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Since I got the iPhone, I’ve been keeping an eye on the iTunes Store and checking out all the latest apps that have been released. Some of them are good, and some of them make you wonder why someone took the time to put them together, or how Apple even approved it’s release. Still, the App Store is pretty new, so I’m sure we’ll see a revamp of the interface and perhaps even a revamp of what they’re allow to be sold. I mean, come on… we need some standards here.

And speaking of “standards”, Shazam has up’d the bar as to what could be considered the most useful and coolest iPhone app currently available. Initially, I saw this and didn’t pay much attention to it; I thought it was another music player or streamer, but Jon advised me to take a closer look, and I’m glad I did!

Picture this: You’re at a pub and the music in the background is a song you’ve heard a few times and have been dying to know what the title is, or who sings it, so you can go buy it (or download it, if that’s your thing), but no one knows anything about the song. Even the bartender says “It’s just on random”. Worse yet, you can barely make out the lyrics, and even if you could, it would be futile to remember them as you just ordered a pitcher, which will wipe away any memory of the night.

Problem solved.

Take out the iPhone, open up Shazam, and press “Tag Now”. As long as the music is loud enough for you to hear clearly (doesn’t have to be blasting), Shazam should be able to pick it up. It’ll record 12 seconds (by default) of the music you’re listening to, upload it to their servers for analysis, and then spit back the info you’re looking for: track name, artist, album… it’ll even show you the cover art of the CD, and give you a few links to the song or album via the iTunes Store so you can purchase it right there. HOW NEAT IS THAT?!

After using it for the last few days, I’ve only managed to trip it up a few times, but in those instances, it was with some pretty obscure music (stuff from Japan; the country, not the band), or any sort of electronica or raggae. Other than that, it has been bang on. So frikkin’ cool.

I have no idea how Shazam is able to pull this off, but it has astounded me time and time again. It is quite possibly going to be one of the most useful apps on the iPhone for me, other than checking my email, surfing the ‘net, checking out Facebook, or keeping tabs with my calendar. Apparently, this app is only free on the iPhone, while other cellphone users have to pay for each lookup. Suckers!  

iTunes Store - http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284993459

Shazam website - http://www.shazam.com/music/portal

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