Monday, January 14, 2013

Bob Findlay On Android Music Apps


In my usual style my introduction to the mobile music scene was very much an 'act now, think later.' I would also like to add to this by owning up to the fact that mobile phones and so forth are not my forte'. Case in point; with my cell phone I can send texts, make calls (rarely) and just last week I learned how to take photos with it.
My children sit there with their iPhones, clicking, sliding and laughing at whatever is on display. My curiosity got the better of me one day and I asked my daughter if I could use her phone to send a 'tweet.' Sounds simple, eh? Well, dear reader, after 5 minutes of frenzied clicking, sliding and trying to type I gave up. I handed the phone back to my daughter who carried out the aforementioned action in a matter of seconds. I am definitely middle-aged.
I don't know what 'urged' me to consider a mobile phone app or apps but I dived in head first to every free plan available (more of the cost later). I developed all of my apps at the same time, progressing to a certain point with one and then progressing to the same point with others. I must say, I did find the design and content side of were very enjoyable. As I neared the end of the creation of all my apps, I discovered a common thread running through them.
For the purpose of this entry, I researched the Android to see exactly what made it so popular. 
If you go to a cell phone shop or open websites of Samsung or LG, you will notice that most of the phones run on Android OS. Android is an operating system for smartphones developed and owned by Google. Apart from Nokia and iPhone users, most people prefer to go with Android OS. All the versions of the Android namely, Donut, Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread has been very popular. And now people are anticipating for the phones that will run on Ice-cream. (corny joke).
What people love about Android is that it gives you plenty of customization options. Just like other Google products like Gmail or Chrome web browser which gives plenty of options such as applications and extensions to customize it to their fullest, even Android OS is one such platform that you can customize by installing a wide range of applications.
Compared to any iPhone, Android phones are cheaper and offer better features. Both iPhone and Google have the same turn-by-turn navigation i.e. Google Maps. Since the app is a product from Google and so is Android, it is very obvious that Android phones will receive better support and services than an iPhone or any other phone running different OS. As mentioned before, Android brings to you plenty of apps to customize your phone. Many apps are available for free. However, there are many apps that need to be purchased. However, the good thing is you can try all the apps and if you don't like any app, you can ask for money back within 15 minutes.
Another advantage Android phones have over iPhone is that it has got removable battery. So when you know that you need to replace the battery, you can simply go to shop and purchase a new one. Many Android OS phones are high-end phones that come with many advanced hardware features such as HDMI. You can simply connect your phone to your television with HDMI feature.
Since Android is available on different brands like Samsung, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, etc you get wider options when it comes to buying a new phone. Also, many of the phones have higher storage capacities because Android users are bound to install plenty of apps, download stuff over the web, and storing movies and music files on it.
Another cool thing about Android OS is that the web browser fully supports Flash. It means you can watch Flash content without any glitches on the browser. You will not experience any choppiness or slowness while browsing. Also, you can watch videos inside the browser and you do not need to download any extra app to separately view the videos present on the site.
Of the apps that I have created are all free to download, I consider the two which offer free access to the music stores of my own choice thus giving my followers the ability to purchase my albums at the cheapest place online whilst maintaining superior sound quality. 
My Number 1 favourite app, however, is the questionably named 'Infinite Monkeys.' Don't be fooled by the name. The features, professional look, ease of use and amount of material contained within it are second to none. This app is one of few that will be available, hopefully within the next few days, as an iPhone app. It shall be announced on my 'mobile music' blog.
Happy Listening.

2 comments:

  1. Hi AAren. Thank you so much for your kind words. I know so little about app. development that I can't believe I've managed it. I also found it extremely enjoyable. Thaks again to you & your colleagues. :)

    ReplyDelete