Overview
Already a mobile hit and a constant source of "how do they do that?" gawks, Shazam makes its way to the iPhone, better and more functional than ever.
A nifty bit of technology, Shazam allows you to answer that age old question: what the hell is that song? Hear something you like, open up Shazam and hold your phone up to the source... and a mere 20 seconds later, chances are, Shazam will tell you the artist and the album, as well as offer you the resources to buy it directly from iTunes if you can't get enough. The best part? No more humming offensively to friends, trying to figure out who sang that sweet beat you heard earlier in the day.
Functionality
As soon as you enter Shazam, you are shown a screen that brags of the app's capabilities. And while that may seem a bit tacky, let them gloat; it is truly a powerful program. To get started, all you have to do is press "Tag Now" and then hold the phone up to a song.
Soon enough, if the tune you chose is one of four million (and growing) indexed songs, Shazam will tell you the name of the song and who sings it, the album it is on and even the album art. Further down the screen, it presents you with a plethora of options.
You can choose to preview and buy the song from iTunes, or buy the whole album. They provide a direct link for doing so (I wonder if that's profitable for them?).
You can also share the Tag with friends. Choose to do so, and you'll be brought to your email screen, where a pre-written e-mail will show up letting your friend know that you thought they would like that song, and making sure they know it's Shazam that provided you this sweet service. Just enter in the friends' email address, and you're sharing tags and music.
If the song came at a particularly memorable place or moment, you can take a picture with your camera and attach it to the tag, so you remember where you heard it, or why you want to listen to it again. Finally, if there is a YouTube video that accompanies the song, Shazam will find it, and link you directly to it. That way, you can see the band in action, or at least see some crazy fan-made music videos.
If you want to go beyond the iPhone, Shazam has a whole online portal that allows you to register and share your favorite bands and discover new ones with a growing community of music buffs. Unfortunately, unless you're in the UK, you cannot integrate your phone's Shazam tags with your online profile, one drawback that will hopefully be fixed soon.
Review
All told, Shazam is pretty darn impressive. Like previously reviewed
Pandora, they break down music into certain characteristics, and identify it from there. But the level of accuracy to which they are able to identify music, coming from so many different sources, is truly like magic... perhaps where the name of the program comes from.
The ability to buy songs so easily is pretty sweet for those of you with big music budgets, and the share with a friend function makes it beyond simple to let someone know how cool you are. The sheer number of times that I've heard a song on a television commercial or in a mall and just could not figure out who it was, those instances alone makes this app worth it.
The one drawback, the lack of online integration outside the UK, also speaks to the vast improvements Shazam has made for its iPhone debut. Back in the day of those dinosaur mobile phones (and we apologize if your friends or family are still afflicted with this terrible disease), you had to call a number before you could hold the phone up in the air and get the song identified. That's no longer, with this self-contained iPhone application. Soon enough, I'm sure there will be online integration, and when there is, Shazam will be just about perfect.
Summary
The ultimate utility for music buffs and those annoyed by that unidentifiable song that haunts them, Shazam is an easy to use but powerful tool that will leave you wondering both how they did it, and how you lived without it once you've tried it. Team it up with Pandora, or spend some cash at the iTunes store, and you've got a hi-tech music set up all on your mobile phone.
