Windows Phone App of the Day: TuneWiki

If you’re a music lover like I am and you don’t already have this app, you definitely should. TuneWiki, which started as a website, is an app that hardly needs introduction. It’s the only music player app where you can get, share, and talk about lyrics and music. The TuneWiki app was extremely popular on iOS and Android platforms and expanded to the Windows phone platform last December. TuneWiki provides you the option to search for songs and synchronized lyrics (in over 40 languages!) along with a wide variety of radio stations and SHOUTcasts.

Understanding song lyrics may seem like an unnecessary skill, but I once received extra credit in the middle school economics class for being able to explain the meaning behind Don McLean’s “American Pie.” I’d also like to officially throw down the gauntlet to anyone who can comment with the lyrics to REM’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” without using this app!

Pros:

• Free!
• Simple UI that’s easy on the eyes
• Seamlessly incorporates Windows 7.5 platform
• Discover new music and share with friends in your network
• Lyrics available in over 40 languages
• Connect with Facebook and/or Twitter
• Access unlimited songs from around the world
• Discover new music in your SongBox (songs being played and recommended by your friends)
• Create playlists
• Subscribe to feeds of your favorite artists
• Comment on and discuss song lyrics with friends
• Explore Song Maps and real time Top Charts to discover popular songs nearby and around the world
• One click video viewing
• Connects to Windows Media Player
• Lyrics presented “Karaoke style” (Note: “Bohemian Rhapsody” is overdone, and you do NOT sounds like Freddy Mercury.)

Cons

• Works best in conjunction with your existing music library

How It Works:

• Download TuneWiki in the Apps & Games section of your Marketplace
• From the home screen, scroll right to view all your apps and open TuneWiki
• Under “Settings,” choose to log in with Facebook, Twitter, or create a TuneWiki account (I chose Facebook, as this is my largest network)
• A screen will appear prompting you to create a screen name. This is how you will appear to your TuneWiki network
• You’re ready to begin searching for music! Click the magnifying glass icon at the bottom center to begin searching
• While playing a song in Windows Media Player, open TuneWiki, and the album cover automatically pops up, and the lyrics are displayed “Karaoke style,” though you also have the ability to manually scroll. You can also pause, play, or skip songs from within TuneWiki though you are playing it from another app!
• Click on the “…” in the lower right hand side of your screen to pull up your menu bar. You have the option to view your music library, change the lyric language, and map other TuneWiki users around the world who are currently listening to the same song.
• If you do not have music on your phone, you can listen to radio station, or “SHOUTcasts.” Click on “My Music” and scroll to the right until you see the “SHOUTcast” screen.
• Choose “Top Stations” to view the top stations in your area and around the world. You can also choose “Top Genres,” view your recent selections, and search for your desired station (i.e. “Top 40”) See how many listeners are tuned into that station and see what song is playing at that time before you make your selection.
• Once you choose your station, the album cover and lyrics automatically begin. Like the station? Select “Add to Favorite Stations” from the menu bar. This will be saved until “Favorites” on the home screen.
• To leave a comment, click on “Share Lyrics.” Select the specific lines you want to share (or choose the entire piece), add an extra comment to share with your network, and click the check mark in the bottom center of the screen. These comments are available to your TuneWiki network.

Conclusion:

Try as I might, I could not come up with a serious drawback for this app. The interface was adapted seamlessly for the Windows Phone 7 platform from its existing versions for iOS and Android. TuneWiki won first prize in Google’s Android competition and was named the best consumer application in the GSMA Mobile Innovation APAC Awards in Japan. Learn and discuss the lyrics to songs in your existing music library and use the TuneWiki radio stations to discover new music from around the world!

Anything with unlimited, live streaming music and Karaoke-style lyrics gets my vote, but TuneWiki is a fun, easy-to-use app that will make you look like a lyrical genius. Sorry, Elton, but,”Excuse me forgetting, but these things I do…” just won’t cut it anymore.

P.S. Did you know that “Karaoke” means “empty orchestra?”