Tired of relying on the pop-packed radio to provide you with all of your listening pleasure? Bored of waiting for the bevy of commercials that seem to loop between each song? Ready to control your own music destiny?

Sonos is a multi room sound system that interfaces with your home wireless network and allows you to control your iTunes, Napster, Pandora, and Last.FM music libraries, enabling music playback in multiple rooms. Sonos bundles come with a controller (the CR 200) as well as two ZonePlayers, which can be controlled via the remote or your desktop/ laptop. 

Following the fingertip trend of making use of touch screen tech, Sonos has recently released an updated remote control for its home Hi-Fi heaven, the CR200. On the unfortunate side of things, it’s a pocket scorcher. Running at around £270, this upgrade has given pause to almost all Sonos owners who acquired their systems when they came with the clunky, outdated older brother of the CR200, the CR100.

Luckily for those who are caught in this sticky situation Sonos created a free app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The app allows you to perform all of the functions of the normal CR100 and 200, but at the highly likeable cost of free.

There are two types of ZonePlayers: the ZP120, with its own dedicated 110W amp, and the ZP90, which is able to connect to your home theatre’s sound system. These ZonePlayers allow you to set up zones in your house.

These zones are areas where the music will be played, and Sonos' Home Controller app allows you to wirelessly control all the zones that you have set up in your house, either individually or as a whole. So you can be listening to Virgin Radio on your living room couch, and put a little Barry White on in the bedroom with out having to dislodge your bum from its comfy couch cushion.

With the controller app, you can easily browse through a huge variety of online music libraries, podcasts, and radio stations, not to mention your own music library.

When you open up the app it will connect to your wireless network and sync with your network of ZonePlayers. You are now at the helm; you can see your entire Sonos kingdom and what each zone is playing.  You can select a zone or click the “zone group” button to control the whole of your system at once. Now you can search for songs or access your bookmarked artists as simply as scratching an itch.

With your top tune selected, you’ll be taken to the “Now Playing” screen. Here the album art, track name, and album name are displayed in a stylishly laid out screen. Happily, if someone got the Barry White hint in the bedroom and happens to be calling your name, there is a mute button that you can tap which will silence the music in the selected zone. You can also get to the list of zones, bookmark songs and view your “queue” from this screen.

In the top right of this screen there is the ever important “Music” button. This button will bring you to a hub of your music options. Presented options are: Music Library, Sonos Playlists, Radio, Line-In Sources, and System Settings. The Music Library tab will take you to your own iTunes, allowing you access to your tunes even if your computer is off! Radio allows you access to a cornucopia of international radio stations, as well as internet radio services like Pandora and LastFM.

We have found this app to be a smooth running, easy to handle alternative to the pricey, but sleek CR200 that Sonos offers. With a nice user interface and pleasing visuals, this app is a great compliment to a great home audio system.

Sonos Home Controller info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: Free

Version: 1.0

Developer: Sonos

Website/Demo: Sonos website

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I Am T-Pain is an iPhone application made by developers Smule who have ported a professional music tool called Auto-Tune to the iPhone. Let's start off with a little introduction to Auto-Tune.

It's the tool that pop musician T-Pain uses to make his voice hit the right notes in the song and imbue it with that electronic twang.

The effect has also been used by musicians such as Cher and Daft Punk in their music. While there used to be a time when being a singer loosely revolved around the ability to sing, this is no longer the case.

All that is needed is to talk into a microphone and Auto-Tune will tweak the tone of your voice up or down so that it matches the melodies of a track which in this case, is made by T-Pain.

I Am T-Pain opens up with a professionally-drawn interface resembling a stage where your singing 'talents' can be flaunted.

Added to the application is a number of T-Pain's more popular songs such as Kiss kiss, I'm on a boat and Buy you a drank. However not all of the tracks are included for free.

There are three tracks bundled with the application and if you want to hear your voice spliced over others then it will cost you the princely sum of 59p.

Once you have a track on your iPhone, the app will download the lyrics which then appear in text form on your screen so that you can record the audio. The app recommends that you use a mic for the best results and rightly so. The quality is significantly better with a headset in.

Not being massive fans of pop music, we didn't know the lyrics to any of T-Pain's songs.

This made us the perfect guinipgs for the app as we wouldn't be able to so much as try to get it right. After successfully recording a couple of awesome pop tunes we played back the song to hear our handy work. The app had indeed applied the lyrics correctly which was quite amazing.

There's an option to change key of a recorded set of lyrics and you can share your work via email, Facebook, Twitter or MySpace at the push of a button.

It's a shame that more tracks aren't included for the price but I Am T-Pain is good for a chuckle and, with it's social fun capabilities, you should get your money's worth, especially if your a T-Pain fan.

I Am T-Pain info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: £1.79

Version: 1.2

Developer: Smule

Website/Demo: I Am T-Pain website

Download I Am T-Pain

What seems like a great many years prior to the iPhone’s release, Sony Ericsson made a mobile phone that allowed you to record sounds via a built-in microphone and set them to play when your phone rang.

Truly, this was a custom ringtone. This led to odd satiations such as sitting on a quiet London bus and hearing a loud ‘moooooooo’ sound, everyone looking around in bewilderment and someone on the front row pulling out a mobile phone and saying ‘hi Mom’ followed by everyone chuckling.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could find sort of iPhone app to make custom ringtones for your beloved device? Well, this is what we were expecting when we downloaded Custom Ringtones.

The limited text on the app’s page in the App Store reads ‘Custom Ringtone Creator is an app that helps guide you thought the process of creating custom ringtones for your iPhone’.

The fib is in the part that says ‘Creator’ and the truth is in the part that says ‘guide’. It’s already enough of a letdown that the icon resembles awesome game Crayon Physics but actually isn’t anything remotely akin to it.

Essentially what someone has done is put together a series of screenshots from iTunes on a Macintosh computer and then put them together with some overlaid text, making a tutorial on how to insert a custom ringtone into your iPhone’s repertoire of jingles.

Even then the results are somewhat limited as you can’t use the mic from the iPhone and no sounds are provided with which to play. You have to pic something that’s in your iTunes library and then record a 30-second sound bite of it. The process is quite fiddly but we could relay it to you for free in this review but we feel that would be taking away from the’ developer’s’ work unfairly.

It’s kind of tricky to write 400 words about the app because it is simply a guide, the likes of which you could find in many places on the internet for free.

All we can do is tell you that the app is nothing more, nothing less than a guide and not to bother buying it unless, for some reason, you’ve developed an allergic reaction to internet browsing.

Custom Ringtones info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: 59p

Version: 1.1

Developer: Ronald Bell

Website/Demo: N/A

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If you own a Logitech (or, previously Slim Devices) Squeezebox, you'll already know how great it is for playing your music collection, internet radio and podcasts.

However, the complex interface isn't always easy to operate using the standard remote control, regardless of which Squeezebox model you own. iPeng fixes this by taking full advantage of the iPhone and iPod Touch's colour screen to allow you far easier control over playing tracks, albums, playlists, radio stations and much more.

We thought it would require a fair amount of configuration to get iPeng talking to SqueezeCenter, the server software which all Squeezeboxes use, but it located it on our network and worked straight away.

As if that wasn't impressive enough, the user interface is well designed. It's fairly complex due to all the controls available in SqueezeCenter, but help screens appear to guide you through. iPeng starts on the Now Playing screen. You can see what's currently playing, control and select your Squeezeboxes (multiple players are supported and can be synchronised to all play in time with each other), and manage the playlist.

The clever part is that Now Playing is actually three screens, and you flick between them as you would with the iPhone's multiple home screens. In the centre is the cover art of the track currently playing. Flick right and you'll see the player control page where you can choose which player you want to control, and select which players are synchronised.

Flicking left shows the current playlist where you can easily select, delete and rearrange tracks and save the playlist. This is a huge bonus as the only way to do this without iPeng is to log into SqueezeCenter's web interface.

There are three play modes, which you'll need to be aware of when choosing music to play.

The mode is shown by an icon at the top of the screen. In default mode, when you select a song, iPeng clears the current playlist and plays the whole album or playlist. In Add mode, when you select a song, only that song will be added to the current playlist. Last is the Play Next mode, which inserts the song you selected into the current playlist after the currently playing track. Again, this makes it incredibly easy to play exactly what you want with the minimum of fuss.

Browsing your music library (plus all your SqueezeCenter plugins like Last.fm) is just as easy as using the iPod or iPhone's music player, since it uses exactly the same interface. You even get the usual icons at the foot of the screen for Artists, Albums, Genres, and these can also be customised.

Tap More.. and there's a wealth of other ways to browse music, including a list of internet radio station services like Radioio plus a highly useful search facility for your local music colleciton. You can also play recently added music, a random selection, or by year.

Thanks to the great responsiveness, which makes iPeng feel just as natural as using a real remote control, iPeng is an essential purchase if you own a Squeezebox. It's far better than Logitech's own Squeezebox Duet remote, and it costs £220 less. Need we say more?

iPeng info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Cost: £5.99

Developer: Penguin Loves Music

Website/Demo: Penguin Loves Music website

Download iPeng from

Many people would have been in the position of needing lyrics to a song in a timely fashion.

There’s nothing worse than someone getting out a guitar for a drunken sing-along and either no one knows the words or people start to drunkenly mumble along during the verses.

TuneWiki can help you along by providing the lyrics to go with the song.

However, being able to provide the lyrics for pretty much any song ever uttered is but one of the app’s many endearing qualities.

For example when you open TuneWiki you’re presented with all of the tunes in your library in alphabetical order which can be viewed via artist or song title for easy searching.

Next you can load it up, just like in your iPod, except TuneWiki will give you the lyrics to the song in a karaoke-style format. The app cycles through the lyrics with a small green indicator to tell you where you in the song you are.

If you want to view track videos, the screen icon at the bottom of the interface will search YouTube for videos that feature this track. The results are laid out neatly an a matter similar to Cooliris and without having to exit the app.

If ever you’ve been bored of your music selection then you’ll be glad to learn that TuneWiki also has a radio streaming feature. You can browse stations by genre such as 60s, metal or hiphop and the app even lists the Top 500 stations.

When you’ve settled down on one in particular, TuneWiki then does its thing, not only playing the track but also providing you with the lyrics in the same karaoke format. You’ll need a decent 3G signal or Wi-Fi connection to use this feature to its full extent though, as audio streaming isn’t the sort of thing that can be done underground.

Finally, on the ‘Community’ page, you can search for songs to obtain the lyrics to any that you don’t have. In addition to providing the words, TuneWiki gives a link to buy the track on iTunes or watch videos on YouTube.

You can also leave comments on the song in sections dedicated to your native tongue which is where the community part comes into play.

All in all, TuneWiki is a very cool little app and given that it’s free, it’s an essential for music lover to have on their iPhone.

TuneWiki info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: Free

Version: 0.2.1

Developer: TuneWiki LTD  

Website/Demo: TuneWiki website

Download TuneWiki from

The ambient music scene in the past decade or so was quickly taken advantage of my genres such as drum and bass.

Albums such as LTJ Bukem’s Progression Sessions took full advantage of the awesome combination of relaxing sounds and modern beats. Whether you’re into to any ambient stuff or not, most people would agree that it can be relaxing if you’ve had a stressful day.

Air has taken the ambient music genre and turned it into an interactive music making application for the iPhone. The developers have taken inspiration from ambient musician Brian Eno, someone that many consider to be a pioneer in ambient music, though he’s perhaps better known for his time in the famous 70s band, Roxy Music.

The business end of the application is essentially a new agey type keyboard, with different portions of a crystal design representing buttons for different sounds. The sound bites are a combination of chant-like vocals or moody piano-type notes that play over a slow cacophony of hypnotic ambient audio.

In the settings menu you can adjust things like what the buttons can do. For example if all you wanted was different notes of vocal samples to play, then that can be arranged. The settings are separated into two columns, one for listening to the music and another for conducting your own. If you want to listen to the music to help relax then you can set a sleep timer so it doesn’t waste your battery while you nod off.

The notes play for a long time after you press them, the result of which is that they blend into one another in a constantly evolving melody of ridiculously relaxing proportions. While the settings menu is clear and the input screen pretty cool, an app like this is really about the quality of the sounds and Air has it nailed down.

Reading the ‘About’ page, it’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into ensuring that this app delivers ambient goodness in as effective a manner as possible. Air is an essential for anyone into ambient sounds, be it LTJ Bukem or Brian Eno.

Air info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: £1.19

Version: 1.0

Developer: Opal Limited    

Website/Demo: Air website

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Imagine the fun you have with bubble wrap. It’s a seemingly endless supply of amusement. Now add music to the mix and you have a whole lot of fun.

Tonepad is what it says on the tin: a pad full of tones. You simply press them in a random fashion (or in a stick dog shape as we did) and it creates a synthesised tune for you.

You can change the colours the bubbles appear in addition to saving your chosen composition.

You can also upload it to a central base of tunes to share it with others – when you do so you’ll be given a unique code, which your friends can use to access your tunes.

Similarly you can download the work of others to see how they’ve faired with the musical tool.

If you want to use either your own creations or those you’ve listened to as ring tones on your iPhone, you’ll need to spend a whopping 59p to upgrade to the Pro version of the app to do so.

It’s a great way to while away the time waiting for something to happen, whether it be a train arriving or a friend turning up at the pub.

Tonepad info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: Free

Developer: LoftLab

Website/Demo: Tonepad website

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Tunin.FM iCar Radio isn’t just another radio app. It’s been designed for use on the move – whether you’re cycling to work, on a train to meet friends or driving to the airport.

Tunin.fm's makers claims that it is 'the world’s first and only mobile internet radio receiver for the iPhone which has been specifically designed to be used while on the move.' And the product certainly lives up to its own hype.

The interface is kept simple and you’re greeted by a list of genres when the app fires up, meaning you can choose the one for you very quickly and easily – less faffing and more music.

Even when bandwidth is in short supply, this Tunin.fm makes use of sophisticated compression technology to ensure the user experience doesn’t suffer too much.

The only real downside is the fact that Tunin.fm does take a little while to load because of all the content it’s pulling in.

Bearing in mind the benefits you get from this free version of the app, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out just how good the paid-for version might be.

Tunin.FM iCar Radio info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: Free

Developer: Mobilaria

Website/Demo: Tunin.fm website

Download Tunin.fm iCar Radio from

PocketGuitar is all the fun of air guitar but with an iPhone. The best of both worlds surely?

PocketGuitar turns your shiny device into a mini guitar, allowing you to press and strum until you heart’s content. You also have a choice of six different types of guitar from acoustic to the ukelele.

Unless you’re a guitar-playing pro, you’re likely to spend quite a bit of time moving your fingers around pointlessly and not hearing any sound.

That may be because you’re strumming where you should be pressing and vice versa, but once you’ve worked that bit out, you’ll have lots and lots of fun.

With lots of different types of guitar and effects to choose from, it’ll be a while before you get bored from with this app.

Although we do warn you it might make friends and loved ones want to kill you as it is quite noisy. You have been warned.

PocketGuitar info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: Free

Developer: Shinya Kasatani

Website/Demo: PocketGuitar website

Download PocketGuitar from

Internet Radio Box brings the power of the radio to the iPhone. You have access to more than 30,000 radio stations at your fingertips and can search for them by location, genre and description.

The interface is fairly pleasant, with a menu that’s very easy to get to grips with. Users can pick their favourites, play recently visited stations again, or search through one of the directories on offer.

You can also customise the app’s background wallpaper and mix things up a bit by shuffling the radio stations you’re listening to by shaking your iPhone.

And if you can’t make your mind up as to which station you’re in the mood for, take some of the leg work out of the decision making by looking through the list of most popular stations or genres by pressing the browser button on the menu.

Sound quality is what you’d expect from the iPhone and even better through headphones, although the actual quality of streaming is dependent on connection strength.

Internet Radio Box info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: 59p

Developer: Eingrad

Website/Demo: N/A

Download Internet Radio Box from

Like piano apps, there are enough drumming apps on the App Store to provide even the Grand Old Duke of York’s men with one each, but DrumKit is the one with all the hype, and rightly so.

Although when you first start the application, you’re presented with an interface that comprises a full drum kit and well, that’s about it, the app will provide enough joy to keep kids satisfied for hours.

Tap on the ‘i’ and you can change the type of drumkit, with options including Classic Kit, Rock Kit, Hip Hop Kit, Techno Kit and Dance Kit.

Each has their own sound, with the techno and dance kits allowing you to create some funky electro compositions, while the Hip Hop kit features more bassy sounds.

You can also record each jamming session, by again tapping on the ‘i’ icon in the bottom right hand side of the screen.

If you think you’re a little out of time, turn the metronome on for guidance.

Although DrumKit seems more of a fun app to pass the time, with extensive options and sound effects, it could prove an indispensable tool for more serious music makers too.

DrumKit info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: £1.19

Developer: CrimsonJet

Website/Demo: CrimsonJet website

Download DrumKit from

There are a whole barrage of piano and music playing applications on the App Store, but FngerPiano is more than just some of the freestyle apps out there, because it teaches you how to play the piano.

You can choose from a massive list of different songs to play, from well-known songs, to some obscure ones, both for those right and left handed.

You’re instructed how to play the songs by green and blue markers that appear above the correct keys. Blue marks the naturals (white keys), while green signifies the sharps (black keys). Tap these in the order that they appear to produce music.

You can also play the songs in advance if you can’t remember what they sound like. To fast forward through the track to see how a certain part is played, tap the fast forward key in the top right hand corner. You can also rewind using the rewind key.

One small issue we had was more down to the iPhone’s hardware than the app itself. Because you need to hold the iPhone in two hands, your palm may obscure the speaker, resulting in sever changes in volume.

As a non-piano player, we found FingerPiano to wow friends with our musical abilities. An app that’s well worth £1.19.

FingerPiano info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: £1.19

Developer: Jumpei Wada

Website/Demo: N/A

Download FingerPiano from

Whether you’re a regular gig-goer, or you’re preparing to go to your first, Absolute Radio Live can be your companion.

The app features the same functionality as the free version of Absolute Radio, with live radio streaming of the radio station and information on all of the radio shows, but there are some handy extras too.

Firstly, you can view videos of bands and acts playing live, with interviews too, to catch up on all your favourite musicians.

Flick to the Photos tab, where you can see photos of every festival in the UK, listed by the event name and year.

If you’re as obsessed by Twitter as we are, you can view every tweet that mentions a band or music act in the Tweets tab. Smart, huh?

If you’re planning your next gig experience, Absolute Radio Live Amp also includes an events calendar so you can keep up to date with what’s going on around you, and check out whether there are any festivals worth going to.

It’s a shame that this doesn’t include all gigs, only festivals and fully-hyped gigs, such as U2 and Coldplay at Wembley, nor can you enter the gigs into your calendar, but these are updates that we hope come later.

Absolute Radio Live Amp info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: 59p

Developer: Absolute Radio

Website/Demo: Absolute Radio website

Download Absolute Radio Live Amp from

There's a whole lot of apps in the music category of the App Store but not many are as original as Bebot.

The opening page reads 'makes real robot sounds' which is something of vagary. We're not professors in robotics but we're pretty confident that different robots make a whole lot of different sounds.

The sounds that the robot makes are very much reminiscent of the polyphonic synthesisers of the 70s, rather than modern robots.

The main page consists of two things. The first is a cute little robot, the likes of which you might expect to see on cartoon series, The Jetsons, except that it's dressed in a tuxedo and bow tie and standing on a stage in a spot light. The second thing aside from this cutely comical scene is a button to open the menu, but more on that in a moment.

The basic premise for making sounds using the app consists of pressing any location on the screen with the robot standing on stage. Pressing different parts of the screen will make different noises with a smooth gradient of notes and frequency from low to high.

The bottom left hand side of the screen as the lowest and the top right the highest. You can tap the screen for one quick note or hold a finger on the screen for a longer note. Moving your finger along the screen quickly can make short sharp burst of sound from low to high or vice verser.

Bebot is also a multi-touch app so you can hold up to three notes simultaneously while making more with a fourth finger which beings a high level of diversity to the noises it can make.

As you play around with the notes, the robot animates, leaning backwards or forwards and making appropriates shapes with his mouthpiece so as to appear as though it's the source of the noise.

In the menu screen you can change settings such as the base sound and there's a surprising level of customisation that can be applied to the scale and other effects such as delays.

It's safe to say that Bebot is one of the silliest synthesisers that we've ever encounter but despite its boarder-line ridiculous premise, Bebot is incredibly dynamic and a hell of a lot of fun.

Bebot info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Cost: £1.19        

Version: 1.5

Developer: Normalware    

Website/Demo: Normalware website

Download Bebot review from

Spotify is a music streaming service that's attracted a lot of attention recently. First because, unlike sevices such as Last.FM, it has a search function that lets you search and play specific tracks from its library of almost 4 million. And second because it has just taken the service mobile with applications for Android and the iPhone.

Untethering the music from the desktop PC makes Spotify massively more appealing - but it comes at a price. To use the mobile Spotify iPhone app you need to signed up to the Spotify Premium service which costs £10 per month. When you stop paying the subscription, the app stops working.

The desktop Spotify app attracted plaudits for its speed and quality - we found its streaming is actually more responsive than using iTunes from the hard disk. So how does the mobile version compare?

Well initial impressions weren't great. We couldn't connect at all via the office wi-fi network (getting an Error 117) because the app doesn't support proxy connections. And our experience of streaming music over 3G was, er, spotty - in central London we found it almost unlistenable because songs kept pausing unexpectedly.

To be fair, Spotify seem aware of the bandwidth issues - and have temporarily stopped new subscribers joining up to the free, ad-supported service without invitations. And when we did get a decent 3G signal out of O2 - usually in the morning - the app worked as advertised, making it a highly responsive object of sheer musical joy.

Thankfully, the other key feature of the Spotify app is the ability to listen to music offline. To do this you need to have a clear wi-fi connection rather than 3G and then simply select the playlists you want to take offline.

The songs are then transferred to the iPhone for high-quality, dropout-free listening wherever you are. Up to 3,333 tracks can be stored in this fashion - though we're not sure in what sound format. The sound quality is fine, although noticeably not as wonderful as it is when streamed in the desktop app's high bitrate (320kb/s Ogg Vobis) format.

One key difference between Spotify and the iPhone's built-in music player is that Spotify won't play in the background while you do other things on the handset. If you get an incoming call the app will quit and then restart when you hang up - but it won't resume playing the interrupted song. Again this a limitation imposed by Apple rather than Spotify, but it is annoying nonetheless.

Overall, then, the Spotify iPhone app is a marvellous download for music lovers with two key caveats: 3G bandwidth and price. O2's network makes the 3G streaming pointless during peak times and the £10 per month subscription fee will deter many used to BitTorrent prices.

But we suspect that the miracle of having millions of high-quality, easy-to-access and up-to-the-minute tunes on tap wherever could catapult Spotify onto the road to profitability...

Spotify info

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Platform: Apple iPhone

Version: 0.3.19

Cost: Free

Developer: Spotify

Website/Demo: Spotify iPhone Blog

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When you're in the business of reviewing iPhone applications as part of your profession, you get to see a fair few of them. However such is the iPhone's awesomeness that even after seeing so many you can still be surprised with what comes up in the App Store.

Today we're looking at ClearTune, a chromatic tuner that will help you tune any instrument that can hold a tone long enough for the iPhone's built in mic to allow the app to read it.

The first thing you notice about ClearTune is the interface. It's extremely well-drawn and highly functional. One glance at it and you know exactly what it is you're looking at.

The wheel has musical notes written on it that spin around to a pointer at the top and then hold the position of the note being played into the microphone. When the dial hits a true note, the pointer turns green so you know you're in business. While the initial functionality is immediately obvious, there are some subtle buttons on the interface that bring some features to the table.

For example, a small padlock button at the bottom of the screen makes the dial only turn when a full note is hit rather than flitting about in between. On the right-hand side is a tuning fork symbol that means that the dial reads out the note being played into the microphone. On the left-hand side is a pitch-pipe symbol that allows the app to do the opposite.

You can select any note on the dial, which can then be played over nine octaves . The app displays the frequency (measured in hertz or Hz) as well as the note being played on the dial.

After having our ears hurt by an extremely high pitched C#, we decided to test the app a bit. For this we enlisted the aid of a Takamine G530S, freshly de-tuned so that ClearTune could work its magic. After tuning the guitar up to what the app assured us were correct and full notes, we stuck an E cord to see how she sounded. Low and behold, it was perfect tuning indeed.

During the process the note wheel can be a bit skittish but on the whole it did a damned fine job. This is an app that's definitely worth a look for anyone in the habit of using a tuner or in need of a pitch pipe.

Cleartune info

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Platform: Apple iPhone

Version: 1.3.7

Cost: £2.39

Developer: Nitcount

Website/Demo: The Cleartune website

The advent of MP3 downloads and peer-to-peer file-sharing has inflicted considerable damage to the global music industry.

There was once a time where record shops up and down the country would be inundated with eager punters whenever a major new album or single was available, but these days physical sales count for a much smaller part of the overall picture.

As a result, the record charts have lost a little of their lustre; the hap-hazard manner in which we obtain our music means we’re unlikely to see another Oasis vs. Blur spectacle (although, on a more positive note, it also means we might avoid having Bryan Adams at number for weeks on end). Still, for those of you that still have a healthy interest in the “hit parade”, the Official UK Charts app for your iPhone or iPod Touch might be of interest.

The app is divided into five different sections. As well as the top 40 albums and singles, you can view the best-selling mobile downloads as well as new albums and singles that are being released this week.

This information on its own isn’t really that big a deal – after all, there are countless websites that will give you the same data completely free of charge – but thankfully there’s a little more to this app than just showing you the top 40.

Selecting a song will open up a sub-menu where you can view the music video (where one is included), purchase or preview the track via iTunes or visit the artist’s official website.

All of this additional functionality is pleasing, but you have to ask yourself if it’s worth paying good money for. The music videos themselves are merely YouTube links and the developer hasn’t had much hard work to do elsewhere, either; the amount of effort required to link to iTunes and the artist’s website isn’t exactly back-braking.

Despite this, there are still issues with the way this app functions. We noticed that many video links were broken (presumably because the video had been removed from YouTube), and because all of the links within the program are external, you’ll find yourself constantly re-launching it because clicking on any of the choices opens up the Safari Browser, closing Official UK Charts in the process.

While this app offers a quick an easy way to keep track of the movers and shakers of the pop music world, the developer has some cheek charging £1.79 for it. This should be a complimentary download because it doesn’t really offer anything that you can’t get for free online – aside from the minor element of convenience.

Official UK Charts info

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Platform: Apple iPhone

Version: 1.1.1

Cost: £1.79

Developer: The Official Charts Company

Website/Demo: Official Charts website

Download Official UK Charts from

There are teams of individuals out there that would love to have a drum kit in their home but just don't have the space.

It's either that and/or there are too many neighbors within earshot that would kick the down your door to stop the infernal racket of you trying to learn the intricacies of 'Sweet Child of Mine' at 3am in the morning on a school night.

Electronic drum kits are a viable substitute but they can be expensive. Not any more though. Now you can enjoy the delights of drumming on your iPhone's touchscreen with your earphones plugged in and your neighbors oblivious.

BeatBox Live provides a host of different drums kits too. The pads are laid out grids of twelve with three across and four down. Each pad has a different sound and they combine together to form categories such as 'hip-hop' or 'indie'.

Before selecting a particular kit, BeatBox Live provides you with the option of selecting one of two loops. Each 'loop' comprises of six different samples which you can select to play continually by toggling one of the buttons along the top.

Despite being able to toggle multiple buttons simultaneously you can only get your boogie on to one sample at a time. There is pretty much one two loops for each set of drums but having them available for all the different kits lets you mix and match a little between the different styles of music in the loops and the different drum sets.

Having twelve drums for each style of music means that the quality and relevance of the sounds are inevitably a little watered down. For example, the hip-hop drums have a few that sound very similar and a sort of random poorly emulated scratchy sound that is very difficult to incorporate in any sort of believable fashion.

All in all though the app is a lot of fun and does provide a good variation of background music and drum sounds to mess around with. At just £0.59 it shouldn't take a genius to figure out that this is not a serious bit of audio software and more a funny way to mess around with some cliché-sounding beats.

It's particularly fun to mess around with if you're with a friend that also has the app as you're then primed for the ultimate nerdy jamming session.

BeatBox Live info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Price: 59p

Developer: Milky Apps

Website/Demo: BeatBox Live website

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We've all been in those annoying situations where you want to know the name of a track that you've heard somewhere, but only a few of the lyrics of the catchy chorus have stuck in your mind. Also, if ever you've found yourself in a situation with potential for a bit of a singalong but you need the words, LyricFind will help you there too.

We started off with popular singalong classic, Under The Bridge by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Entering the lyrics 'drew some blood' from the anthem brought up quite a few hits upon tapping the search button, but the Chilli's track turned up in the top two results. Underneath the track title was a snippet of the lyrics but sadly when we selected the track LyricFind told us that it didn't have any lyrics available for this song.

If these were the only words you could remember and wanted to know the name of the track then you'd be in something of a pickle as there were so many other hits with the same lyrics. Likewise, any hopes of a singalong would be dashed as no lyrics where provided.

We had a similar experience with a few other tracks from bands such as Smashing Pumpkins and Green Day. When we tried 'Moving to New York' by The Wombats we got everything from Vengaboys to Rancid in the hits but searching for either the lyrics or the track title brought back no results of tracks by the popular indie band.

On occasion though the app did pull through. Searching for 'Alter bridge' brought up a quick synopsis of the band and a decent list of songs with lyrics. Overall it seemed really down to pot luck as to whether the app would have what you lyrics we were looking for.

To flesh out the feature list a little you can also browse songs by either 'top lyrics' or 'top artists'. At the time of writing, the former showed pop songs by artists that you might expect to see imitated with varying degrees of success on the X-Factor, while the latter sorts those top tracks into an artist by artist format. If you're looking for pop songs then LyricFind might help you out but for everything else, the sparsely populated lists of lyrics makes it none too reliable.

LyricFind info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Price: £2.39

Version: 1.1

Developer: LyricFind

Website/Demo: The LyricFind website

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Scratching is a technique formulated by early hip-hop DJs to add some style to a set. It involves moving a record back and forth under the needle, often while using a crossfader to alter the effect further.

A fine art has been made out of the technique, which has evolved into increasingly technical variations of its humble roots. Now you can practice your scratching without shelling out for expensive decks or a record collection, as MixMeister Scratch brings the turntables to your iPhone.

The first screen that you're greeted with upon opening up the app is the playlist. The playlist isn't particularly comprehensive, offering just ten samples for you to have your wicked way with. On the plus side, the samples do provide a wide variety of sounds, from a traditional hip-hop beat to an air raid siren. Once a sample has finished it will loop back to the beginning and play again.

Because the iPhone first has to register your touch on its screen and then send the info of your finger's movement to the app for processing, there is a slight delay in the scratch. However, it is very minimal so you only really notice it when scratching particularly quickly. The effect is very believable and sounds just like the real thing.

In addition to the imitation turntable providing its scratching delights, a few visual readouts have been supplied which make the aesthetics a little more interesting. There an imitation LED output reader for the left and right speakers and the center of the vinyl has been turned into a digital display that gives you the time details of the sample that's currently playing.

There's also an 'I' button that kicks in Safari on the MixMeister Scratch website, where we were expecting to see some info on the particular samples. However it actually opens the homepage and at the time of writing, none of the images on the website seemed to work in Safari.

MixMeister Scratch is a free application and this is something that is reflected in the limited functionality of the app. However, even if it was a paid app and provided more samples and perhaps something to add some variation to the scratching, it's a novelty that wares off very quickly. It's good for quick chuckle for anyone interested in scratching but if you're looking for long term entertainment then you'd be best to search elsewhere.

Mixmeister Scratch info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Price: Free

Version: 1.2

Developer: Mixmeister Technology

Website/Demo: The official Mixmeister Scratch website

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You may not suffer from the same, but we’re often in stressful situations whenever we find ourselves sucked into our iPhones – tube trains, waiting in pubs for absent friends as strangers look on with half sympathetic glances and the like. There are a number of apps on the App Store that can relieve a bit of the tension in the room during these moments, and Binaural Beats is a freebie example.

Although you may think of whale songs or the crashing of waves when it comes to relaxation noises, the most important part of any relaxation app worth its salt is actually something else.

Binaural Beats does supply whale song, crashing waves and the sound of crickets, but underneath that is a tone in each ear, which is what really affects your sleep/relaxation drive, if you will. Lower tones, with similar pitches in each ear, make you sleepy while a wide disparity between the frequencies in each ear will make you feel more alert. Or at least that’s the idea.

Binaural Beats includes seven different preset soundscapes, varying in their aims from the ‘Headache Killer’ to ‘Deep Meditiation’ and on to ‘Study Aid’. However, you can also add your own presets.

Each preset is formed of three different sonic layers: two different ambient background noises and the ‘Binaural Beats’, the drones that lie underneath these two layers. Having too totally separate ambient layers allows for some pretty odd combinations. How about a Nightingale singing over the sound of a dolphin? Thought not.

The strange thing is, the list of options for each of these layers isn’t the same, but they do intersect each other, making you wonder why all the sounds aren’t in both the lists. Unfortunately, these sounds aren’t of an entirely consistent quality, and many of them don’t seem all that well suited to relaxing.

It’s not that birdsong, for example, shouldn’t be conducive to a pre-snooze chill-out, but that here, it’s a bit too trebly and harsh sounding to be all that effective. With relaxing soundscapes relying on the low end of the frequency spectrum, the piercing squawk of a tropical bird can take you out of that relaxing zone.

As such, while Binaural Beats is a decent place to start off for those that are new to this type of app, we’d recommend moving fairly swiftly onto a higher quality paid alternative if you find it useful. It’s a pity because, aside from the sibilant samples, Binaural Beats offers most of the features of its paid-for rivals.

Binaural Beats info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Price: Free

Version: 1.6

Developer: Rockifone

Website/Demo: Rockifone website

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If you search for the word 'chords' in the app store you'll find apps of varying prices that promise to turn you into the next Joe Satriani.

Not many of them are free though, so we thought we'd find out if you can reach guitar godhood on the cheap.

TouchChords' opening screen presents a simple picture tutorial . It shows you the various modes that the app's capable of in a clearly illustrated way. Once you're into the main app the clear and attractive illustrations continue. The chords are laid out in what essentially a prettier version of tablature.

If you're having trouble getting your head around which digit is used to fret which string, an 'r' button at the top right hand side brings up a hand positioned in such as way as to shape the chord. One tap will make the hand appear opaquely  so you can still see the chord diagram underneath while another tap makes the hand appear in a solid picture.

When looking at a fretboard, if you cant see the head it can be tricky to tell which fret to start at. To remedy this, TouchChords labels a relevant fret such as the second or fifth depending on the chord, helping you to locate your starting fret. In addition to this, you can zoom out to see the entire fretboard with the chord diagram still in place. If you're fretting a chord on your guitar but unsure if it's right or not, pressing the speaker icon will sound the chord for you.

The 'T' button rotates the fretboard to a landscape view and makes it fullscreen, essentially mimicking that of a real guitar. This lets you practice your chord shapes as if it were a real fretboard and will sound the chord when your fingers are in the correct positions.

However it doesn't account for accidentally dead-noting other strings making it not the most realistic way to practice. Also a lot of beginners will use a grip of a string under a fingertip as leverage to get their next finger into position and the iPhone's slick screen doesn't facilitate this process.

The real downside of the app though is that is has so few chords. Only the basics are listed. On the plus side is does show chord progressions such as blues in various keys. Despite the limited depth, TouchChords is free and easy to use which makes it well worth a shot for beginners looking to nail the basic chord shapes.

TouchChords info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Price: Free

Developer: Curious Brain

Website/Demo: Curious Brain website

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The iPhone doesn’t pack an FM radio, but that’s no problem when it’s always connected to the web.

The 95.8 Capital FM app lets it tap into a live stream of broadcasts, and in higher quality than FM too. On the surface, it’s the best of both worlds.

As well as dishing up live audio, it’ll also tell you which show’s currently on air, which is coming up next, as well as details of other promotions the station’s running.

But it doesn’t stop there. The Capital FM app can also tune into other stations, as long as they’re run by Capital FM’s parent company, Global Radio.

On top of offering lists of stations by location or type of music, the app also uses the iPhone’s GPS abilities to show feeds that’re nearby. It’s a handy way of finding new stations while roaming the country, but it’s pretty much the only advanced feature on offer.

Don’t be mistaken: this is a handy app, and useful for whiling away spare minutes, especially as it’ll work using Wi-Fi or 3G connections, but there’s a distinct lack of next-gen features on show.

For instance, while Capital FM asks listeners to text in to its hosts and DJs, you’ll still need to exit the app to do so, stopping listening in the process. It’d be simple for Capital to add a messaging option, letting listeners send messages, photos or voice clips to the station, all while listening through the iPhone.

What we’re saying is this is a basic radio app, nothing more, nothing less. It’s the content that should draw you in, and luckily there’s plenty of it. Thanks to Capital’s quality hosts and music you’ll end up listening for hours. At least until the iPhone’s battery runs dry. In our test that’s around the two hour mark.

95.8 Capital FM info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Price: Free

Version: 1.21

Developer: GCap Media

Website/Demo: GCap Media website

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Sound generators are a common app on the iPhone, but few are as fully featured as Ambiance.

It’s an app designed to lull you to sleep with soothing noises, or to block out the hubbub of a noisy environment with something more calming.

And you know what? It works. Setting Ambiance up to send you to sleep using the sound of falling rain or gusting winds really works. There’s a timer to make sure your phone isn’t whirring away all night too, and the choice of sounds on offer is simply staggering.

Ambiance offers 500 sound effects, but unlike some noise-makers you simply download the ear-stuffing effects that take your fancy, rather than wasting space by having them all pre-installed.

You can even mix two sounds together to create unique ambient noises. For instance, city sounds and falling rain go well together, with Ambience letting you tweak the levels of each to suit your sensibilities.

And then there’s the graphics. Even though Ambiance is an app designed to be listened to rather than gawped at, real care and attention has been lavished on its design. From images illustrating sound effects to custom backgrounds, made from images in your own camera library, it’s a beautiful app and a real pleasure to use.

So is it worth it? After all, you could load your iPhone with MP3s of ambient noise and avoid the app altogether. But Ambiance offers so much more than the simple sounds it’d be a crime not to install it. Developers and iPhone owners alike should take note: Ambiance is a lesson in a simple job done incredibly well.

Ambiance info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Price: 59p

Version: 2.1

Developer: Urban Apps

Website/Demo: Urban Apps website

Buy Ambiance at

No matter how crowded it gets, there are some applications that we will never delete from the iPhone even though if we only use them once in a blue moon.

An example of this almost since launch day has been Shazam, a free way to identify songs just by holding your handset toward a source of music.  

Released around the same time, Midomi appeared on the scene claiming to offer the same functionality as well as the option to hum or sing the song yourself and have it identified. Unfortunately, it just couldn't compete with Shazam's implementation, identifying songs more slowly and less successfully.

But like a phoenix from the flames, Midomi is reborn in 2.0 form with overhauls all round but most controversially the addition of a not insignificant pricetag. Have the makers added enough to the package to convert Shazam diehards to paid-up customers?

The app opens speedily with an interface dominated by one huge orange button, to be tapped once you've run into an unfamiliar tune. A quick tap reveals a smoothly animated circle with the top segment devoted to a volume indicator.

The first change from Shazam here is that you can tap again to perform the analysis with data recorded so far, useful if you've just caught the end of a track, it has suddenly been drowned out or if you're just in a hurry. The result is delivered clearly and with all the links to iTunes, YouYube and the like that you'd expect.

But importantly, you can tap on a small button next to the title and it will playback it's own reference clip of the song so that you can confirm its accuracy. This is without a doubt superior to having to trawl back to YouTube and its ever decreasing quantity of official music videos. One massive point for Midomi here.

It still won't get the song in challenging environments but Midomi is definitely the better and more powerful option- once you have it, you will bid Shazam a respectful farewell. But is it three pounds more powerful?  If you've a heavy user or find yourself getting frustrated with the ad-supported but free alternative then it might just be.

Midomi info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Price: £2.99

Developer: Melodis Corp

Website/Demo: Midomi website

Buy Midomi from

Whether you’re a musician or a DJ, Beats could be the app you’ve been looking for. Primarily it’s a metronome and tempo finder, but also has a one-octave piano so you can check the key of a song.

There’s no doubt that Beats has one of the slickest interfaces we’ve seen. It’s divided into three sections, with the beats per minute (bpm) readout at the top, a row of buttons across the middle and the controls at the bottom.

On the tempo screen, you’ll find a large Tap button. Each time you tap, a pair of lights flashes to indicate you’ve tapped. The display at the top shows the tempo, and becomes more accurate the more you tap. This lets you check the tempo of any song, whether playing on your iPhone or iPod Touch, or on another system.

Once you’ve got your tempo, you can check it’s right by tapping the metronome button. This loads the speed set on the tempo screen, and you can listen to make sure it’s in time with the track. There are push and pull controls to shift the beat forwards or backwards to match the rhythm.

Thanks to a large dial, you can finely adjust the metronome’s tempo to 1/10th of a bpm, and each rotation of the dial adds or subtracts 20bpm. The play/pause button in the centre of the dial flashes with every beat, but the sound that’s played through the speaker or headphones is far more useful.

On the Settings screen you can change the metronome rhythm to a plain beat, a beat with an accent to signify the beginning of each bar, duple or triplet. It’s also possible to change the tone from a click to Roland 808, 909 or a live-sounding drum kit. Three time signatures are supported: 2/4, ¾ and 4/4, but it’s a shame that 6/8 is missing.

The final menu option is the keyboard, which can be set to a piano or synth sound. On the keyboard screen, tapping a note shows the key of the song at the top, along with three other keys that the song will mix with. You can set these to show minor or major keys, and you can shift the keyboard’s pitch up or down one complete octave.

With a great interface, a highly usable metronome and an accurate beat finder, Bjango Beats is an essential app for any musician or DJ.

Bjango Beats info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Price: £1.19

Developer: Bjango

Website/Demo: Bjango website

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Thought ringtones and MP3s through tiny speakers were the most annoying noises a mobile could make? Think again. This is the world’s first mobile instrument: letting you play the iPhone like, you guessed it, an Ocarina.

The Ocarina app senses your huffs and puffs into the iPhone’s microphone, gauges them by strength and translates them into musical notes. Hold down different button combos using the iPhone’s screen, and you can change the note that’s blasted out.

In practice, it’s startlingly easy to use. The Ocarina app is sensitive and smart, registering weak breaths as well as thundering gusts of gob-wind. Give your Ocarina a name, and it’ll also broadcast your warbles onto the web.

Tap into its globe section, and you’ll see what others are playing all around the world. It’s a technical marvel, as notes float up from wannabe mobile musicians all over the world, forming a cacophony of cellular noise. In many ways, it’s beautiful, but in many more, it’s simply annoying.

The problem with Ocarina isn’t the technicalities behind it. Yes, it’s very clever, and accurate, and in the right hands it’s even tuneful. But that’s where it falls down: those right hands are incredibly rare.

Websites have popped up offering Ocarina sheet music, in a vain attempt to bring some order to the world of mobile music-making. It’s a clear symptom of an app that needs more work to make it finger-friendly for everyone.

In short, if you can already play an Ocarina, this is a great app. But if you can already plan an Ocarina, why would you buy it? The reality is that you’re more likely to buy the app in the hopes of becoming a champion Ocarina player, but we’ve got news for you: that’s not going to happen.

You’ll find yourself frustrated, with earache, and out of breath. Play Ocarina anywhere near another human being, and you’re likely to find yourself injured too.

Highly annoying, and since it’s not free, a complete waste of money. If you’re desperate to make your iPhone sing a new tune, download a few tracks from the iTunes music store instead. Your ears, and those of everyone around, will thank you.

Ocarina info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch

Price: 59p

Version: 1.3.1

Developer: Smule

Website/Demo: Ocarina website

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Wannabe superstar DJs will flock to Surface DJ. It’s a fun, fast and uncomplicated way to crank out tunes. The only problem? Those tunes aren’t really your own.

Tap into SurfaceDJ and you’ll find a list of “songs”. Except what they really are is a selection of samples. To kick the song off, you simply drag them into the centre of the screen. The higher up the screen you place them, the louder they’ll be.

Add enough of them, and you’ll form the “song”. But it’s not really a song, it’s just a collection of samples. The only real control you have is over the volume of each sample, and how many you use at once.

Think of this more as an arrangement app. You can alter slight nuances of a song, discard elements you dislike, or beef up the parts that get your feet tapping, but at its heart, no matter how much tweaking and tuning you do, each song will still sound basically the same.

The answer? Write your own “song”. Except here too, Surface DJ falls down. Building your own composition involves choosing loops from a pre-provided library. There are more than 40 available, including drums, guitars, synths and cymbals. Once they’re in place you’re free to arrange them as you see fit. But it’s still not your song, it’s simply a bundle of pre-recorded bleeps, beats or guitar hooks.

What’s more, building those songs is an awkward affair. SurfaceDJ uses a drag and drop method, but it’s far from reliable, and sample “chips” often fly to the side of the screen, rather than following the path of your finger.

Don’t be mistaken: SurfaceDJ is fun. It’ll pass the time, and for the price there’s plenty of variation amongst the pre-installed samples. But for anyone looking for real musical creativity? You’re best looking elsewhere.

Consider the range of iPhone instruments available. From pianos to guitars and synthesisers. They’ll all offer more flexibility than SurfaceDJ, which is in essence, nothing more than a glorified mix and match game.

SurfaceDJ info

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Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Price: £1.19

Version: 1.6.2

Developer: Vectorform

Website/Demo: SurfaceDJ website

Buy Surface DJ from

Bloom is a hard app to pin down to a specific genre, combining music and art.

The simple interface, part developed by Brian Eno, is a blank screen on which you create bubbles by tapping the display. As you tap, a note rings out, and fades as the bubble expands and becomes transparent. These taps build up, repeat and mutate to give you a bizarre, new-age music, of sorts.

When you launch the app you are given two options; create or listen. If you opt for listen you will be given a randomly created Bloom, which you can alter as you please. Opting for create gives you a blank slate. There's little choice between the two, because it's so easy to get started.

It's not a game, as there's no objective. It's not really a synthesizer, either, as there's no way to choose actual notes or control tempo or beat. it's somewhere between the two, some sort of ambient, chill-out app. It's all temporary, too, as it loops indefinitely and cannot be recorded.

It's wonderful to listen to, especially when reading. As it mutates it doesn't get boring or annoying, it just alters gradually until there's nothing left of your original input.

Tap the bottom-right of the screen and you're taken to the settings page. There's a simple volume slider, as well as a shake to clear option which lets you start from a clean slate with a jiggle of the wrist. Under this there's a delay button which sets how long the gap is before a tapped note is repeated; ramp it up to the limit and the delay will be measured in tens of seconds, lower it and each note will play every few seconds.

Three buttons rest right at the bottom of the screen. Listen will create a new, random Bloom. Freeze will set the current Bloom in concrete and keep looping it, and clear will wipe the Bloom.

Controls is just one of the three tabs available. About is a simple information screen, and Mood lets you choose from nine pre-created sets of noises. Each has a different feel, and you can set the app to slowly run through them automatically.

Usually, we like our apps to be functional, but this is an exception. Is it a work of art, like Eno's usual output? It's hard to say, but it makes wonderful background sounds and it's superb fun. Of course, you can't save a sound you like, but that's all part of the appeal. Our only gripe is the high price.

Bloom info

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Platform: iPhone

Price: £2.39

Developer: Opal Limited

Website/Demo: N/A

Buy Bloom from

Shazam has been created to tackle those pesky moments when you hear a song that you like and want to know what it’s called so you can download it legally from iTunes.

Using Shazam is a simple matter of running the app, pressing the ‘tag’ button and holding your iPhone within microphone shot of the speakers playing the tune. A screen with a cool animation of a vinyl that has been turned into a circular loading bar will then appear to let you know that Shazam is analyzing the track. The app then pings the Shazam servers with the recorded data and will tell you the track name, album name that it’s from and of course, name of the band or musician that made it.

An app such as this would not be complete without the mandatory feature of being able to tweet about the track via the push of a button. Shazam also provides a link to the tracks YouTube video.

The limitation of Shazam is that it’s only for pre-recorded music so if you were thinking humming tunelessly into your microphone, you should save the ears of those around you instead. Because the recording is taken through the mic, you’ll need to make sure its clear when you’re Shazzaming away.

We tested Shazam on a few tracks of varying degrees of obscurity to really run it through its paces. We fired Alter Bridge which was no challenge for the app. Changing music types to the trippy beats of Flying Lotus initially proved successful but playing some early demo tapes brought us the ‘unrecognised’ screen. Likewise, solo steel string guitar genius Antoine DuFour was too little known for Shazam which didn’t recognise any of his tracks that we played.

That Shazam had Flying Lotus in its data banks shows that it’s not just mainstream music that it recognises. However, we also proved that it didn’t have every song going either. If the radio starts playing a tune and you like the sound of it then it’s very likely that Shazam will pull through. If you’re out in a bar or other venue then you may not get your track.

Considering its free and simple to use, Shazam is worth the few megabytes of space that it will take up on your iPhone.

Shazam info

Ease of use:
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Overall

Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Price: Free

Developer: Shazam Entertainment Ltd

Website/Demo: Shazam website

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One of the great oversights of the iPhone's feature list up to this point has been an FM tuner, but don't worry because the handset can actually go one step further thanks to Wunder Radio. The wonderfully named app does indeed come from Germany but it offers you a truly global array of music stations to listen to.

In simple terms Wunder Radio is a web radio client that supports virtually all streaming formats including ASX, M3U, PLS and RTSP. Consequently a near limitless array of stations is available (Wunder Radio lists 30,000+) including all BBC radio broadcasts - giving you access to live sports commentaries, international and local news, music and current affairs. More eclectically, the likes of Sirius radio and even some police scanners are just a search away.

Favourite stations can be neatly bookmarked while upgrades to the app since it was first launched have added GPS to generate lists of local stations and Safari web browser integration - so surfing can be done inside the app, and tweets can even be posted to your Twitter profile.

Shortfalls in Wunder Radio largely come down to limitations of the iPhone itself. Namely the lack of handset multitasking means when you exit the app the stream is forced to stop. This is also something that Apple's much promoted push notification system will do little to help. That said, Wunder Radio does its best and will continue to play when the screen is locked so it is easy to pocket your iPhone and continue to enjoy your broadcast.

Another caveat that comes from the iPhone itself is how Wunder Radio affects battery life. Surfing over Wi-Fi will dissipate a full charge in around 6 hours while 3G (some streams can be maintained over EDGE since low quality settings are available) will typically cut this to less than 5 hours. So if web radio does appeal then you best keep a charger handy.

Finally, how well Wunder Radio performs depends largely on the quality of signal available to you. Most streams are fairly reliable but if you live or work in a poor signal area and have limited access to Wi-Fi you won't be getting the best from the service.

Despite all this Wunder Radio is a revelation. It has collected numerous awards since it first appeared and the latest version (1.7) is the best to date. One of the few apps which not only enhances your iPhone but adds an entirely new level of functionality, it comes heartily recommended.

Wunder Radio Info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Price: £3.99

Developer: Weather Underground

Website/Demo: The Wunder Radio website

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Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen. Always on the right chords and always in tune. Why? Some would say natural irrepressible talent.  We would say roadies and a lot of practice. However, with Guitar Toolkit you can gain (nearly) all these benefits while barely lifting a finger.

In an age of convergence, Guitar Toolkit is a brilliant example of how technology can take a bag's worth of tools and plonk them into the palm on your hand. Alongside the perfect tuner, you'll find a metronome, extensive chord charts and a great tool that plots seemingly unlimited scales onto the virtual fretboard.  In each case, the design is intuitive and logical while powerful options let you switch things up. Left-handed? No problem. Playing a 12 string with alternate tunings? You've got 47 to choose from (I counted). It even accommodates the moody bassists among you.

So where does it fall short? Well, largely in the places that you'd expect. Without the ability to connect a guitar and tune through the cable, you aren't going to be using this with your electric at gigs anytime soon. Meanwhile, some may resent shelling out for information that's freely available online and it's not an unfair point. At £5.99, this sits toward the premium end of the App Store and must be a sales victim of the ultra-low price equilibrium currently plaguing developers.  

However, if you looked for a device that did all this for you pre-iPhone, you can bet it would have set you back a lot more that that and then of course, you'd have to contend with the problem that no such thing existed.

Kindly, Agile Partners has also catered for those with the first gen iPod Touch.  Without microphone, the chromatic tuner is redundant and instead, it's replaced with the ability to tune by ear against properly calibrated reference tones.  Considering this sets you up in good stead to tune independently for the rest of your life and this "Lite" version comes in at £1.50 less, some would call this a sneaky bargain.

After all, you can tune a man's guitar and he'll play for a week but if you teach a man to tune, he'll be rocking forever. All in all, it's difficult not to recommend Guitar Toolkit, especially for beginners, amateurs and those looking to learn more about their instrument.

With such advantages, it almost feels a little unfair to compare with stars of yesteryear; if they'd had an iPhone in their back pockets, who knows what they might have achieved.

Guitar Toolkit Info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Price: £5.99

Developer: Agile Partners

Website/Demo: World View website

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In recent years, the shift away from the electronic in popular music and the burgeoning popularity of hit games such as Guitar Hero have seen a surge in the guitar’s popularity. Now you never have to leave yours at home, thanks to iShred LE. The opening screen is suitably rock-tastic, with the Stratocaster of the opening logo zoomed in on so it becomes the app’s actual interface.

If your music theory isn’t up to scratch, the first time you look at iShred LE it can seem a bit befuddling. Along the top is a collection of chords, which is associated with an amplifier preset listed down at the bottom. Specific chord progressions are linked to each amplifier preset- iShred LE doesn’t just chuck a random atonal bunch at you.

As you press the chord buttons along the top, iShred LE will fret the appropriate notes to make the chord. It lists the frets at the end of each string, so if you know the shape of a chord but not the name, you can see if it’s the right one or not. Likewise, iShred LE can be used to learn new chords as it provides you with both the name and the shape of chord.

When a chord is fretted you can strum or fingerpick (tap individual strings on the interface) away to your heart’s content. Timing your strumming and tapping the buttons to change chords in rhythm is a little awkward at first, and it’ll likely take some practice to teach your fingers to do so smoothly. However, the sound made is most impressive, with the little iPhone speakers spitting out surprisingly convincing guitar-like audio.

The different amplifier presets range from ‘Psychedelic 60’s’ to ‘Surf’s up’, and there’s a ‘Heavy Metal’ setting that features a chord button for dead-noting all the strings. There are eight effect pedals too, covering pretty much everything you could want including a wah pedal, which you can use by tilting your iPhone.

However, the main attraction of iShred LE is in recording and uploading your own songs. You can manually set the chord buttons to show whichever chords you want and then record, save and upload your songs for others to hear over the Internet. For some inspiration, you can listen to music other users have made via the ‘Airplay’ feature.

Okay, so to call iShred LE a fully-fledged guitar would be a bit of an exaggeration, but it does get damned close all things considered. At just 59p, it’s a bargain mess-around application for anyone that’s ever had dreams of rock stardom.

iShred LE Info

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Platform: Apple iPhone/iPod Touch

Version of app: 1.1

Price: £0.59

Developer: Frontier Design Group

Website/Demo: Frontier Design website

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The Last.FM app brings the functionality of the great music website to your iPhone. With it, you can build your own custom radio station that will search for music it thinks you’ll like, as well as like-minded listeners, based on what you have listened to and enjoyed.

You can select artists by searching for them on the home page. You can then listen to that artist’s recordings, and access their biography. You can also see how other users rate them, and listen to music from similar artists.

The Last.FM app’s stand-out feature is its ability to check when an artist is next performing live. It gives you the date and shows the location – courtesy of Google maps. You can even tell the app which gigs you’re going to, and set a reminder in your calendar.

Last.FM also acts a form of social networking. You can view the top listeners for your favourite tracks, take a look at their playlists, and even see what they are listening to at that moment. Furthermore, you can listen to that same song, like a peculiar musical stalker. Similar to Genius on iTunes, Last.FM recommends new songs to you, based on the music in your library, if you’re after a less creepy way to discover new music.

The profile screen is very easy to navigate, and offers everything that a music library should. There are sections for your top artists, top albums, recently played songs, events you’ve added, and a list of your friends. From this screen you can share music and messages with them.

We particularly liked the process of starting up, whereby you can login to your existing Last.FM account, or start up a new one and get your preferences kicked off by assigning a specific tag (i.e. ‘rock’ or ‘sixties’), or a specific artist to your account. Your tastes will start off tailored to those of the person/genre you selected.

A novel feature, which helps determine your tastes, Last.FM lets you pass judgement on a song as it is playing. The app will then either store it in your profile’s preferences memory or skip it. Each track also has the option to ‘share’, ‘tag’, ‘add to playlist’, or ‘buy on itunes’.

The only slight disappointment is the lack of the ‘charts’ feature that appears on the website, which aggregates your listening patterns and charts the results. It is likely that this will appear on any further update.

Last.FM obviously requires an Internet connection in order to stream the music. This limits it slightly as an alternative personal music player.

This App is free to download, and an absolute must. It really is a triumph for music-loving iPhone owners.

Last.FM info

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Platform: Apple iPhone

Price: Free

Developer: Last.FM

Website/Demo: Last.FM website

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