Audio Entertainment

Commuting can be such a drag! Whether alone, cocooned in your car, or travelling with the masses on public transport; getting to work is not usually a happy part of the day.

Of course, there is the radio; but with so much doom and gloom in the world, who needs to hear the hourly, or half-hourly news bulletins.

I have recently taken to two forms of entertainment whilst travelling.  Podcasts and audio books.

Podcasts

For the uninitiated, a podcast is series of broadcasts covering a plethora of subjects.  Some produced by well known broadcast organisations, such as the BBC.  Others are produced and presented by less known individuals.
In fact, that's one of the bonuses of a podcast; anyone can get in on the act and produce weekly episodes looking at their favourite TV show, or gardening, or politics or.... anything.

When I say anyone - I mean anyone.  I have a podcast of my own; which is available to listen to right here.

The BBC use podcasts alongside their regular progamming; providing either additional elements to a show, or an extra outlet for extended shows.  My favourites include "The Chequered Flag", their Formula 1 podcast.  Or, there's "Kermode and Mayo's Film Review".  This is broadcast on a Friday afternoon, but the podcast contains extra bits before and after the main show.  It's almost compulsive.

Other podcasts are "No Such Thing As A Fish", produced by the QI Elves, and is look at totally useless facts.  Funny as well as interesting.

Hollywood & Crime is a weekly series investigating a series or murders back in the 1940's, in Los Angeles.

The beauty of podcasts is that they're totally free; and you can download and listen to them on your phone.

Audio Books

My other, more recent discovery is audio books.  I had heard of them, but not really investigated them in detail.

I decided to have a look at Audible, which is an Amazon company.

Here you can listen to samples and purchase and download the entire book for listening; using their app (or on your laptop).

Audio books are not cheap.  Bearing in mind the production costs for a full, unabridged book, lasting upwards of 11 hours, they range from £2.99 to £20.

There are literally thousands to choose from.

"Mythos" read by Stephen Fry,
"Harry Potter and the Philosphers Stone" - also read by Stephen Fry
The Michelle O'Bama biography "Becoming"

The best way to enjoy Audible is through a membership plan.  For £7.99 per month, you get 1 credit.

You can use this credit for any book in their vast library.  They even have a guarantee that says if you don't enjoy a book, you can just return it.  Plus, if you decide to end your membership, which you can pause at any time, then you keep the books you already have.

You also get 30 days to try, without any obligation - and keep the book that you get in your trial.  It's a no-brainer.

Listening to podcasts or books, keeps my mind focused and I can progress the storyline, or learn something new.

What will you listen to next?

Review - Sony SRS X11 Personal Audio System

I recently purchased a Sony SRS X11 bluetooth speaker system.  In fact, I got two of them, since they came as a pair.  That's not a normal retail package, so I took advantage when I saw it; especially as the cost was only half again for the second unit.

There are many bluetooth speakers on the market, all of varying cost and quality.  I chose these because I have a good history with Sony product, and whilst they may not be the cheapest, you can usually be sure of a quality purchase.

OK - let's have a closer look.  As you'll see from the pictures, it's tiny.  But don't let that put you off.  This pumps out 10w of music.


This cube is 61mm in each direction, and weighs just 215g.  The battery will last up to 12 hours on a full charge.  The build is solid, with a rubbery texture on the top and the back, with a plastic underneath.  The grills covering the speakers look and feel like metal.  Overall, this feels like a quality product.

On the reverse you will find a stereo mini-jack input (if you use this, then you don't need to pair using bluetooth) and there is a micro USB terminal for charging.

The top of the unit contains the controls; the power button.  Press and hold to set the unit into pairing mode.

The volume buttons are on the right.  There is also a button to initiate hands-free calling, using the built-in microphone.  Music will automatically cut out when a call is in progress.

It's simple to set up - just power up (the first time will automatically set the unit to pairing mode), search for the connection on your device.  Just select it, and the pairing will be complete.

You may have spotted the Near Field Communication (NFC) icon on the top.  Tap this with your NFC enabled device and it will automatically switch your bluetooth connection on.

Now, when you play anything on your device, the audio will output from the speaker.  Magic.

One great feature is the ability to daisy-chain two of the units together.  There are two modes available.  Either create stereo sound, or double up, and put each device in a different room.  Now, so long as they are both within the bluetooth range, you can play the same music across a wider area.  Ideal for a party!


Also included is a lanyard that is useful for hanging the speaker; maybe on a branch, tent pole, or just on a door handle.

So - how do they sound?  It isn't hi-fi.  It's not tinny; there is bass, and the volume can be turned up fairly loud (although, of course, distortion will appear at the top!)  If you're looking for pure quality, then you'll need to spend more than this!  However, for general listening; playing Spotify playlists, it's ideal.

Review - Amazon Prime Music

There are a number of different streaming music services available; from Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Music and Amazon.

As a member of Amazon Prime, when this launched I was more than interested in finding out more.

Lots has been written about Amazon Prime, and the benefits that are bestowed upon you; to recap, they are:

• Unlimited Next Day Delivery
• Prime Video - Up to 15000 movies and TV shows to stream (including Amazon Originals)
• Prime Photos - Unlimited photo Storage
• Prime Early Access - 30 minute early access to Lightning Deals
• Kindle Owners Lending Library - Over half a million titles to borrow on any Kindle device

Finally, Prime Music.

Over one million tracks available to stream / download, with no ads.

What more could you ask for.  Admittedly, the music available is not as extensive as Spotify or Google Play et al, BUT, and this is the point - that’s OK.

There is a huge back catalogue, and recently added albums include the latest from Little Mix and One Direction; in fact Amazon recently announced a deal with Universal Music Group, introducing artists such as Katy Perry, Maroon 5, The Weeknd, Ellie Goulding, and Jessie J.

For me, Amazon Prime Music offers the right balance, as I am quite happy with the selection available and the features also available.

There are hundreds of pre-determined playlists; of course you can create your own, you can skip tracks whenever your want, and it's completely ad-free.

I like the fact that their x-ray feature displays the lyrics to the songs (where available), which is an extension of the x-ray offered on their video offering.

With Prime Music, it’s possible to create playlists, change the order tracks within the playlists (something I was surprised to find lacking on Spotify), you can download tracks to your device (and select the location; internal memory, or external SD card - again, something that I wasn’t able to achieve on Spotify).

All of this is synchronised with the cloud, so your playlists can be accessed from all your devices.

If there is one feature I would really love, it's gapless playback, if not also cross-over.

So; as an Amazon Prime member, for the grand total of £79 per year (just £1.52 per week) you get ALL the above. If you have the Amazon Fire TV and/or the TV Stick, then you have a sublime entertainment experience.

What do you think? Do you have a favourite music service?

Review - Robbie Williams - Swings Both Ways

The new Robbie Williams album "Swings Both Ways" is a tour de force, including some great name stars to sing-along-a-Robbie.

His current single "Go Gentle" is just lovely, and the Jungle Book favourite is so well done, with Olly Murs.  You can see it in the video below.



Michael Bublé, Lily Allen, Rufus Wainwright and Kelly Clarkson also lend a hand, which show what pulling power our Robbie has, when it comes to putting an album together.

None of the tracks are duds.  He works each one, reflecting their mood with a charisma and charm, and the richness they deserve.  I particularly like "Little Green Apples" with Kelly Clarkson, and "Soda Pop" with Michael Bublé.  "Minnie The Moocher" and "Puttin' On The Ritz" don't disappoint.

This album became the 1000th Number One album in the UK, last weekend, and whilst it is unlikely to remain there (due to a certain One Direction launching their 3rd album), it is no surprise it came straight into the top of the chart.

Over the years, he has entertained, surprised and delighted fans, all over the world, and this (along with Swing When You're Winning) in my humble opinion, are his best work.

This video is taken from The Graham Norton Show, on BBC1, on November 22nd.  It is a pure demonstration of his, and Olly's, showmanship.  I guarantee you'll be smiling all the way...

Review - Nobex

Following on from my post yesterday, about Soundhound, today I'm looking at an app to listen to radio and podcasts via your BlackBerry10 device.

There are many apps and websites where you can 'listen again' or encouraged to listen "online, on digital and on FM", but there is one app that I go to for managing my podcasts and, if necessary, listen live.

Podcasts, for those few of you who don't know, are audio programmes, created by absolutely anyone, for anyone else to listen to.  They could be about education, religion, technology, gardening, television, films; in fact anything you have an interest in, there's bound to be a podcast about it.

I have recently taken to using an app from Nobex.  With over 16000 radio stations available to find and discover new material, my main use is to manage podcasts.




Specifically built for BlackBerry 10 (it has the Built for BlackBerry designation) the free version give you:

• Listen to radio stations in your country for free
• Listen to or watch your favourite podcasts
• Get notifications when a subscribed podcast is released
• Share what you are listening to via BBM, facebook or Twitter
• Sleep timer function
• Watch YouTube videos

When listening to the radio, it tells you the name of the track and artist, along with an image, if available.

It's possible to also download the podcast, for future listening, to save using data, when out and about.

If you like your daily or weekly podcasts, and want them delivered to you with ease, then you can't go too far wrong with Nobex.

As mentioned, it's free to download, but there is a premium version which give you access to more radio stations, the ability to customize with your own pictures, and access your account on their website.

Nobex is available in BlackBerry World

Review - Soundhound

Do you like listening to music?
Do you sometimes hear a track and think "who is that?"

Now, there's an app that will listen to the music and tell you what it is.
What's more - you can even sing, or hum, the tune and it will show you what it is.

It's a clever piece of software, and is great fun to use in the car, when listening to the radio, or even sitting at home, humming away, but you can't think of the name.


It gets better, because, once it has correctly identified the song, where applicable, it will also display the lyrics.. Live!
Yes - as the song progresses, the next line of the lyrics is displayed, so you can sing along too!
This is called LiveLyrics.

There is a link to buy the track, the default is through BlackBerry World; however you can change this default, in the settings, to Amazon.

With the multitude of ways of sharing via BB10, you can use one of either Twitter, Facebook, BBM and BBM Channel etc, or use Polarbear or QuickPost to share to everywhere at once and tell everyone what you just discovered!

On iOS, you can listen to the track via Rdio, however, this feature isn't available, yet, on BlackBerry10.
You can search for the song directly via YouTube, from the app and then play the video.

Soundhound stores the history of your searches, as well as show you where you were when you searched; which is quite fascinating.
In the history, you can also access the full lyrics, so you can sing-along yourself!!

It's important to note that Soundhound does need an active network connection, and if you're using the mobile network, this could hit your data plan, so be careful if it's not unlimited.

Hopefully, Soundhound will release future updates for BlackBerry 10 - only time will tell; but there have been an increasing number of new developments on BB10, so fingers crossed.

Soundhound is available in BlackBerry World

Review - BBM Music

You've all heard about BBM, the instant messaging on BlackBerry.  Heaven knows, I’ve written about it enough!!

Recently, the people at RIM launched BBM6, the instant messaging with social interaction built in. 

Now they've launched BBM Music, a way to share and discuss your musical tastes with your BBM friends.

I've been testing this for the last week, and must admit that, although I am completely (almost) out of touch with the latest toons, this is a great way to listen to favourites, and discover new 'sounds'.

It's very clever. Once you've launched the app, you can start to select your music from a catalogue of millions.  The major music labels are on board, so there's plenty to get you started.

Next, find people who have shared music; it all feels a little lonely at first, but there are soon people inviting you to 'add them'.  This is a separate list from your standard BBM contact list (although you can become BBM friends too).

You have the ability to add comments to individuals, either to congratulate them on their musical taste, or anything else.

Since it runs in 'the cloud', nothing is stored locally, although your music selection is cached to your SD card, meaning you can listen in areas of poor coverage.

You can select up to 50 tracks in your own library, but multiply that by your contacts, and you could have limitless amount of music.  Of course, if a contact removes a track, you will also lose access to it, unless you add it yourself.  I guess that helps keep the selection fresh.  It works both ways of course, so I can change my selection at will!

The idea is, that once you have allocated your 50 tracks, you can swap up to 25 of them each month; meaning that after 2 months, you can have a completely new set of music.

So, you can listen to your own selection or listen to the selection from all your contacts. At the time of writing, I have over 410 tracks at my disposal; and growing.  Now, I admit that they won’t all be to my taste; but it sure is fun listening to new and undiscovered (by me) music.

Currently, the service is in Beta testing (which is the final phase before general release) and during this time it isn't costing me anything; however, there is talk about a £5 / month charge for this service.

Would I pay for it? 

It’s cheaper than Spotify (for which there is no BlackBerry app anyway!) and whilst I don’t own the music, at just 17p/day I get access to tons of music and I can renew and refresh as I want.

It's also a lot of fun....

Midweek Musical Interlude 3

Something completely different; from Ghost - The Musical.  If you saw the show in Manchester, or since it's move to London, then you'll remember this.

Not quite the upbeat music I've offered previously, but it's such a lovely song; and the complete soundtrack was released at the weekend. If you've seen the show, you'll know what I mean.

Midweek Musical Interlude 2

This week, for the Midweek Musical Interlude; it's another Michael - this time Michael Jackson; or at least, his music.

The video is courtesy of the Filipino, Philippines "Dancing Inmates" from Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), a maximum security prison.  They were treated to a visit by Jacksons choreographer, Travis Payne, and were taught some moves from "This Is It".


Very impressive.

Midweek Musical Interlude

Music - I love music; so to help you through the week; I thought I'd treat you to a little something different.  If there's a music video you'd like to see, then let me know in the comments, and I'll see what I can do...

This week - Michael Bublé

Review - Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry

Do you have a BlackBerry?  Do you listen to music?

Do you listen to music on your BlackBerry?

The media player on the Torch is not bad (it's not the iPod) but for music on the move, it beats carrying two devices around.

I listen to my music during my daily commute; and whilst I don't pump up the volume so those around can hear what I'm listening to, I do enjoy the beat, and it makes the journey swing along!

I was very pleased to see that Amazon have produced an app, allowing me to purchase music right there and then, and download it to my handset.  Not only can I now listen to music, but I can buy it too.

If you're desperate to use your iPod, then you can sync the music with iTunes, and download to your media player.

Amazon always seem to do these things quite well; and their catalogue isn't bad at all.  They also offer a free track; every week; so you can try something new.

So, what have I downloaded directly to my BlackBerry?  The latest R.E.M. album "Collapse Into Now" which, personally, I think is great.  There is some great music; from a band that goes back years.

You can get the Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry app from their App World; it's free to download, and you never need to wait til you get home again.

Michael Buble - Hollywood

Last night I reviewed the new album from the Black Eyed Peas.

Tonight; I bring you Michael Buble. (Why can't I add an accent above the 'e'?)

I love this guy; in a very manly way; I certainly have no intention of throwing myself at him, like the ladies do; but I think his music is great, and this is a good song. The video is a lot of fun too.



My only complaint is that this particular track was added to his latest 'Crazy Love' album, after it was originally released, which seems a little like profiteering to me.  I won't buy the album again, just for the sake of one song!

Why do they do that?

Review - Black Eyed Peas - The Beginning

Now, this might surprise you, but one of my favourite groups is the Black Eyed Peas. I know you're going to want to know why, and, honestly, I'm not sure.

I've never really been 'into' techno / electronic music; I'm much more of a jazz / middle of the road man; but there's something about the inane way that Will.I.Am puts this stuff together that makes it very listenable - and fun to 'bop' too (even when I should be working!)

So, hot on the heels of last years "The E.N.D", I was pleased to see their new album, "The Beginning", when it was released recently; and the new single "The Time (Dirty Bit)" has the qualities I enjoy.  Beautifully sampling the start of the classic from the film Dirty Dancing, it hooks you in and away they go.

There are some other stand-out tracks: such as "Love You Long Time"; and Fergie is great on "Whenever".
"Play It Loud" certainly benefits from turning the volume up.

Unfortunately there isn't much of Fergie performing solo, which is a shame; but that doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment of this album.

"The Beginning" is a 'happy' album, and I guarantee you'll be smiling, tapping your feet and generally enjoying this latest offering.