Music

Music apps can be used to make music or listen to music or podcasts. One thing’s for sure, these apps are all about tunes.

Music / Reviews
ringtone_wizard_pro

Ringtone Wizard Pro

Yesterday's App Review was about an App that allowed you to create your own custom ringtones from the built-in loops. Today I'm reviewing a similar App for people that just want to use their songs. Ringtone Wizard Pro is all about creating iPhone ringtones from your music library on your iPhone. I've reviewed similar Apps in the past, but the thing that earns Ringtone Wizard Pro a spot on BestAppSite.com is that it seems to be the most full featured of the Ringtone Apps I've seen to date. I love the fact that you can turn on a fade with a simple on/off switch. I also love the user interface with simple sliders to pick the portion of the song you want to use as your ringtone. 

It does the job

Not only does it work like the other Apps in this category with the same (Apple imposed) restriction of not being able to put the ringtone right on your iPhone from your iPhone, but in addition to allowing you to sync the ringtone back to your computer Ringtone Wizard Pro allows you to email it as well. While you'll still need to plug in at some point to get the ringtone back onto your iPhone I like the email option for sending it ahead of time. While the App definitely works as advertised I'd like a way to quick scrub to the end of your selection to hear how it fades out. Currently it seems like you have to play the whole ringtone to hear the ending. Otherwise I love this app!

You can get Ringtone Wizard Pro on sale for $0.99 here from the Ringtone Wizard Pro - Rocha Software

Music / Reviews
Ringtone_DJ

Mix Your on iPhone Ringtones with Ringtone DJ

I love custom ringtones on my iPhone. I have over 50 contacts that I've assigned their own ringtone. This helps me know at first ring whether or not it's a work call, call from a buddy or family member (I just wish that the iPhone would allow you to assign a ringtone to an entire GROUP of contacts!). With that said I found the built-in ringtones to be pretty boring. Not to mention that with all the iPhones out there when you hear one of the built-in ringtones you might immediately think it's your phone ringing. While Apple has loosened the restrictions over the years in making your own ringtones they have really only provided Garageband to literally "mix" your own tune. Sure you can use songs, but what if you want to make something unique that only you would have? While Garageband is great, it's Mac only and not dedicated to the task so there's a lot of stuff in the user interface that a user would have to learn. Ringtone DJ gives you that Garageband feel right on your iPhone. 

Make your own unique ringtones

With Ringtone DJ you can mix your own ringtones using any combination of the over 150 professionally created music samples. This way no two iPhones will ring the same way.You'll definitely know it's your iPhone ringing because it's a  that you created. You can build and sample your own mix right in the App. Although I thought that I was all set with my existing ringtones that I've made from various songs, I had a blast mixing some new ones in Ringtone DJ. Once you make your custom ringtone in the App the ringtone is saved in the app until you plug in your iPhone into your computer.

Unfortunately Apple doesn't currently allow developers access to putting the ringtone directly on the iPhone from the App. You will first have to get it from the App via iTunes and then drag it right back into iTunes and sync it to your iPhone as a ringtone. I know this sounds silly and cumbersome, but the App developer's hands are tied until Apple adds this support in the SDK.  In the meantime the process of copying it off the iPhone and then back into iTunes only takes a about a minute or less. I look forward to even more loops as the App gets updated. Right now if you want a fast, fun way to create your own iPhone ringtones, this is it!

You can get Ringtone DJ for $0.99 here from the Ringtone DJ - Endgame Studios

Music / Reviews
magic-fiddle-icon

Magic Fiddle: Your Portable Fiddle

Magic Fiddle

When I saw this application in the AppStore, I knew I had to have it. As an organist and flutist, I like to try out these “real” music games that come out on the iPhone and iPad that not just requires you to push a button at the right time (like Guitar Hero). Instead, I like games that allow me some creative spirit.

Basic Game Idea & Learning how to play

The main idea with Magic Fiddle is that you are playing, well a magic fiddle, an instrument that sounds like a violin but that you play slightly differently. There is a storybook mode that is designed to help you learn playing the fiddle and I must say that they have done a very good job at that. Not only do you learn how the application functions but also the basics of music playing, applicable to almost every instrument.

Magic Fiddle - Smule

(more…)

Music / Reviews
RingtoneDesignerPro

Ringtone Designer Pro

There are several ways to make ringtones for your iPhone not the least being right in iTunes on your computer. However, there are those of you that may want to make them while you're in the moment directly on your iPhone. This is what Ringtone Designer Pro allows you to do. While this App does let you make your own ringtones the process to actually get it on your iPhone is a little convoluted. This is not the fault of the developer as much as it is what Apple allows or in this case doesn't allow you to do in the App SDK. In other words Apple doesn't allow direct access to any developer to put ringtones directly on the iPhone. This means that after you create the ringtone you have to copy it to your computer to then copy it back to your iPhone via iTunes so that it appears as a legitimate ringtone. 

It may be faster this way

Although this process seems like a bunch of steps, it's still a little faster than most other methods. You just fire up the App, choose a song, choose the area of the song that you want to be the ringtone (up to 30 seconds worth) and then tap Save. That's all you have to do on the iPhone. Now you plug the iPhone into your computer/iTunes and save the ringtone to your computer. At this point you can just drag it (the ringtone) back into iTunes or double click on it and it will appear in your Ringtones section. Sync and it's on your iPhone as a ringtone to choose in the Sound preferences.

 

The Bottom Line

Although I wish that you could just put the ringtones you make directly into the ringtone section of your iPhone from the App, I do appreciate how simple the interface is for this App and that it works as advertised. I did get an unexplained error on one of the songs (I wonder if it's a DRM thing) I tried to convert and it did crash on me once. So there is some tightening up still to do with this App.

 

You can get Ringtone Designer Pro here from the Ringtone

(more…)

Music / Reviews
pandora

Pandora Radio on iOS 4 Rocks!

If there was ever an App that screamed "let me run in the background", it's Pandora Radio. Although I've had this App for quite a while I've never really gotten into it until now. Pandora is a like a customizable personal internet radio station. You simply identify artists that you like and Pandora will start playing songs by that artist at random and other songs that are similar that you might like. You can give a song a thumbs up to hear it and more like it again or a thumbs down to never hear it again. After a while of this type of voting Pandora will get pretty good at knowing what you like to listen too. Sounds great right? The only problem up until iOS 4 was that on the iDevices Pandora always had to run in the foreground meaning that you couldn't do anything else while it was running. That all changed this past Monday when Pandora released their latest update and Apple released iOS 4 with Multitasking for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. 

Start Pandora playing and then go do something else

Just like the iPod App, you can now start a track playing in Pandora and hit the home button to go to another App while the music keeps playing. If you double tap the Home button you'll be able to see the other apps running for quick switching and if you slide them to the right you can access the Pandora audio controls without having to return to the Pandora App. If you hear a song you like you can tap a link, to bookmark the song or have it take you to the iTunes store to search for the song automatically and all while the music keeps playing. Pandora is also a "+" App, which means it runs natively on the iPad too. 

Is Pandora really free? Well yes for most people. The App is definitely free. However, your Free account only get's you 40 hours a month of "free" listening. After that, it's either 99¢ to finish out the calendar month or you can pay an annual fee of $36. However, according to Pandora most people never hit this limit. I never even knew there was a limit until a friend of mine told me that she hit it because she listened to it non-stop at work all week long (40 hours). More details here.

Pandora Radio is now what I would consider a Must Have App for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It's FREE and available here from the Pandora

Page 2 of 3123