I actually posted a quick look of Amp two days ago, but commenter feedback made me realize it might have been too quick a look, so here’s a second look at Amp — with less firing from the hip, and a more in-depth look at the features. I still see Amp as an iPod app replacement and I still don’t like the ads, but it does make an interesting case for the alternative music player on the iPhone.
Library
One of Amp’s greatest strengths is its touch interface, especially when it comes to the library. Browsing through songs is similar to the iPod, but much closer to what I’ve seen from the Zune HD in terms of style and layout. Amp allows you to queue songs or albums by simply tapping the + symbol next to each one. This is much faster than having to go to the playlist tab in the iPod, since you can queue songs up at any time while browsing your library.
Tapping on a song won’t play it immediately, but will, instead, call up a slick little pop-up that asks whether to play just that song, or every song in the album or playlist. Navigating the music library can be a little bit slower at times (Amp seems to sporadically refresh its database), but it also feels more natural. I much prefer Amp’s universal “swipe right to go back” to the iPod’s “back” button.
Queue and Playlists
Amp works best if you throw out what you know about iTunes, since it works a lot more like Windows Media Player on the PC desktop. As I mentioned earlier, you can queue songs for playback (just tap the eighth note in the bottom left to view the Now Playing list) by tapping the “+” symbol, but Amp can also access playlists. You can use any of the playlists created through iTunes or the iPod app, or you can save your current playlist as a special Amp playlist.
It should be noted that the current playlist screen is the only area that shows repeat, shuffle, and track scrubbing controls. Noticeably absent are volume and star ratings, as well as a search feature.
Now Playing
None of the four included Amp skins are really my style, but the default “liquid glass” skin isn’t bad, either. These skins change most every part of the Amp interface, but the differences are most evident on the Now Playing screen. This dynamic screen shows information on the song or artist you’re currently playing. The standard title/artist/album information is shown, but you’ll also have quick access to a band Wikipedia page, YouTube videos, and concert/tour information.
There are also the standard options to share what you’re listening to via Twitter, Facebook, or e-mail.
Concerts
It’s neat feature, but one that I won’t go into in great detail. You are provided with upcoming concert info if available, and looking into a venue ties into Google Maps and will even allow you to buy tickets. However, I prefer to do this sort of thing on the desktop.
General Playback
The impressive thing about Amp with regards to playback is that the iPod controls respect Amp’s play orders. So if you queue up a kick-ass 12 song playlist and leave Amp, you can use your headset or the pop-up iPod controls to pause, skip, or replay the songs you chose. There are a few glaring issues, though.
Closing Amp down at any time during playback seems to cause a very short (we’re talking milliseconds) pause in the music. It’s a strange little break, but it’s noticeable. Then there’s the fact that you can’t quite Amp and the iPod interchangeably.
What this means is that using Amp in any given session means using Amp (and your pop-up iPod controls or headset) all the way through. It’s unlikely you’d want to switch back to the iPod in the same session, but if you ever use Spotlight to start up an album, and then decide to tweak the play order in Amp, all playback will be cancelled, and you’ll be left with whatever playlist Amp used last.
Ads
There are a larger variety of ads than I had anticipated: some are okay, but some are downright distracting. I didn’t see why they were needed in an app that was only being offered for free temporarily (SoundHound was first released for free — back when it was still called Midomi), so I reached out to the developers of Amp two days ago for some clarification. They had this to say:
We aren’t fans of ads in paid apps either. IF we ever do make it paid, the ads will be removed… but at this point it looks like the price will stay put.
I may eventually get used to the ads (which are only shown on the Library screen, near the top), but I wouldn’t mind seeing a $2-3 ad-free version of the app, either.
Conclusion
So is Amp worth a download? The app is currently on sale for free, so there’s no money to be lost if you’re curious. However, if you’re completely happy with the iPod app, then I don’t imagine you’ll find much use for the app, especially since seamless playback requires memorizing a few rules (Amp started music > iPod started music).
On the other hand, if you’re tired of any part of the iPod — its button-heavy menu system, its inflexible playlist system, or just want a fresh coat of paint — then Amp is worth more than just a quick look (*ahem*). It could still use a few bug fixes, and some music playback features are still missing (search!), but for a Version 1.0 app, Amp does a great job of offering an App Store alternative to the iPod.
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Amp is available for FREE on the App Store, for now. There are still no details about how much it will cost if it ever does go paid.
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TAGS: music app, music player
