Shazam Entertainment launch the paid version of their music recognition service. Ad-ridden and boasting a scarce UI it’s a complete disappointment.

There are many Tap Tap Revenge fanatics out in the real world, along with me. Being such a big fan gave me extremely high expectations, but rest assured, this is the best game to date.

While there’s nothing wrong with IMP: Surf the Music per se, I just couldn’t get hooked. There are plenty of other great music games in the App Store, and IMP just doesn’t cut it.

Tapulous hit the trifecta, Tap Tap Revenge 3 on its way

Big changes and a small price tag. Tapulous have submitted and are awaiting approval of their latest instalment of the highly popular Tap Tap Revenge game, according to Business Insider. A myriad of new features include in-app purchasing of avatars and music, a new feature of 3.0, allowing users to download two tracks for $0.99 or six tracks for $2.99.

Tap Tap Revenge 3 is due to be live on the App Store “sometime next month” at the price tag of $0.99 (£0.59). The price tag was unavoidable with in-app purchasing, which Apple requires all developers to price the application itself also. Expect to hear more in the next coming weeks, and as always, we’ll have a review up within days of its release.

iConcertCal seems like a great answer for hometown concert information gathering and an amazing resource for the roadtrip enthusiast. One road trip justifies the purchase, one missed gig that was instead spent sitting at home justifies the purchase. If you like what you get from the desktop app, you’ll love having the iPhone version of iConcertCal around.

FlexTunes is a lifesaver, maybe literally, when you’re on the freeway and can’t take the time to look at the iPod screen to change songs.

Finally—a great app that uses your own music as an alarm clock. Inexpensive, easy to use, and not annoying, this app is great if you like using your iPhone/iPod Touch as an alarm.

BeatRider is a groovy rhythm game similar to Tap Tap Revenge, but with a killer feature: the ability to upload your own tracks. While the process is a minor headache, the actual game is top-notch.

Wunder Radio is an internet radio application that gives live feeds from thousands of stations across the world. Whatever you’re in the mood for – you’ll find it in here. From the Bahamas to Poland, United States to United Arab Emirates .. there’s no shortage of choice.

While World of Tunes only has ten songs, it features a unique full-screen, non-linear gameplay that uniquely utilizes the iPhone’s capabilities and puts it at the forefront of the App Store rhythm genre.

Sirius XM App Tunes Into the App Store

Sirius/XM satellite radio first announced their iPhone application in the first quarter of this year during their earnings call. Since then we’ve gotten nothing but static. After multiple contacts with the Sirius/XM PR department all we could get from them was that yes, an app was under development, but no we can’t tell you more. Well, look what popped into the App Store tonight.

The Sirius XM Premium Online as the app is titled allows premium streaming subscribers (an extra $2.99/month for most subscribers) to listen to 120 different channels at up to a 128kbps.

The channel line up includes mainly music stations, but also includes some sports stations, comedy stations, and various news and talk stations. For a full list of channels, see the online channel lineup. There is tiny, light colored text, at the bottom of one of the pages that notes:

Some select programming, including MLB® Play-by-Play, NFL Play-by-Play, SIRIUS NASCAR® Radio, and Howard Stern, will not be available on the iPhone and iPod touch. Listeners will continue to be able to access that programming through the platforms they are currently offered on.

Why in the world they would offer that on the streaming on the desktop but not on the phone is beyond reason. Possibly contractual reasons, but still, silly.

Works over 3G

Interestingly, the Sirius XM app works over 3G. We’ve seen multiple instances of AT&T or Apple blocking apps the stream audio or video from doing so over the 3G network and restricting them to using Wifi only. This app was approved, perhaps because it’s a subscription model and is expected to have fewer users than other streaming apps. You can never tell what’s in the minds of the people that approve or reject apps.

Why Sirius/XM Over Free Apps

You might wonder why you would use this over Pandora (App Info) or Slacker (App Info)?. I have been a Sirius subscriber for a few years now, and I actually prefer radio stations with DJs. Even though I’m sure it’s all pre-recorded, it still makes it a little more interesting. I also like to think that maybe there are actual people picking the next song and it’s not just some computer picking the next song it thinks I might like. It’s a preference.

If you are a Sirius or XM subscriber, I’d say pick it up. Never know when you might want to listen on the go. If you aren’t a subscriber, you can always grab a free 7-day trial to see if you like it.

The Sirius XM Premium Online is available in the App Store now. [iTunes Link]

Hit the jump for more screen shots of the Sirius XM app.

Amazing Piano is a music app for iPhone and iPod touch that allows the user to “play piano” via an onscreen QWERTY keyboard. It features both free and practice modes, the latter for playing melodies by pressing keys as the letters for them scroll across the screen.

Pianofly by Pro Synth is a programmable FM synthesizer app featuring a one-octave onscreen piano-style keyboard. It uses a novel approach for accessing notes outside of this range; the player simply flings the keys to the right or left.

Contest: Are You A Slacker?

I don’t know how excited you are about it, but Slacker just updated their mobile app! For those of you who have never used Slacker, it is basically Pandora but with a larger library… which means less repeats and more awesomeness. In their own words, “The Slacker Radio application for iPhone offers listeners millions of songs, high-quality sound and an intuitive interface,” said Jonathan Sasse, senior vice president of marketing at Slacker. “With new features and sleek usability upgrades we are continuing to make the listening experience even more powerful and easy to use.”

To celebrate the update, Slacker has given me a 1 year subscription to Slacker Radio Plus (full description here) to give out however I please. Mwahaha. So here is what I would like you, the reader to do. I am looking for some good music, and I want you, dear reader, to tell me what to listen to.

I am going to take each entry (example entry – CCR) and play it as a Slacker playlist. The best Slacker playlist to come from the artist or song that you give me wins the prize. I’ll listen to any genre, as long as it’s good music, so don’t ask me what my favorite genre is.

Good Luck! Send me some good stuff… and thanks in advance.

All entries should either be posted in the comments section of this page or sent to me via Twitter (@148apps). Contest will close Sunday night with the winner being selected on Monday to much fanfare. One note from Slacker… the winner must have a valid email address already configured for Slacker (i.e. they already use Slacker with it)… so go get one, they are free.

Rule 1. Enter as many times as you want.
Rule 2. Tell all of your friends to send me their music entries
Rule 3. Don’t send me anything from the Baja Men.

Slacker Radio

Category: Music
Released: 2009-01-13
Price: FREE

Trent Reznor Speaks Out Against App Store Policy

The app is currently in the App Store, available for free, having already passed through the approval process once. The changes in this update? Well, they’d fix some of the bugs that have left many users giving the app a poor rating due to unexpected issues.

So what exactly was Apple’s reason for denying the update?

“Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.), or other content or materials that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users.”

This is in reference to the album “The Downward Spiral” made available through the app. Here’s what Trent had to say in response to the issue:

Continue reading Trent Reznor Speaks Out Against App Store Policy »

Smule has done it again with one of the most innovative uses the device has seen thus far. Leaf Trombone is a prime example that creativity is alive and well in the app store.

Muses don’t schedule appointments. They aren’t fine with being told to “please hold.” If you don’t have time for her at the moment, there are plenty of buskers down the street who will. Left your guitar at home? Not her problem. Of course, she might think that your iPhone merits some extra inspiration, that is, if you have Star Guitar.

Radio Flare is a musical side-scrolling shooter with a soundtrack that dynamically morphs as you play, responding to your actions. While I love the audio and believe that its spot as an IGF finalist in Audio Achievement is definitely deserved, the core gameplay ultimately failed to hook me.

Are iPhone-based Cover Bands the Next Big Meme?

We’ve seen no shortage of great music related iPhone apps released into the iTunes App Store. Some of the best apps are even more powerful than their hardware based counterparts. So I guess it was only a matter of time before we started seeing bands release exclusively iPhone created songs. This is one of the better ones I’ve seen, and it’s by a real band from the UK, The Mentalists.

This is a cover of a song called The Kids from the band MGMT, and pretty well done. They are, according to the video, using apps such as Ocarina (Our Review), Digi Drummer Lite (iTunes Link, and Retro Synth (iTunes Link).

Melody Match is a new twist on the classic card-matching game using—you guessed it—sound clips instead of flash cards. Some of the melodies are real treats for the ear, and the game uses a variety of themes, ranging from snippets of Bach and Mozart to upbeat Brazilian tunes to traditional songs like Yankee Doodle.

Chordica is a fun and easy to use music app. It’s innovative design lets you memorize songs using numbers instead of notes, which allows you to play a song in any key using the exact same screen taps. The app has a good sounding piano sample and enough adjustments to allow flexibility without being overwhelming.

Perfect Rhyme is a simple, no frills app that allows you to look up a word and then find other words that rhyme with it. While it lacks definitions or access to online resources, it serves its intended purpose.

A fantastic all-encompassing synthesizer for the iPhone

A fantastic app that tailors music to your current environment

A fantastic and fun social music instrument

Best Guitar Hero type game for the iPhone!

Cosmovox is a great little musical toy

iChalky is a fun little dancing stick figure that you can control. 99 Cent Gem

Part fun tool and part drum beat composer, this application is lots of fun for anyone who likes to think they have a little bit of hidden musical ability.