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New SoundHound names that tune--for free (Android)

Following in the footsteps of its iPhone kin, the SoundHound music discovery app for Android now has free and premium versions.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Director, Commerce & Content Operations
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
Expertise Content strategy, team leadership, audience engagement, iPhone, Samsung, Android, iOS, tips and FAQs.
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Jessica Dolcourt
2 min read
SoundHound, Android
Budget-conscious Android users can now test-drive SoundHound's music recognition app for free. Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Got a song stuck in your head that you can't place?

Instead of clicking up Shazam, music-ID app SoundHound may soon be the first stop for budget-conscious, Android-loving music aficionados.

Today, SoundHound for Android, ordinarily $4.99, followed in the footsteps of its iPhone kin by debuting a free version.

Like Shazam, SoundHound (known as Midomi, once upon a time) can record a few seconds of song straight from the source and return a plethora of information about the tune's title, artist, related videos, and where to buy it.

What impresses us with SoundHound is that it takes the music-ID concept a couple steps further. It not only records a playing song, it lets you type, speak, sing, or hum the vocal details that you know. In addition, it packages either song lyrics or a link to a Google lyrics search into the results it returns.

The free version does limit the service, but not by stripping away the lyrics search, often one of the defining premium features. Instead, SoundHound's freebie holds you to five music-recognition searches per month when you record a song snippet, sing, or hum, but the app still lets you input as many voice or text searches as you'd like without penalty.

SoundHound and the premium version, henceforth known as SoundHound Infinity, will be available in the Android Market starting today. The music-ID app was good enough to make it into our Android Starter Kit, which spotlights a heap of essential apps you should consider for your phone, and which you should absolutely plumb for app suggestions right away (how's that for a shameless plug?)

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