TuneWiki for iPhone Review

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After first glance TuneWiki is just an app that subtitles iPod music synced while the song plays.  The app proves to be more than that.  Some good and some kind of meh.  There are actually four parts to the app so I will cover each part.

Music:

This tab is really the meat of TuneWiki.  Basically, the app acts as your iPod with a twist.  The music library is available by choosing artists, albums, songs, play lists or shuffle all songs.  Once the song plays, the album art is displayed as well as the lyrics.  Most mainstream music had lyrics available.  (Lyrics are available in 40 languages!)  Several of my Texas artists had lyrics available, but TuneWiki asked for my help by tapping the lyrics advancing them to match the music.  I assume this means the app is sending in the timing to help learn the song.  Several songs from artists who are not well known had no lyrics available.  All in all, nice feature that works well.  Another great aspect of the music tab is the ability to close TuneWiki without stopping the music.  I am actually surprised Apple allowed an app to act so much like the iPod app.

Radio:

Slacker Radio is my Internet radio app of choice with Pandora coming in a close second.  TuneWiki also offers radio.  The first thing I have to say about the radio is the quality is not nearly as good as the two mentioned above.  With that said, there are some reasons to check it out.  The big advantage here is the number of stations.  Stations are all Internet based and from all around the world.  There are hundreds of genres in the All Genre category.  Many of the genres I have never heard of .  I listen to Slacker mainly because of the comedy stations.  TuneWiki includes a huge number of comedy stations.  Each station lists how many current listeners are online to assist in your choices.  Another genre I found interesting was Talk which includes a station dedicated to Art Bell (Coast to Coast AM).  The reason I will be listening to this app over the other two is Lonestar 101.com station.  Finally, an app that includes Texas Music!  I do not listen to country all of the time, but when I do it is Texas Music.  (yes, we have our own genre of music)  Lyrics were hit or miss with the radio stations.  Most of the Top 40 and current popular titles included album art and lyrics.

Video:

The video tab is interesting, but does not fit with the app in my opinion.  Basically this is a web portal to YouTube.  I did a quick search of Pearl Jam: Black.  A large number of videos were available.  Clicking on the video takes you to YouTube and the video plays.  Pretty simple.  Maybe I am not a big YouTube music video watcher on my phone, but this app would be just fine without this feature.

Community:

Just like the video tab, this category does not do much for me.  This section allows a search of lyrics and the ability to see what other TuneWiki users are listening to.  Find users nearby using the app or find users listening to your current song world wide displayed on a world map.  Interesting, maybe.  Useful, not for me.  Other options are to search for top songs and artists worldwide or by country.  I know what I like so this feature will not be used by me.

TuneWiki is a feature filled solid music app, especially since it is free!  If you use the iPod feature on your iPhone it is worth downloading the app and checking it out.  The app may not replace your current choice of Internet radio apps, but might fill in the gaps in available stations.  Go get it here in the App Store.

What I like: The iPod like interface with streaming lyrics.  The amazing choice of Internet radio stations.

What I don’t: The app has too many features.  If they decided to concetrate on the music and radio tabs this could be a must have app.

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About the Author

Travis Ehrlich
Travis is a high school teacher and coach in a small South Texas town. His love for gadgets began at a very early age, and he has been a cross between a jock and a geek for most of his life. He has two boys and a wonderful wife who lets him be a gadget freak. He is a Mac convert and has drank the whole pitcher of Kool-Aid! He is also an avid guitar player and loves the outdoors, especially hunting with both a bow and rifle.