Music and audio

There are tons of music-listening apps in both of the big app stores, but when you want to find new music, there's nothing better than a streaming-radio app. These apps are set up for browsing through stations and genres so you can get a fresh dose of new options based on the music you like.

The obvious choice here is an app like Pandora (free - iOS|Android), but there are a few I like that have other options that might appeal to different types of music listeners.… Read more

Android smartphones make great personal media players, but because of the lock screen, pausing your music can take a few seconds. EasyMute is an Android app that allows you to quickly pause your music by simply putting your hand over the proximity sensor, even when your phone is locked.

Optionally, you can configure easyMute to lower the volume to a preset level. After installing easyMute, just tap the Enable easyMute button to turn it on.

EasyMute works with most Android music players, such as Google Music and even Pandora.

That's it. Keep in mind that, in order for easyMute … Read more

Band of the Day is an app that works just like the name suggests. Each day the developers upload a new band to their page for some sweet free listening. Runner up for Apple's App of the Year 2011, they carry a variety of genre and each day will offer something different from the last. The cool thing about the app is that it offers listeners the option to learn more about the band beyond the music. Full blown biographies and interview pages are posted along with the soundtrack. We were able to watch some cool video interviews and … Read more

It all started with Infinite Gangnam Style. For Music Hack Day Reykjavik, Paul Lamere, Director of Development Platform for the "music intelligence" company The Echo Nest, took Psy's "Gangnam Style" sensation to the next technological level. By breaking down the song into parts and matching similar parts in various patterns, he created a dynamic remix of the song that never ends. For Music Hack Day Boston last weekend, he modified and updated the musical algorithm to work with (nearly) any song, resulting in the webware app Infinite Jukebox, with the tagline "For when your … Read more

In the wake of today's iPhone 5 and iPod announcements, Apple has issued updates for iTunes and its iMovie home video-editing software. The updates should be available through Software Update for those who have these programs installed on their systems, but they can also be downloaded as standalone installers from Apple's Web site.

The iTunes update adds support for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices running iOS 6, and also adds support for Apple's latest iPod Nano and Shuffle devices. In addition, the update addresses a memory corruption security bug in WebKit for Windows that could allow … Read more

Previously available only in its beta form, RealNetworks' RealPlayer for Android today makes the jump to its full version. The free app offers an all-in-one interface for playing music, watching videos, and viewing photos.

The video viewer is pretty standard with its basic playback controls. Meanwhile, the photo viewer steps it up a notch with a slideshow option and even an integrated music player, so you can set a musical soundtrack to your photos. And finally, there's the music player, which takes up the bulk of RealPlayer's interface. It offers playlists, search, and browsing by artist, album, song … Read more

The good news is, VLC Beta was released today, giving Android users a long-awaited taste of do-it-all media player VLC. The bad news is, VLC's developers say the app is meant only for power users and hackers, meaning most of us should probably wait on downloading it.

Just like its bigger brothers on Mac and Windows, VLC is a free and open-source multimedia player that can open just about any media file out there. It offers an audio and video media library with full search capabilities, and supports subtitles and network streams, including HLS.

While VLC Beta is available … Read more

Popular streaming radio service Slacker Radio today launched a new category of stations that offers a different sort of listening experience to its users: lifestyle. Debuting as part of a partnership between Slacker and ABC Radio, the new stations offer curated talk radio content that includes advice and other stories dealing with the lifestyle interests of both men and women.

For now, Slacker's new lifestyle stations come in two flavors: Men's Life and Women's Life, with much of the content coming from sources like Esquire, Car & Driver, Consumer Reports, Popular Mechanics, Complex Magazine, and GQ. The … Read more

Amazon Cloud Player (free) for iOS gives you an option of getting all your music from the iTunes App Store, and its simple interface is easy to pick up and use immediately.

Whether you have music already from Amazon or not, you can quickly log in with your Amazon account and listen to tracks already on your iPhone. If you have downloaded music through Amazon, with the app you'll be able to listen to both Amazon- and iTunes-bought music.

Once you have music uploaded to Amazon's Cloud drive, the interface is dead simple. Two tabs let you switch … Read more