By Jason Fanguy on February 28th, 2011
Our Rating: 
AKPC_IDS += "2908,";
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On February 28, 2011, In Agile Partners, Agile Partners Technologies LLC, guitar, Guitar Chords, guitar licks, guitar scales, guitar world, guitar world lick of the day, Guitar World Magazine, Guitars, iPad Apps and Games, iPad Music, iPhone Apps and Games, Reviews, subscription services, subscriptions, by Jason Fanguy
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On February 25, 2011, In flight info, iBone, iPad Apps and Games, iPad Music, iPhone Apps and Games, Reviews, Spoonjack, trombone, by Chris Hall
By Chris Hall on February 25th, 2011
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On February 23, 2011, In $4.99, arobas music, bass, gp1, gp2, gp3, gp4, gp5, gp6, guitar, guitar pro, iPad Apps and Games, iPad Music, iPhone Apps and Games, Reviews, tablature, tabs, by Kyle Flanigan
By Kyle Flanigan on February 23rd, 2011
Our Rating: 
Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
The official creator of Guitar Pro for PC and Mac launches an iOS counterpart, allowing you to play with tablature on-the-go, as well as learn new pieces in a shorter time with some useful features such as continuous playback and on-the-fly speed adjustment.
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Sony has officially launched it’s own music streaming service called Music Unlimited, powered by Qriocity, and available now in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Their aim is to challenge Apple’s iTunes dominance by providing a service that is available across a myriad of devices such as Playstation 3, Blu-Ray players, Bravia televisions and computers. They also plan on adding an app for Google’s Android operating system so they can get into the smartphone scene as well. The pricing will start at as low as $3.99 per month and they plan on rolling it out to more countries this year.
Interestingly enough they are said to also be supporting iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad sometime this year as well. The only problem for them in that regard could be the new 30% cut Apple would require based on their new App Store developer guidelines and subscription service.
We also told you last week that Sony was not happy with Apple and had plans of possibly pulling all of their content from iTunes all together. Well Sony Network Entertainment COO (also involved with Music Unlimited service), Shawn Layden says otherwise.
Sony Music as I understand it has no intention of withdrawing from iTunes, they’re one of our biggest partners in the digital domain. I think those words were either taken out of context or the person who spoke them was unclear on the circumstances.
So so you want Music Unlimited on your iOS device or is iTunes the better way for you to have access to music? Tell us your thoughts on Sony’s new service!
[ Bloomberg, Business Insider ]
Sony launches music streaming service, says they won’t remove content from iTunes is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
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Developer: Laan Labs
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
iPhone Integration Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.15 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
If you hang around the tech crowds that I do, it seems that everyone and their mother is a DJ these days. Whether it’s songs being mashed together or listening to Daft Punk tunes in Hollywood movies, people are now more exposed to the genre than ever, and everyone wants a little piece of the action.
Since the beginning of the App Store there have been soundboard/music creation apps, but only fairly recently (past year, year and a half) have we seen some solid DJ apps hit the market. Tap DJ, from Laan Labs, is one of the newcomers to the stage, and it is quite nice.
What works so well in Tap DJ is that the whole rig is shown through a few very intuitive screens. Your tracks are easily selectable from your iTunes songs, crossfading and pitch control is all done with easy to use sliders, and samples are easily made from included sounds and recordable beats. When you are done with your master track, you can even save it for later listening or further manipulation. If you need some inspiration, there is also a great “Explore” section that shows you some of the top mixes and tracks from the Tap DJ community. I’m not entirely sure that I want to hear a Mike Jones/NWA mashup, but it is a good resource for finding new stuff.
As far as iPhone DJ apps go, Tap DJ provides just about everything that a budding DJ could ever want. As long as you keep your expectations in check (the app only costs $1.99, so it won’t replace a $1,000, DJ setup), you’ll find yourself with a very usable digital DJ program.
[ Tap DJ Review is a post from 148Apps ]
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It appears as if Sony is at war with Apple and is threatening to pull its music from iTunes and their games from the App Store as well. Sony has plans on opening their own version of iTunes, an online streaming service called Music Unlimited, and a service that will bring Playstation titles to mobile platforms starting with Android.
Perhaps Sony is not happy about having their reader app rejected by Apple and is taking their frustration out on the end users? Or perhaps Sony just wants a piece of the enormous pie that is mobile downloadings including music and apps. Sony’s CEO, Michael Ephraim, had the following to say about Apple and iTunes.
If we do [get mass take up] then does Sony Music need to provide content to iTunes? Currently we do. We have to provide it to iTunes as that’s the format right now.
Publishers are being held to ransom by Apple and they are looking for other delivery systems, and we are waiting to see what the next three to five years will hold.
Strong words there. Mr. Ephraim also said their Music Unlimited service right now is planned for Sony’s mobile products and may or may not go to other platforms but we can assume that now we will not see it available for use on any iOS device.
So it appears as if Sony and Apple are starting into some unfriendly times and it will seemingly only hinder the consumer. What are your thoughts on Sony’s threats to pull its stuff from iTunes all together? Does it matter or is there already enough content that you won’t even notice their departure? Sound off below!
[ Digital Life, thanks Anthony! ]
Sony at war, could pull music from iTunes is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
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On January 31, 2011, In iPhone Apps and Games, Reviews, by Bonnie Eisenman
Developer: Spoonjack
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
iPhone Integration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.67 out of 5 stars
I’m generally a fan of musical instrument apps—Smule’s Ocarina remains one of my favorites. iTrump is an app in the similar vein, simulating a trumpet instead of an ocarina. iTrump nails a lot of key elements and is definitely the best trumpet app I’ve seen. However, it’s not without its flaws and I feel that more complex instruments like the trumpet just aren’t as fun in app form.
iTrump’s main display lays an image of a trumpet over three rows of transparent buttons. Each button is marked with a note value (A, Eb, etc) and each row is seemingly intended to represent a valve. You can play using either touch or blowing through your iPhone’s mic. Either way, pressing the right keys will cause the app to emit the corresponding pitch with the trumpet’s signature sound. That alone is pretty cool, as iTrump covers most of the trumpet’s range. You can even add vibrato, slur notes, and trill, in case you want to get truly fancy.
iTrump doesn’t stop there—it’ll also teach you to play a handful of songs. The songbook includes familiar tunes such as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey (or, Also Sprach Zarathustra); Air on a G String; and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. You can purchase additional songs including Carol of the Bells and Silent Night. When playing from the songbook, iTrump highlights the buttons you’re supposed to push. Practice makes perfect, but you can also opt to have “robotrump” play through automatically to show you how it’s done.
If you don’t want to use the songbook or play solo, the developers also recommend playing along with a track from your iPod.
While iTrump does all it claims to do, I still have a few issues with the app. First of all, sometimes it sounds like the trumpet is somewhat out of tune with the recordings from the songbook, which is irritating. Learning songs is difficult because of the lack of sheet music, so until you master a song you’re always behind the music. This actually one of iTrump’s largest failures: learning songs is hard. There’s no massive community to provide fan-made sheet music (ala Smule), and it’s also difficult to improvise if you don’t know the trumpet.
iTrump is a good trumpet simulator, and certainly the best I’ve seen. I’m just not certain that the trumpet is the best instrument for an app to mimic.
[ iTrump Review is a post from 148Apps ]
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On January 25, 2011, In $2.99, audio, bands, discovery, discovr, i-jamm, iPad Apps and Games, iPad Music, musicians, Reviews, by Chris Kirby
Developer: I-JAMM
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Device Reviewed On: iPad
iPad Integration Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
There’s an ineffable, serendipitous moment when I “discover” a new band or even a new song. It doesn’t happen often, or with any regularity whatsoever, but when it does it’s as if I’ve known about them and heard their songs all along. Now, Discovr for the iPad attempts to “appify” this process and open multiple pathways to new music, bands and songs. The effort is a valid one, but there’s still a lot of work to be done before this app even reaches something close to what Pandora already does.
What separates Discovr from Pandora and similar apps is that it is not a radio app, which might seem counterintuitive for a music app these days. Instead, Discovr focuses on a visual search. Users type in the name of a band or artist they are interested in, and Discovr generates a graphic chart with the band/artist as the hub of a wheel. Surrounding that hub are usually 6-7 bands/artists with similar qualities to the original one entered. In my case, typing in “Grizzly Bear” called up similar acts like Animal Collective, Bright Eyes and a few I’ve never heard of. Double clicking on any of these calls up an artist profile page, complete with a biography, a list of relevant blogs dedicated to that artist, and assorted YouTube clips of songs. You can choose to share this information with others through the usual social channels – email, Twitter, Facebook – or you can return to your search results and extend your music map by single clicking on any artist on the page, generating another interconnected set of bands and musicians. The search map page is very intuitive and interesting, and certainly does generate a fair number of unknown acts.
There are really only two primary issues I have with the Discovr app. The first is that the only songs you are able to hear from a band are those available on YouTube, and some of these results are inaccurate (more on that later). There is a link to purchase songs or albums available on iTunes or Amazon so you can listen to segments and even purchase them, but there is no way to even sample a comprehensive array of songs from within the app. Using Discovr as a gateway for purchasing new music is a great idea; I’d just like to see it further developed in the future.
The second problem brings us back to the YouTube search results. Some are inaccurate, and their inclusion clutters the entire experience of the app. Take, for instance, Bright Eyes. When I pulled up the information page for Bright Eyes, I got the usual bio (though it was painfully short) along with links to blogs, reviews and iTunes/Amazon, but some of the YouTube videos were odd. Art Garfunkle’s song “Bright Eyes” was included, as was another song of the same title by a different artist. Tightening up these search results would result in a more effective, useful app.
I applaud Discovr for doing something different with music discovery. Perhaps if they could work in tandem with Pandora or Last.FM we could finally have the one music discovery service to rule them all. An app that combines visual search with full audio choices would be a heady success indeed.
[ Discovr for iPad Review is a post from 148Apps ]
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On January 24, 2011, In Games, iPad Apps and Games, iPad Education, iPhone Apps and Games, music theory, Reviews, Wolfram, Wolfram Music Theory Course Assistant, by Chris Hall
Developer: Wolfram Alpha LLC
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.0
iPhone Integration Rating: 3.45 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.6 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.43 out of 5 stars
For better or worse, Wolfram Music Theory Course Assistant looks and feels like the culmination of everything music related in Wolfram Alpha. Explaining the Wolfram system is tough because it’s not a traditional encyclopedia, but an answer engine that just gives you facts. There is no fluff in the world of Wolfram, just science.
Being a sort of science, music is the newest endeavor of Wolfram in the App Store. Again, for better or worse, the Wolfram Music Theory Course Assistant gives you straight facts about just about anything music related. Want to know what a C Chord is? Find it in the chord section and you’ll get the straight scoop, including the music notation, the note names, the keyboard display, guitar chord voicings complete with tabs, and even handy little button with the chord in action.
As bland as the app is, it really does cover just about everything that you’ve ever wanted to know about the science of music theory. You can look up chords, pitch notations, scales, intervals, and even dictionary-like terms of different music related words.
The problem that I have with this Wolfram app, other than the expected blandness of the UI, is that it has no soul. I know, the whole point is that the app is supposed to be an answer engine, but when I look up “jazz band” in the music dictionary, I’d like to see a bit more than how to use the word use in a sentence. I’d like to see some jazz chords or some famous jazz musicians. I want to feel like I’m grasping the essence of jazz band, not just getting a bland answer back with no life. Honestly, I can get just about everything I get in Wolfram Music Theory Couse Assistant on Wikipedia for free, except for the sound output examples, and learn a whole lot more about the subject.
[ Wolfram Music Theory Course Assistant Review is a post from 148Apps ]
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Pros:
-Very user friendly
-Wide range of years, 1948-2009
-The option to buy the song you’re listing to
Cons:
-If you have bad service, song will cut out
I’ll be honest. This is my first review of an app, so I felt it fitting to review one of the first apps I downloaded. I bought it the second day I had my iPhone, and believe me, I am a frugal shopper when I look at apps. So when I saw nuTsie’s Top 100’s, and for only $1.99, I figured it would be a good deal.
What I didn’t realize was how far back this thing goes! Do you like Johnny Cash? Elvis? How about Ella Fitzgerald? Nutsie goes back all the way to 1948, and finishes up at 2009. That is 6,100 songs at your fingertips. For $1.99, people.
It’s very simple to navigate, simply scroll to select your favorite year of music and let the music take you back. Oh, what’s that, this song reminds you of bad memories from high school, getting a wedgie in the parking lot while someone’s car radio blasted “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera? No problem, simply skip to the next song.
Essentially, nuTsie is a radio type app, like Pandora. You can skip songs, you can purchase the song directly from iTunes, and you can even go to the YouTube music video while still in the app.
However, for you to enjoy the music to the fullest, you have to be in an area where you get full service, or at least a strong wireless signal. Otherwise, you will be singing a capella at the top of your lungs to Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” when the music suddenly cuts out.
Overall, this is a good app for the cost. Unfortunately, if you like alternative music that isn’t mainstream, you’re not likely to find many songs here that you’ll enjoy. But I do have to say that this is an app that saves me from buying songs on iTunes, but keeps me guessing. You never know when you’ll hear a song that you love, but you completely forgot about.
4.5/5
$1.99
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