With all of Apple’s relatively recent success in the smartphone and tablet market, we can forget sometimes that what kicked off their modern dominance was a device that simply played music. BICOM, Inc. has been recognizing how important music is to the company with their playGo series of iOS receiver systems. The newest model, the playGo AP1, is their biggest leap forward yet.

Previous playGo models used USB interfaces but the playGo AP1 instead streams audio wirelessly using Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and Apple’s own AirPlay functionality. Music from iOS devices, iTunes and other services like Pandora, Rhapsody, and Spotify are wirelessly pushed to speakers with their high-fidelity audio intact. The playGO AP1 also retains built in USB for compatibility with older devices.

Unfortunately, the project is still in need of funding. However, interested buyers can check out the playGo AP1 Kickstarter page and purchase one early for $199. The funding deadline in July 5th and if it’s a success, expect to see the playGo AP1 released shortly thereafter.

I’ve had all three iPads. My first iPad was the 32GB WiFi original, then the 16GB WiFi iPad 2, and now the 32GB WiFi iPad (third-gen). I made a huge mistake buying the 16GB version for my last iPad 2. The second I decided to start putting movies and TV shows on my iPad 2 was the moment I regretted it. Kingston now sells a “flash drive” that may help others in similar situations with their iOS devices.

The Wi-Drive is a portable drive (16 or 32GB) that connects to WiFi and extends storage for iOS devices. Along with the free Wi-Drive app, the drive can be loaded up with files from a desktop or laptop and stream those files to an iOS device. It can even share the data with up to three different users at the same time.

The drive is about the size of an iPhone 4, so it fits in most pockets and bags. A USB cable transfers files from computers to the drive. The 16GB version is available on Amazon for $44 and the 32GB version for $95.

8tracks is a site that lets you create and share digital mix tapes. Self-described as “handcrafted internet radio,” 8tracks allows users to upload the music files of their virtual playlists so that others can then legally stream their handiwork. This capability has now been expanded to the iPhone, as 8tracks Radio has been launched to the app store.

Some features of the 8tracks Radio app include:

Listen to user-curated mixes
Follow your favorite DJs and play their mixes through the Mix feed
Search for mixes containing your favorite artists
Browse hundreds of popular tags like alternative rock, sleep, sad, chill or dubstep
Listen to mixes everywhere – on your commute, at the gym or at home via AirPlay

The core philosophy behind 8tracks is that user-created playlists will trump those that are algorithmically generated. The online mixes that you submit to the open community via the website, along with accompanying cover art, must contain at least 8 tracks, with no more than 2 belonging to a specific artist. Listeners can then search by a variety of methods, and 8track offers select mixes curated by various notable sources such as SPIN, Pitchfork, Metric, Threadless, etc.

So, remember those days when you were mad at your parents, and you just broke up with your girlfriend, and you expressed yourself in the ultimate angst-ridden mixed tape? Uhm, yeah. Me neither. That was a friend of mine. Have any personal mixes that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments…

FREE!

8tracks radio

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-04-11 :: Category: Music

Apple’s latest update to its iDisk app, on top of some other upgrades, allows music streaming for the first time. It isn’t quite the full iTunes sync like some people want, but it will allow you to stream any music that you have stored on your iDisk to any devices that have the software. It even allows for background streaming, which is quite nice for those on the move.

There are some drawbacks, such as the lack of music auto syncing and the lack of playlists and album artwork on the service, but if you are just looking for a way to get a ton of music in the cloud, this is great.

The funny thing is that this music streaming feature is not included in the bullet list of added features that shows up on the main screen, it is almost like Apple is hiding the functionality. One reason may be that “Apple’s service allows unlimited sharing (no username or password required) and now background streaming – all without a license from the record labels” which is apparently a big no-no in the industry.

Regardless, you can pick up your free update to iDisk today. Have fun!

[Source:Michael Robertson]

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MobileMe iDisk

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2009-07-29 :: Category: Productivity

While looking through the App Store for iPad apps, one of the applications that caught my eye was a simple looking app called Stream To Me. I’ve been looking for a while for an app that allowed me to stream my video collection that’s tied to my TV in the living room on my iPhone and now iPad. This app allows you to do just that. With it you can stream just about any audio or video file that your Mac can play down to your iPhone or iPad while you are both on the same wireless network. And the good news is that it does so simply, quickly, and at a great price.

For Stream To Me to work, it needs the companion app that runs on a desktop machine called Serve To Me. The server part will be able to transcode the video files to a version that can be displayed on your portable device, if needed. The bad news for many of you is that Serve To Me currently only works on Mac OSX machines. I have mine set up and running on a Mac Mini that I have connected to my TV.

Once you have Serve To Me installed, it’s a quick configuration to get it streaming to your iDevice. Just point it to the directories of files that you want to serve up. All of these folders will be displayed on the device when you connect to the server. If you add folders with lots of subfolders, that will work too. And there are sorting options in the app that allow you to flatten these out a little bit.

One of the amazing things about the app itself is how quickly it starts the video playing. I was able to get a video to play in less that 7 seconds from the time I launched the application to the opening credits starting. And once the video has started playing, you have full seek control, just like if it were residing on the device.

There are multiple sorting modes that you can apply to the folders. Also, there seems to currently be a little bug where these sorting preferences may or may not be saved. I’d love the ability to display a sexy movie list, similar to the iPad version of the ABC app.

This is a great solution for playing video to your handheld devices in the home — I use it to watch movies in bed — works great. But we’d love to see some enhancements. For one, we’d love to be able to stream while outside the home. And I’m sure that this can be done with some complicated VPN setup — but it sure would be nice to be able to have it all work from within the app.

Other things I’d love to see added to the app include the ability to combine folders. I have movies scattered across multiple devices. I’d love the ability to have a single movies folder in the app that combines all of those other folders. Also, the app while very well done, is in need of a little sexy design work. Imagine this app with the looks of the ABC app on the iPad and it would be killer.

Stream to Me is currently available in the App Store for the great price of $2.99. If you have a Mac desktop machine and a lot of videos you’d like to be able to watch anywhere in your house, I strongly recommend this app! While there are a few things we’d love to see enhanced in the app, as it stands now it’s very functional and very fast.

$2.99

StreamToMe

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2009-08-17 :: Category: Utilities

Ustream has wanted to stream from the iPhone for a long while now. They started out with a jailbroken iPhone version. But that didn’t reach that many people. They also released a viewing application for the iPhone. A good start. Next came the iPhone 3GS app that allowed you to record videos with your iPhone 3GS then upload them to Ustream. Getting closer.

Then, last week, Apple decided to let streaming video application loose on the App Store. And now we have the Ustream Live Broadcaster.

The app allows you to stream video to the Ustream site and to the Ustream viewing application at a 320×240 resolution. Here’s the cool part — it works on Wifi or 3G on both the iPhone 3G and 3GS. You can also record the videos locally and upload them later if you choose.

And as you would expect these days there are options to share the videos on Facebook and Twitter. And you can also include your location information with the videos.

I imagine we will see the sending and the viewing applications combined at some point in the future. But for now, you need both.

Overall a pretty good experience for sharing video to multiple people. Have you tried the Ustream broadcaster? How was it?

FREE!

Ustream Broadcaster

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-12-08 :: Category: Photography

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Ustream

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2009-01-19 :: Category: Entertainment

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.

Joost has released an iPhone client that allows you to stream their content directly to your iPhone.

Continue reading Joost Release iPhone App — And Fails Server Load »