Last.fm is a fantastic online service that monitors (scrobbles) the music you play through iTunes, and updates your profile with the latest song information. It then builds on this data by notifying you of trends – who you listen to most, what your favourite genres are etc. and goes a step further to suggest other artists you may like.
Last.fm itself, the website, has just been redesigned and lives up to a very high standard that could draw many similarities to Facebook. The desktop app is also very well designed, keeping the interface simple, only showing what is needed and nothing more. The desktop app also ensures that what is important – the song information – is clearly and prominently displayed.
That’s why when the original Last.fm iPhone App was released, it had a lot to live up to. The original was good, but not amazing, with quite a few features missing, and a less than smooth interface.
However, almost all of the faults of the original have now been eliminated with the latest release of Last.fm for iPhone:
- Major improvements to the user interface all around (tap to zoom album art)
- Ability to tag songs
- Personal tag radio
- Calendar based events view
- Common artists when viewing a user profile
- Lots of other usability and back-end updates
Tag Songs
Probably the most requested feature of the original app was the ability to tag songs. You can now tag any song with as many tags as you wish, and are greeted with an instant search that autofills with suggestions for tags. You can also start a new “station” based on any tag you wish. This is brilliant – they have taken user requests seriously, and not just delivered on them, but have exceeded expectations.
Cover Art Zoom
A nice little UI feature has been added on the “Now Playing” screen – the ability to double tap and zoom in or out of the album art. Simple but sweet.
Beautiful Startup Screen
Normally, waiting for an app to start is an arduous task. However, with Last.fm, the start screen is truly attractive – black to dark grey gradient, with Last.fm prominently displayed in the centre in crisp white. There is also a subtle loading animation – the “as” of Last.fm (and AudioScrobbler) winds around to indicate the app is working. First impressions count, and this is probably the most understated attractive loading screen of any app I have used.
Calendar View
A new view for the Events screen is Calendar View. Essentially this is the same as month view in iCal, and it makes perfect sense to put it here. You can now easily see any upcoming events of the selected artist by simply browsing over a calendar view.
I hope you enjoyed this post, and highly recommend you try out Last.fm for iPhone. Best of all, it’s free, so what excuse could you possibly have!
You could also read Last.fm’s official release post here.
