Truly...

How hard is this? You query a server for a file, you wait until you receive the file, then you play it. When it's done, you get another one. Every few songs you query your ad server and play some nonsense. Not that complicated.

In pseudocode that might look like:

while app is running
  if no song is playing
    get a song
    play song
    songsplayed++

  hold while song is playing
  
  if songsplayed >= somenumber
    play awesome ad

Combined with:

if no connection
  wait for a bit don't freak out

Ta da!

So can someone please explain to me why Pandora will cut a song off (in the middle, after 5 seconds, anywhere!) and immediately load another song? Are you dumb? Even if coverage lapses, the current song is already fully loaded (an assumption on my part since I've never seen a buffer after a song starts, even on 3G), why stop what you're doing?? Android extrapolates away the intricacies of over the air communication, you just have a socket for Christ's sake.

This is especially terrible since you pay per each play. You're losing money here Pandora.

Unless this gets fixed I will never plunk down cash for Pandora One.