SheGeeks

Today imeem tipped me off that their iPhone app is now available for download. Previously imeem mobile was only available on the Android platform for phones such as the G1 (T-Mobile). So how does imeem stack up against champs of mobile music such as Last.FM and Pandora?

Why I’m inlove with imeem

Let me first state that I’m a huge fan of imeem. Don’t get me wrong, I love Last.FM and Pandora. They’re awesome music services and their mobile apps are great. For me, imeem’s strength is in its collection of music of specific genres that other services seem to be largely ignoring. My biggest problem with Last.FM and Pandora is that they’re selection of music within urban genre’s such as rap, hip-hip, and R&B is slim.

I’m not referring to all that mainstream crap (though I enjoy those songs occasionally too). I’m talking about songs by artists such as T.I., Lil Wayne (his mixtape stuff), Gucci Mane, OJ Da Juiceman, Yola Da Great, Young Jeezy, and Gorilla Zoe. I’m forever looking for songs that you’re bound to only hear in clubs  or are usually featured on a mixtape. Imeem has been way more helpful in finding my musical tastes than any other service.

The Good (Imeem iPhone App Review)

Imeem for the iPhone takes the radio station strategy that Pandora and Last.FM are using for their iPhone apps. Imeem gives you plenty of radio stations to choose from. Upon opening the app you’re presented with many featured stations. My favorite featured stations are Spotlight, Discover, and Top 100.

• Spotlight features new and notable artists
• Discover plays recommended music for you
• Top 100 plays this week’s hottest songs on imeem

So far the Discover station has been great for finding new songs that actually match what I like to listen to. I continue to use Spotlight for finding songs from other genre’s and Top 100 to keep up with what’s new but rising to fame. If none of the Featured stations catch your attention, you can always listen to your Favorites via the Favorite Songs station or create a custom artist station.

You can buy songs through iTunes, email, favorite, or skip  a nice amount tunes (there’s a limit) from the app. However, no social networking integration with Twitter or a way to add songs to your playlists.  Songs also feature an information button to learn more about

Bad & Ugly

I’ve been waiting a long time for imeem to hit my iPhone. What I really want from the service via an iPhone app, hasn’t been given. However, I understand that this strength can be a financial weakness. So, I’m not surprised that can’t search their catalog for specific songs on the iPhone app. This is a big deal for me, and something that Last.FM and Pandora also lack. Can someone leave a comment explaining why this isn’t available in ANY mobile music app?

As the iPhone is a very visually appealing system, I find myself indifferent to imeem’s UI  and album art work images. Fans of album art will be disappointed in the quality of the images. It substracts from the visual appeal and experience of the overall application.

There’s no accessing playlists that you’ve previously created, though you do have access to any songs that you’ve uploaded to the service. So far I haven’t seen a limit on skipping songs and I’ve pressed skipped every 3 songs for the last 13 songs. No limit is placed on the amount of times you can listen to material that you’ve uploaded. So, can I just upload my entire library to work around this?

A Good Entrance

The amount of features that I love and the things I’d like to see improved on are pretty equal. It’s catalog keeps my interests more-so than the iPhone app itself right now. However, I don’t understand the difference between clicking all day on imeem’s website to play specific songs, versus tapping my iPhone screen to do the same? Is there a legal issue behind this?

Still, imeem’s recommendation engine also feels better suited for my tastes and it does a great job of playing some tunes that I’ve definitely favorited as a way of bookmarking to come back to. Do I recommend the app? If you’re a fan of the service and/or you’ve used it often enough, it should work great for you.

Popularity: 79% [?]

Kudos to Marjolein Hoekstra (@cleverclogs) for passing on the awesomesauce headline! If you love the things I tweet (@corvida), then she’s someone you need to be following.

After finding the joy in Brightkite, a location-based social network, I began to realize how important location-based services and mobile social networks are becoming. I absolutely love them. I’m staying tuned into the advancements they make, especially after reading how the iPhone is boosting demands for location-based services (I agree, Om!). Did you know that there are over 1900 location-based iPhone apps?! There’s a lot of opportunity for this space to grow into something that could transform the way we communicate and interact in real life!

This space isn’t without it’s pitfalls though. One of the worst things about mobile social networks and location-based services is that they constantly fall prey to what I refer to as the “empty room” effect. You can receive all the information in the world about where someone was at 2 hours ago with such services. That was 2 hours ago!

• Are they still there?
• Where are they on the way to?
• What do I do now?

Such questions aren’t being given answers. There are a ton of issues that need to be address. Here are my top 8 suggestions on how to better improve the use and adoption of mobile social networks and location-based services.

Check Out Option

This is the best resolution to the “empty room” problem. Where’s my checkout option? This can help my friends and potential connections know that though I’ve recently (with 1-5 hours) visited a specific place, I’m no longer there.

Where To Next?

Expanding on the check out option, I’d love the option to send an update out on where I’m heading to next, without necessarily checking into the place. Once I get to my destination, I should be able to come back to the option to check-in. I ask for this because sometimes I like to let my network know where I might be heading to next. Right now, this requires me to check-in to the destination before I get there. I could post a note about where I’m heading next it would be missing important location details, while remaining attached to my current destination (which I don’t want).

Introduce Yourself

While I can see where people are and what they’re doing around me. I have no idea how to introduce myself to them. Should I just stop by and tell them how I found them? I don’t think so. Sounds kind of stalker-ish, doesn’t it? Should I send a message via the service? They may not get it before they leave to their next destination. See my dilemma?

I imagine a button that that allows me to personally introduce myself to someone at a particular location that I’m checked into,and/or a way to notify new people that check-in to a location whether I’m in the mood to meet and greet or if I’m “busy”.

What’s Around Me?

I can see where people are around me, but I’d like to know what’s also around me. How about competing stores similar to the one I checked into? What about finding more restaurants around me? Maybe the one I originally wanted to go had too long of a wait time. Any more restaurants around that serve pasta or pizza?

Sure I could use services like Yelp or UrbanSpoon to find these things, but I don’t want to hop from site to site. Aren’t we we’re discussing location-based services? All of this is location-based information!

Places To Go / People To See

I’m sure you’re familiar with the old saying “I have places to go and people to see.”  I think the first half of the saying is something location-based services should seriously considering diving into. I’m constantly finding out about new places to visit. However, I rarely remember where they are and whether or not I’m near them. I’d love the ability to bookmark those places and receive an alert whenever I check-in near any places that I bookmarked. That way I’ll remember to visit them even when I’ve long forgotten about them.

Meetups & Events

Tweetups, conferences, unconferences, meetups…location-based services are sorely lacking in features that cater to these events. What would you want to see from your mobile-social network in order to take advantage of the connections available right in front of you?

Grouping of Contacts Based on Location

Can someone please provide this option! I would’ve thought someone would’ve implemented it by now. Being able to see what’s going on with your friends based by location would be an awesome view. Imagine being able to follow what’s going on with your friends from your hometown, while also watching what’s going on with your friends where you currently live!

Avoid My Service Provider

Instead of filling up my inbox and forcing me to get a SMS plan, try providing the same services via YOUR network. Enough said.

Promotion/Marketing

I’d love to be able to see any events going on within a specific radius of where I’m at or events relating to certain interests that I’ve marked in my profile. For example, when I’m out with friends and we run out of ideas on things to do, we don’t go searching the web for more ideas.  We call friends and pay attention to what’s going on around us. Having this information already at my fingertips from one service or network would be great instead of having to switch to Upcoming by Yahoo. Sorry, I hate service hopping. The fact that I own an iPhone doesn’t help either.

This is what I hope to see for the future of mobile social networks. These are the actions, opportunities, and options that I adamantly encourage to be taken advantage of. There may be some privacy issues regarding some of these suggestions. If there is, feel free to let me know in the comments. However, privacy is not a huge concern for me when it comes to such services. We’re all responsible for what we choose to push and pull.

What are some features you see in the future for mobile social networks and location-based services? Know of any networks that have the features noted above? Comment, comment, COMMENT!

Popularity: 71% [?]

Camera phones are an important part of the future of technology. The following apps will demonstrate with such clarity what half of Asia probably already knows. These are the apps I hope to see in the future as technology evolves. These apps are innovative.

TinEye Mobile Music by Idee

I’m a huge fan of Idee’s numerous search engine projects. They are awesome and great tools for bloggers when it comes to finding unique and creative images for your content. However, their TinEye Music [iTunes] app takes image recognition and user interaction to another level.

From The Site:

TinEye Mobile allows you to search for products using your mobile phone’s camera. Just take a photograph to start your search and view pricing and reviews for products.

Idée’s first mobile release is TinEye Music and is for iPhones only. The next releases will include books, DVDs/movies and games as well as support for multiple smartphones.

And boy does it deliver! The database behind this service indexes over one million visually “fingerprinted” music albums. They plan to bring this innovative service to multiple smartphones and also include searches for books, DVDs/movies and games. TinEye Music provides links from albums on iTunes, YouTube, allmusic.com, and Wikipedia. From song clips to reviews and bios, TinEye Music packs a lot of features in this app. Best of all, it’s free! Check out this demo of the TinEye Music:

SnapTell

Where TinEye Music lacks topics outside of music, SnapTell picks up the pace by offering image recognition services for books, DVDs, CDs, video games. They offer product links from Google, Youtube, Wikipedia, Amazon, IMDb, eBay, GameSpot, Barnes & Nobles, and more. Chris found it to be pretty clever. I think it’s friggin awesomesauce!

Fortunately, SnapTell is available for free on the iPhone, Andriod, Windows Mobile, or just your average cellphone by sending any image to fun@snaptell.com. So it’s pretty accessible right now. Video demo anyone?

And to think, all of this is now available at your fingertips with just a snap from your camera phone.

Popularity: 11% [?]