Shazam Encore (for iPhone)

If you have an iPhone, you probably already have the music identification tool Shazam (free) installed, but you may not have the Encore version. Shazam Encore for iPhone ($5.99) is a single-purchase app that gives you a lifetime membership to Shazam's premium mobile services. Alternatively, you can pay $3.99 for one year of service for the same upgrade?so if you're interested in Encore, paying the extra two dollars shouldn't require much thought.

A quick bit of background on Shazam and how it works: It was originally developed as a music recommendation service in 2002, but the company behind it really took off when it created its music recognition technology that enables anyone with a mobile phone to identify the title, artist, and album of music recordings while they're being played. With the press of a single button, the Shazam app collects a short clip of any song being played, which is sent to a database of more than 11 million tracks (going back to the 1950s), compared, and identified. Within a few seconds, you can usually find out the track name, performing artists, and album in which the song appears.

Shazam works well and can solve memory lapses almost as quickly as you can ask your friends, "Who sang 'Downtown' again? It's on the tip of my?" But, does the premium Encore membership give you substantially more than the free app?enough to warrant the purchase? Answer: It largely depends on two factors: how much of a music junkie you are, and whether you use Spotify (4 stars), the streaming music service that was all the rage in Europe and which finally reached U.S. shores in 2011?to much acclaim, I might add.

Shazam and Shazam Encore: Same Basic Features
Shazam and Shazam Encore share the same basic features. When you launch the app (either version), you'll see a large Shazam icon on a blue background and the words "Touch to Shazam" at the top. Touch the screen, and let the device listen to whatever music is playing. After a few moments, the screen will refresh with the album artwork (usually) and information about the song title and artist. Occasionally, Shazam fails. It misses more obscure music and can't always pick up a live version of a song, or a cover of a song that isn't well known.

Another feature that's available to both paying and free members is Lyric Play, a sing-along style display of the lyrics of the song that's playing. Cheesy as the graphics are (see the slideshow), Lyric Play makes Shazam a little more fun because it syncs in real time with the music, letting you sing a little impromptu karaoke.

Every time you "shazam" a song (yes, the company does use its coined word as a verb), the app tags it, or saves its information to a list so that you can reference it later.
It used to be the case that those holding the free app had limits on how many songs they could tag, while Encore members had unlimited tagging, but now everyone with the iOS or Android app has unlimited tagging abilities, just like Encore members.
A section of the app called Discovery lets you browse the music charts and search for songs or musical artists, then pull up additional information about them, like when they might be touring. The Discovery section also typically has clips of music that you can preview.

In addition to identifying songs and giving you deeper information about artists, Shazam also provides a link to iTunes where you can buy the song, links when available to music videos (on YouTube), and the ability to share information with friends via the typical "share" button features.

Encore VS Free Shazam
With the Encore version, the app can also give you recommendations for more music you might like, which was one of Shazam's main services in the early days of its business. After tagging a song, or looking for it in the Discovery section, you can ask Shazam to recommend other music similar to it. Encore also lets you listen to full tracks you've tagged or discovered from Recommendations and the charts.

Another premium feature?and this is the big one?is integration with Spotify. If you're a Spotify user, you can tap a button and have a song play in the other service.
One confusing issue I faced when I bought the Encore version is that it appears in Apple's App Store as a separate app, but it doesn't actually install as a second app if you have the free version already in your iPhone. I assumed the two would install side-by-side (as is the case with other free and premium versions of apps). Instead, buying and installing the Encore app just updates your current app to the premium services. The app icon on your phone remains the same, in the same location, with the same name "Shazam" (no "Encore"). On the one hand, it's seamless, but on the other, I wasn't sure at first glance that I got what I paid for.

A much more irritating problem: my previous tags were wiped out when I upgraded. The Encore version had no tags stored, even though I had several songs tagged in the free app.

Does Shazam Deserve an Encore?
Fun and informative, Shazam remains a great app, but I doubt most users will get much out of paying for the lifetime membership to Shazam Encore ($5.99). However, Spotify devotees may feel differently, as they're the ones who benefit most from the additions in the premium serivce.

More iPhone Apps Reviews:
??? Shazam Encore (for iPhone)
??? WinZip (for iPhone)
??? SugarSync (for iPhone) version 2.5
??? Clear (for iPhone)
??? Repeat Timer Pro (for iPhone)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/5McinlwpTX4/0,2817,2400805,00.asp

pro bowl voting kindle fire update college board pasco county rooney mara solstice x factor results