Shazam

Another magic iPhone app – one that somehow works but I have no idea how it does it’s thing. If you’re in the car listening to the radio and you want to know the name and artist of the song you’re hearing, you use Shazam to get that information. The app claims to work in restaurants, stores, etc. but I haven’t tried it out there.

It’s simple to use – just tap the “Tag Now” button and the app “listens” to the song and then pulls up the song name and artist. You have to do this while lyrics are playing.  Shazam will keep a list of all the music you have “tagged”. If you tap the name of the song the app pulls up more information. From here you can go directly to iTunes to get the song. Some songs will also pull up a link to You Tube. You can also see the biography and discography of the artist.

For those of us still driving around without satellite radio in our vehicles this app is a nice way to figure out what you’re listening to, without waiting for a DJ to tell you. One snag I’ve run into, it doesn’t do a great job identifying children’s music. I tried it out on an Imagination Movers CD and it was unable to give me the song or artist. I’ve also tried it out in my husband’s car on the XM kids channel, again without success.

But Shazam’s free and maybe they’ll add extensive children’s music to their magical database one of these days.

Price when Reviewed: Free

Seller: Shazam Entertainment, Ltd.

Available on iTunes