Reviews

Busker

March 3, 2005

I’ve used several Palm OS music players in the past, most notably AeroPlayer, PocketTunes, and of course the built in Music application on my Tapwave Zodiac. Every single one of them worked just fine, but they didn’t have that extra “zing” that could bring a smile to my face every time I opened the app. Busker certainly solves that problem; the graphical style is fresh, fun, and incredibly appealing. The controls are large and easy to see/use— a finger will work, so you don’t have to pick up your stylus.

When you first start Busker, it defaults to artist view, showing you a list of every artist on your memory expansion card. You don’t have to specify the directory, assuming that you have everything stored in the /audio directory; Busker is even smart enough to recognize songs in folders and group them accordingly. This is actually my favorite feature— you don’t need playlists at all, if you organize your songs in folders on your memory card (though an upcoming version, currently in beta, does offer playlists).

Another fun feature is Quick Mix; a single tap on that option quickly selects a random list of songs and starts playing immediately. It’s really fun to use this one when you’re not sure what you want to hear, and similar of course to the “shuffle songs” option on an iPod. You can also mark which songs are your favorites by tapping on the star in the menu bar; then you can quickly play them by choosing the Favorites option from the Busker menu, or at the top of the song list. The application also keeps track of the most recently played songs, as well as the most often played. Background play is also supported, a major plus, though if you want to skip a song or anything else, you have to return to the Busker application as there are no pop-up controls.

When you’re playing a song, the screen splits into two halves; the top shows the list of songs, and the bottom gives you more detailed information such as the length of the song and how much time is left on the track, as well as a graphical bar that shows how much has played. Tapping on the bar takes you immediately to the point at which you tapped, which works as a super-precise fast forward or reverse function. Controls at the bottom of the screen allow you to play, pause, and move to the previous or next track. The green arrow on the left takes you back to the main screen, while the yellow headphone icon serves as the volume control. You can even display the album art if you like, and Treo users can actually find album art and download it into Busker wirelessly.

I really like Busker, and will definitely keep using it in the future; it’s that much better than the freebie music player that came with my Tapwave Zodiac. Busker plays MP3, WAV, and OGG music files, takes up just 493 of space on your Palm OS device. A full license costs $19.95, which compares favorably to other similar products. For a free trial, more information, or online purchase, head on over to the Electric Pocket web site.

PocketGoddess Rating for Busker:

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