things they’ve heard on their scanner, and it seems like a cool idea to have one in your car. However, you can also upgrade your head unit or install a pair of premium speakers for the same price.
Turn your Android phone into a police scanner!
If the cost of purchasing a police scanner is a major stumbling block, you’ll be happy to know that you have a cheaper door to the world of radio scanners in your pocket. It’s your smartphone. In between texting and checking Facebook, you can use your phone to listen to a variety of radio scanner streams.
Phones are not radios. Even smartphones are not radios. Some smartphones have secret built-in FM radios, but if you are interested in listening to police and emergency services broadcasts, that is not enough.
Other components in your phone may be referred to as radios, at least technically, such as a cellular radio or a Bluetooth radio, but that's still not what you're looking for. These components can only send and receive information in the specific bandwidths allocated to cellular communications or used by Bluetooth devices.
