Tag Archives: Grooveshark

Grooveshark Goes HTML5

Android, Apple, google, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, ipod, Palm, RIM, smartphone, Streaming, tablet, Web App, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Grooveshark LogoIn order to get round all those pesky app store rules, the musos at Grooveshark have produced a basic little HTML5 player that’s available via Grooveshark’s website. If you’re not familiar with Grooveshark, it’s “the world’s largest on-demand and music discovery service. With over 15 million songs, Grooveshark is an ecosystem that brings together music fans, bands, music labels, and brands.”

A posting on their blog yesterday said:

In an effort to span over this confounded series of tubes and reach as many mobile music listeners as we can, we’ve done the unthinkable.

iOS? We got there.
Android 2.3+?   We got there.
Playbook? We got there.
TouchPad? Yep.  There too.

Should you choose to accept your mission:

!!!  For covert opts points, try it on an html5 device not listed above and report your findings to Dr. Lovedoctor at lovedoctor@grooveshark.com for your bonus surprise.

I’ve tried out on an HP TouchPad, a Pre 3 and a Google Nexus S and can confirm that it works most of the time. On occasion, it wouldn’t start playing a track and once that had happened, I had to restart the browser to fix the problem. The app is pretty simple, no fancy cover-flow effects here. This is it on the TouchPad.

Grooveshark HTML5 Web App

Tap on a track and it starts playing. There are also genre “radio” stations for a continuous stream of tracks. Overall, it’s not bad but the tracks failed to start playing too many times for my liking.

Grooveshark Bypasses Marketplace and Gets Back on Android

Android, Music, , , ,

Grooveshark has become one of my favorite web apps.  If you’re a music fan then this is THE destination for checking out songs and deciding what you want to buy and what isn’t as good, upon second listen, as you thought.  Recently it entered the Android Marketplace…and then exited it just as quickly. Grooveshark is a controversial program, but tobody, to date, has challenged it’s legality.  In fact, Grooveshark is adamant about their right to operate.

Well, now they are back bypassing the Marketplace and getting back on Android devices.  If you browse to the Grooveshark website on your mobile device you will be greeted with an option to download the app.

Once you click the “download” button at the bottom the above screen the app will automatically install.  Click your completed download and you will receive the same scary screen that greets many app installs on Android.

You will need to have a Grooveshark account (its free) to use the mobile app.  Eventually you will also have to sign up for a Grooveshark Anywhere account to continue using the app, which will run you $9 per month.

Android’s open nature allows apps to bypass the Marketplace in this way.  That can be good and bad for users, since it can also lead to bad apps being installed.  In the long run, though, I think open is best for everyone.  I’m glad Grooveshark has taken this step and I hope that the differences will be worked out and they will be available again in the Marketplace.

Cool Music Sites You May Not Know

Music, , , ,

Being a big fan of music I seek out sites that let me sample, experiment and just plain play around with all sorts of music.  And, having an HTPC that feeds audio though my Yamaha A/V Receiver, I am very anxious to find the best music online.

You are all probably familiar with the big names such as Pandora, Last.FM, Slacker, Live 365 and a few others.  Here are a few you may not have heard of, but should check out.

Grooveshark

Grooveshark has actually been around for a little while now (they launched in 2007), and I have been using it off and on for some time, but it seems to be getting traction lately.  It’s an online streaming service that allows you play a song, but not download it.  They do have license deals in place with some major labels such as EMI.

mSpot

mSpot is a cool new web site/software program that allows you to upload your music to their cloud and then listen anywhere on any PC, Mac, or mobile device.  It works with all major web browsers, and automatically updates your collections and playlists across all devices as well.  You will have to install their uploader program which will immediately begin uploading your playlists and most recently listened to music, but then will allow you to choose what is uploaded next.

MixPod

MixPod is a music service under the MySpace umbrella.  Like Grooveshark, it’s a streaming only service – no downloads or uploads.  You can choose songs and add them to a playlist and then save the playlist.  You can have multiple playlists available anytime so that you can play whatever you’re in the mood for.  Saving playlists requires you to sign up for a free account, but that’s a small price for the convenience.