MuseumMobile Wiki

Media and Technology on the Go

Mobile Audio Platforms

This list is intended to contain information about available mobile audio platforms which satisfy as many of the below criteria as possible.  The hope is to have a central place for information on mobile audio tools that are available to help create new participatory mobile apps.

The basic functionalities we are interested in:

  • record and geotag audio using iPhone/Android
  • flexible playback of audio on iPhone/Android
  • store and organize audio recordings in database for easy filtering and accessibility
  • open-source would be nice (for flexibility, modularity and philosophy)
  • system for user ranking (and flagging) of content and subsequent filtering/organizing

Summary

Platform URL Record and upload Flexible Playback Open Source API Hosted Service Summary
Roundware http://roundware.org Y Y Y Y N designed for artistic purposes to create continuous layers of participatory audio in physical space
Soundcloud http://soundcloud.com/ Y N N Y Y YouTube for audio
AudioBoo http://audioboo.fm Y N N Y Y primarily a social network for sharing location-based audio with friends
Woices http://woices.com/ Y N N N Y designed for authority to create geo-based tours for others to follow
Broadcastr http://beta.broadcastr.com Y N N N Y primarily a social network for sharing location-based audio with friends and the world
7scenes http://7scenes.com N N N Y Y designed for authority to create geo-based tours for others to follow
Guide By Cell http://www.guidebycell.com Y N N N Y designed for authority to create keypad tours for others to follow

Details

Platform Pros Cons
Roundware
  • open-source
  • flexible, extensible
  • track record of success (Scapes, Ocean Voices)
  • extremely flexible audio playback methodologies (randomization, overlapping, continuous, etc)
  • can record and listen with iPhone, Android or browser based apps
  • standard web-service based API
  • no corporate support (ie. developed and supported by small but dedicated # of individuals thus far)
  • no hosted services (ie. User must support their own instance
  • designed for artistic purposes, not educational purposes, but is quite flexible
SoundCloud
  • established and robust online platform
  • established online community
  • evolving API which includes the ability to record and upload to soundcloud.com from within apps currently
  • handy sharing functionality via Facebook/Twitter etc integration
  • not open-source
  • not free
  • does not support any sort of playback methodologies other than one file at a time
  • inflexible – we can only do what they allow us to do
AudioBoo
  • established online platform
  • handy sharing functionality via Facebook/Twitter etc integration
  • established online community
  • limited API, but API nonetheless
  • not open-source
  • does not support any sort of playback methodologies other than one file at a time
  • inflexible – we can only do what they allow us to do
Woices
  • online platform for recording and listening
  • geo-locates audio and searches/plays back based on location
  • not open-source
  • does not support any sort of playback methodologies other than one file at a time
  • inflexible – we can only do what they allow us to do
  • no API hooks as far as I can tell
Broadcastr
  • established online platform
  • some geo-awareness built-in to playback
  • not open-source
  • does not support any sort of playback methodologies other than one file at a time
  • inflexible – we can only do what they allow us to do
  • no API hooks as far as I can tell
7scenes
  • easy way to locate assets in real space, including audio, video, text, pictures
  • they advertise that they have an API, but I could not find any technical info on it
  • handy web admin interface for creating ‘scenes’/tours
  • users can upload photos and text but not audio
Guide By Cell
  • good for pre-determined tours, but not so much for more open-ended, participatory situations
  • inexpensive and easy to develop and maintain tours via web interface
  • recordings can be made, but they are intended to be feedback, not actual contributions/additions to the system
  • no API hooks as far as I can tell

 

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