uberHype, a Savvy app for Discovering New Music!
by Paul Wilks
Feb 2, 2012 11:17 AM –
Install
uberHype from Dirty Water Labs is a savvy music discovery app for Android. Powered by Hype Machine, the app lets you search for, listen to and discover new artists and bands. Essentially it aggregates music blogs and provides loads of tracks to listen to and check out.
Price: Free
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Good app to discover new music!
- Cool UI design!
- Eclectic range of musical genres!
- Search by Songs, Artists or Twitter!
- Check out the latest blogs or most popular!
Cons
- Logging in via Hype Machine was a bit of a chore.
Features:
uberHype is actually a few different things in one. Firstly, it’s a tool for discovering new music. There’s lots of ways to search out different tracks and when you find those you like you can favourite them. Secondly it’s a music player. Tracks play seamlessly within the app- with good sound quality too. Thirdly, it’s a blog reader. If you find a cool track and want to read the blog behind it you can do so. Finally, it’s a social network in its own right. Not only can you share your musical discoveries on the usual social networks but you can add friends on Hype Machine and follow what they are listening to.
Some of the navigation in-app is a bit counter-intuitive. For example, it provides a place for you to have friends, but doesn’t give you a means to add friends within the app, nor by finding them among your friends on existing social networks such as Twitter. There is a tab listed (besides your favourites) titled ‘Obsessed’, but there’s no indication as to what this means.
The other issue I had with it is signing up to Hype Machine through the app. The first time I did this I never received a conformation email, and couldn’t log on. In the end, I had to create an account on the website itself and log in through the app once this was set up. Not exactly user-friendly, but these were the only issues I had with the app itself.
The broad range of music available is impressive. This app is for people who really know their music and want to stay abreast of the latest and coolest sounds. There is some uber-cool music in the app, and it’s easy to check out the hottest new tracks as they are blogged.
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uberHype – Latest tracks
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uberHype – Popular list
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uberHype – Create profile
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uberHype – In-play mode
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uberHype – In-play mode 2
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uberHype – In-play mode 3
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uberHype – In-play mode 4
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uberHype – In-play options
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uberHype – Share the music
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uberHype – Login screen
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uberHype – Track blog
Usefulness:
Superb for finding new music. The ability to save your favourites, share and follow friends on Hype Machine makes for both an entertaining and social experience.
Ease of Use:
Aside from the issues I encountered logging into the service, the app is simple to use and fun to explore.
Frequently Used:
This obviously depends very much on the user and how much they like listening to new music. The list of music is constantly updated so you can listen as much as you like.
Interface:
The interface is both smooth and responsive. The music player is pretty cool, displaying the front of the blog/user where the track comes from. It’s very polished and looks great.