Posted: August 24th, 2009 | Author: TimConneally | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, app, ben, cab, cutie, death, for, gibbard, napster, postal, radio, rhapsody, service, spotify, store, streamfurious | 1 Comment »
Rhapsody for iPhone is going to remain a big deal until it gets approved or rejected. That’s like half the damn fun with the iTunes App store lately. But nestled in Real’s press release this morning was the mention of a Rhapsody app for Android. I’m sure I won’t be the first person on the Internet to say thank Christ.
The music industry loves subscription services like children love things that scare the shit out of them, and if we can have streaming subscription services to our mobile devices, that’s practically a reinvention of radio, and that’s how the Fuckedcompany that is the music industry will come back.
You can also think of these services as “music utility companies,” which may be upsetting to some of you…but probably not to musicians and record labels. Some people think it’s going to happen to news, too. Shit, News Corp. already said they’re going to start charging for all of their news sites…but I have digressed enough.
I don’t love Rhapsody. In fact, I fucking hate Rhapsody. I went to their download shop launch event in NYC with Ben Gibbard (guy from Death Cab for Cutie/Postal Service) and their people were literally nowhere to be found…presumably they were already drinking and watching the show. I had exactly ONE drink before they ended open bar and I had to listen to shitty acoustic versions of shitty Postal Service songs that I hated eight years ago. Then after the show ended, everyone milled around and socialized and I had no idea who I was supposed to meet with because it was so dark and loud and half the crowd was leaving.
I realize that has nothing to do with the service whatsoever, so I’m going to shift things and say when they release their Android App, I’ll give them a fair shake.
But I subscribe to Napster. I joined up for a Betanews review, figuring it was $5 and not a big deal, and I’ve stayed with it since then. It’s probably been almost five months. It’s not great, but it’s proven useful…and if they released an Android app, I’d be pretty happy.
I talked to them today, and they said that they are “looking into making the service available in as many places as possible, including the iPhone,” but they didn’t mention Android. They said they’d keep me posted. Until then, i’ll just have to completely obliterate my battery listening to StreamFurious and consuming “traditional” radio.
Posted: August 20th, 2009 | Author: TimConneally | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, app, fun, g1, Geek, international, iphone, music, national, newton, npr, old, phone, podcast, pre, pri, public, radio, time | No Comments »
It took me a while to get into podcasts…like very long…like I had an iPod for 3 years before I even considered checking any out. And this is coming from a guy who runs errands on Saturday mornings just so he can listen to Car Talk, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, and This American Life in close succession. This is coming from a guy who would subject his bandmates to old tapes of Johnny Dollar and Nero Wolfe when on tour.
So, long story short, it took me a while, but I eventually learned that I love podcasts. However, using mp3 players without their own wireless connection kind of makes the acquisition of podcasts a little bit tiresome…especially if you don’t use iTunes. So being able to get them wirelessly as soon as they come out is probably one of my top five favorite media conveniences. It’s definitely up there with Kindle whispernet shopping and Netflix Instant streaming. (I’ll think of a couple more later.)
I used DoggCatcher for a while when the app was still pretty new, but it really sucked the battery, sucked up resources, the interface was crap, and there was no easy method of content discovery. On top of all that, they started charging for the full version. It was at that point that I uninstalled it. I haven’t had a podcatcher on my phone since then.
check that out!
So I’m stoked on
Google Listen, the new Android-exclusive podcatching app in Google Labs. Like most of Google’s stuff, it’s simple and straightforward. You search for podcasts you already know, download them, subscribe to them, or stream them instantly. On 3G you can get a good chunk of a podcast listened to, but once you hit the spot where it would normally pause to buffer, it actually starts all the way over again and you can’t jump back to where you were interrupted. It’s an annoyance, but they’ll fix it…they’re Google.
You can also discover new content by browsing through recent and most popular searches, or by entering topical search terms. For example, if you don’t know exactly which show you want to listen to, but you want it to be about some current event, just type in the event or the date. It’s a good use of search. I suppose it may actually be more a search tool than a podcatcher, but I haven’t decided yet. I have only been using it for one day.
Like the title of this post says, if it’s made by Google, even as a Lab, you can expect a certain degree of awesomeness.
Scan this to download Google Listen!
Humorously, In the Listen FAQ, it asks: “Will Listen work on my iPhone, Palm Pre, or Newton?”
Jokes.