More ways to rock out on your cell phone

Interested in starting a band with your cell phones? Recently, iPhone developer Mister Aardvark created a new application that allows iPhone users to turn their cell phone into a virtual instrument. As of now, there are two different programs that can turn your iPhone into a piano or guitar. If you are interested in playing piano, download Aardvark’s new iAno program. Currently, iAno provides you with a complete 88-key keyboard and allows you to press up to 5 keys at once in order to create chords. iAno also allows piano players to switch the sounds of their keys to non-traditional piano sounds such as samples called “honky tonk”. Another great feature is the user’s ability to play along with mp3’s. So if you’re not in the mood to become the next Beethoven, you can accompany some of your favorite musicians on one of their greatest hits.

If playing piano on your cell phone seems complicated, I cannot imagine what the difficulty factor is for those who want to play guitar. If you’re up for the challenge, you can download the program Pocket Guitar, created by Shinya Kasatani, and jam out on your virtual guitar. No matter what type of music you like to rock out to, Pocket Guitar provides three different sounds: distorted guitar, acoustic-electric guitar, and electric bass. If you’re not in the mood to create your own guitar solo, you can also opt to jam to your own mp3s. That’s right, you supply your own riffs to your favorite songs.

Rather play drums? You won’t have to wait long because developer MooTheCow will be adding the next instrumental addition called Drummer very shortly. The program will turn your cell phone into a mobile drum set, including 4 toms, 3 high hats, 2 snares, and more. As with iAno, drummers will be able to hit up to 5 different pads at once. Rock, Dance, Jazz and Electro drum kits all come pre-installed with the Drummer software, and users will be able to add their own samples to the mix.

With Pocket Guitar being introduced in January, iAno in February, and Drummer soon to come...will there be a trend in the wave of music? Some people are already getting a head start. Check out iBand at www.iband.at. There website showcases 2 videos that they have created using iAno, PocketGuitar, iPhoneSynth and BeatPhone. iBand, featuring Marina on vocals/piano, Seb on drums, and Roger on guitar/bass, are based in Austria and their newest song "Life is Greater than the Internet", which is accompanied by a music video, is all the rage right now on MySpace and YouTube.

guitar hero on your cell phone?

Remember when cell phones came with standard simplistic games available only in black and white? Today, popular culture has exploded in terms of media convergence in American society. As a Verizon Wireless subscriber, I found out that I have more nearly 100 games available instantly at my fingertips…but for a small fee of course. Many games require a subscription fee ranging from $2.99 to $4.99, however, some games allow you to preview the game before purchasing the game. As a gamer, I’ve always looked forward to what’s next in terms of digital quality. Game characters as well as special effects largely enhance the enjoy-ability factor for many gamers such as myself. But how does the quality of games played on Playstation 3 (PS3) and Xbox consoles compare to that of the games played on a cellular phone? Furthermore, are games like Guitar Hero (available to Verizon subscribers only) worth the $4.99 monthly subscription fee that Verizon Wireless charges? Being a Guitar Hero fanatic, I was more than willing to pay the small fee for “research” purposes in order to text the graphics and gameplay capability. It took me approximately three minutes to download the software and one minute to download each song I wanted to play.

I was astounded by how great the graphics were. The sound pretty clear for a cell phone, but I still had a rumbling/vibrating sound that game out of my LG Chocolate phone speakers as the song played. (The sound was set to medium). There are three levels that a user can play on, and the players use keys 1-3 to hit the color-coded beats as they appear on the screen. Star power, ironically, is used when the player hits the * button on their phone.

Graphically, the quality of the game was extremely high...more likely comparable to Playstation 2, rather than PS3 or Xbox. For Guitar Hero addicts who want a quick fix at their fingertips, this option is not a satisfying solution. Currently, there are 15 songs available, but Verizon Wireless will be adding more songs each month. You must play on career mode in order to play more than the 5 songs available in Quick Play mode. While there are interesting challenges not offered on the home console, such as beating a song on expert level while the sound is off, players do not get to play the song in its entirety. I was extremely disappointed to find out that I could only play half of the song. The Verizon service does not offer the entire song regardless of your subscription service ($4.99/month of $11.99 for unlimited use). I consider myself to be and avid Guitar Hero player, so I find Verizon’s adaptation to be highly problematic and very unfulfilling. If the cell phone version, however, was equal to that of the console game, would I still be wiling to shell out nearly $5.00 a month? Probably not. This influence of digital convergence and popular culture has become so engrained in people, including me. Until I find that a product is not “up to my standards”, I would unconsciously hesitate to react to a surcharge for playing a game on my cell phone.

What this cell phone offering surely lacks is the sense of community that the console games offer. I know many people who have Guitar Hero parties, and there are a couple of bars in South Jersey who have Guitar Hero tournaments during the week. The video game brings music lovers together through video technology; however, the cell phone service does little to instill a community-based atmosphere. For young teens, however, challenging your friends to a little Guitar Hero tournament may be a great deal of fun...

Check out a trailer to Guitar Hero for Verizon Wireless customers on YouTube.com

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CBSTVQ70TEY