After a friend of mine just bought his first iPhone, he came to me for help setting up his phone, learning iPhone features, and for suggestions on some apps to buy. I was pleasantly surprised that he would be inspiring me to download an app that his son had suggested.
The Shazam app comes in three different varieties. First, let me tell you about the free version which is supported by ads:
Let’s say you hear a song somewhere and you want to know where it is, or you have heard it before and you want to buy it. Just open the Shazam app and hit the “Tag Now” button. The app will listen to the audio (does not work with live performances) and after approximately 10 seconds of listening and 5-10 seconds of analyzing, will tell you what song you are hearing. Now I know why the name sounds like a magic phrase, it works like magic!
Now that you have a tagged song you can do a variety of tasks with it. You can share it on Twitter or Facebook thru the app itself. You can email a postcard of the track to someone. You can open iTunes to purchase the track or album (if available via iTunes). You can find tour information, view where you were when you tagged the track, look at the discography of the album, and look up the tag on YouTube. Not to mention you can access band biographies and reviews (if available). You can also attach a photo to your tag.
The free version limits you to five tags a month.
The other two versions of this app have the same features, so before we go over those features I will explain the difference between Shazam Encore and (Shazam)Red. The (Shazam)Red version comes with a red icon instead of blue, and 20% of the purchase price is contributed to HIV and AIDS programs in Africa. Note that both (Shazam)Red and Shazam Encore are priced at $4.99. So, if you decide to buy this app, consider getting (Shazam)Red, as it’s the same price, supports a good cause, and the icon is red, which is enough for my vote.
Features of (Shazam)Red and Shazam Encore include all of the features of Shazam, plus “Improved speed performance” (via www.shazam .com I cannot confirm this). There are also tabs for searching for music, and checking the charts for checking popular music. The interface looks and functions better than in the free version In the settings you can turn on Bluetooth on/off, to use an external Bluetooth mic for music tagging and you can turn locations on/off. You can get music recommendations from a track you have tagged. It also enters a car mode when placed in an in-car dock.
This app has never let me down when I wanted to know what song was playing. Although I don’t listen to the radio often, it comes in handy when I hear something I want to buy. The only part of the app that I have not had good results with is the tour information. I think this is because the artists I have looked up are not on tour, or not stopping ‘within 25 miles’. However, it usually displays tour dates from the past, which I doubt would be useful to anyone.
This app is availble for iPhone and iPod Touch with external mics. There are also versions available for BlackBerry*, Windows Mobile*, Android*, and Nokia*.
*Prices and support vary by platform, see www.shazam.com for more information about these platforms.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Availability: App Store
Price: Free and $4.99 for Shazam Encore and (Shazam)RED
Phorz
