MusicMarker Now review: MusicMarker Now

We've all experienced it: listening to the radio, we hear a song we like, but we missed the DJ's introduction (or--more likely--he never said it). Or you're out shopping, and the tune coming over the speakers catches in your head and drives you crazy ("what is it?!?"). The solution is a service known as music recognition, whereby you record a snippet of the song, and then its sound waves are analyzed against a database to provide you with the most likely match. Several cell phone providers, such as Virgin Mobile and AT&T, have been offering this type of service for a while now. But now a British company called MusicMarker has a standalone device for the job: the MusicMarker Now, a keychain-size device that'll set you back a mere $16.99 ($21.99 with shipping).

The MusicMarker Now looks strikingly like a Tamagotchi, but with a much smaller screen. The tiny monochrome display offers no backlight and merely displays a recording countdown (when in use) and how many songs you've recorded out of the 10 available. To record, push and hold the single button below the screen for 4 seconds; a short press shows you how many snippets you've recorded so far. The instructions on the box aren't very detailed, but it only took us a few tries to figure out how to record--there's only so much you can do with one button.

Thanks to its itty-bitty size (about 1.5 inches high by 1.5 inches wide by 0.3 inch deep), the MusicMarker Now is easy to conceal on your person. Keep it in a pocket or connect it to your keychain via the built-in loop that's sticking out of the top. We recommend the latter, as we frequently lost track of it over the course of our three days of testing. The package contains a cute little smiling music note keychain if you want to use that, or there's a white lanyard with a clip for toting it around your neck.

While figuring out how to record songs with little instruction was easy enough, getting the tracks identified wasn't as much of a no-brainer--it would be nice if MusicMarker included a quick start guide for the less-tech-savvy. First, you have to go to the Web site and register with a code that comes on a card in the box. Then, you'll need to download some software (a 3.9MB download) from the site--nowhere in the package is there any documentation that you need software or directing you to where it is. After the software is installed, though, things get much simpler. When you plug the MusicMarker Now in (via standard mini USB, cable included), the software automatically launches. Click upload, then you are taken to a page that keeps track of your songs and allows you to review and identify them.

As far as MusicMarker's aptitude at identifying songs goes, it's about middle of the road. The first two samples we took at a crowded and loud bar weren't identified, but that wasn't too surprising. Songs three through six--recorded in a store with light to moderate background noise--had mixed results. Three was identified incorrectly, though in fairness, the recording and the returned match had similar hooks. Four was a throw-out, because it spanned two tracks, and five (The Jackson 5, "Hum Along and Dance") came up a match, but not at first--the service didn't have it up until we logged in again 20 minutes later. Number six--David Bowie's "Let's Dance"--was not identified, even though the track is clearly audible and recognizable to the human ear.

We recorded nine more tracks in a "radio" setting while listening to Internet streams at the office. Five of the nine were identified correctly--three of them immediately (Fleetwood Mac, "The Chain"; Men At Work, "Overkill"; Notorious B.I.G., "Mo' Money Mo' Problems"), and two of them during subsequent log-ins (Tosca, "Every Day & Every Night"; R. Kelly, "I'm a Flirt"). For "I'm a Flirt," the MusicMarker even identified the details correctly: "Featuring T.I. & T-Pain, Remix (Clean Radio Version)"--we thought that was pretty impressive. However, the service failed to identify a lesser-known downtempo song called "Blossoms From India," well-known dance/electronica (Kiva, "Against All Odds"), and Latin jazz (Machito, "Babalu").

The MusicMarker Now isn't going to break the bank, so if you want a fun little party trick for identifying radio tunes, it'll do the job. Just don't expect any miracles with music outside the realm of "popular."