Epic App Battles of Android: Spotify vs. Songza
Welcome to the second round of the Epic App Battles of Andriod: Music Edition!
In the green corner, with 100 million downloads, we have Spotify! Spotify is the favorite in this match with a rating of 4.5!
In the blue corner, with 5 million downloads, Songza hopes to overthrow Spotify coming in at a ranking of 4.4!
Can Songza overcome the crowd favorite, Spotify, in a head to head battle? Read on and find out.
Round 1: App design
Spotify
Spotify kicks things off with a slick interface consisting of dark greys and a ‘Spotify’ green. It isn’t overstated, but it isn’t boring either.
On certain screens, there are soft gradients that provide pleasant overall effects yet don’t distract or take away from the featured album art. Spotify also provides splashes of color and muted images to add something extra to the overall app design.
There is a slight inconsistency that I noticed in the ‘Now Playing’ view. In this view and this view only, you have rounded corners on top. What they were probably trying to do was make the ‘Now Playing’ view feel like it is resting on top of the rest of the interface when it is open, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark.
If they really wanted to make that work, the ‘Now Playing’ view should slide up from the bottom when you open it; however, it opens like you are pulling up a new page ruining the effect. I don’t get whey it doesn’t slide up when you open it because it slides down when you close that view perfectly fine.
It was a clever idea that didn’t quite land and comes off as an inconsistency and it honestly bothers me a little. For that, Spotify gets docked on the interface rating and will get a score of 8.5 for this round.
Rating: 8.5
Songza
Songza’s interface just feels childish. They use what appears to be a four color gradient shifting from purple to indigo to blue and finally to green as a background. This gradient is changes throughout the day to different colors. I have yet to see a color combonation that doesn’t make me cringe a little. It just isn’t as elegant as other designs being used by other apps.
The poor background choice isn’t helped by what appears to be a persistant banner ad running along the bottom of the page.
Moving on through the app, it feels like someone’s first Android app project. Lists are just the generic list view with no sprucing up. The tiles seem to be just thrown onto the screen with no thought to appearance.
All things considered, the interface is workable, but not pleasant to use like Spotify’s interface is. With poor color choices and lazy UI elements, Songza gets a 3.5 for its app design. This gives Spotify a 5 point lead to start off with. things aren’t looking so hot for Songza.
Rating: 3.5
Round 1:
Spotify – 8.5
Songza – 3.5
Round 2: Features
Spotify gives you a bunch of options for your music playback. They offer up various playlists that fit into different categories according to genre or mood. Once you chose a mood or genre, you are presented with a wide range of playlists that go with whatever category you chose. This gives you a great way to find new music to love, or music that will fit into your current emotions or activities.
If you aren’t into music discovery, you are able to start playlists consisting of albums or artists that you enjoy. It is really easy to create playlists. All you have to do is search through Spotify’s library of music and slap that menu button to individual songs or entire albums to your playlists. From there, you can shuffle play your playlists to only get music that you enjoy.
There is a very interesting difference between the Spotify app on your phone and the Spotify app on your tablet. When using your phone to listen to Spotify, you only have the option to shuffle play playlists and listen to ‘radio stations’. However, when you are listening with your tablet, you can actually play any song you want.
You can tap on an individual song title and listen to that song instantly. On a phone, if you were to tap on an individual song, you would be prompted to shuffle play the album or playlist. Unless you have Spotify premium that is. You can also listen to any song you want on the desktop version of Spotify. Only the phone app is limited to shuffle playing music.
Another awesome feature is ‘Spotify Connect’. With Connect, you can play music through your tablet remotely through your phone’s Spotify app. The only downside is your tablet has to have Spotify open and has to be unlocked to get Connect started. However, once you have your tablet connected, you can control the music while your tablet’s screen is off or in another app.
Unfortunately, Spotify Connect doesn’t work the other way around (control phone playback with your tablet) unless you have Spotify premium. Another privilege exclusive to those with a premium subscription is using Spotify Connect on the desktop app.
Probably my favorite feature is tucked away in the settings. There is a built-in equalizer that actually works! You can use this equalizer to create your own audio profile to fit your tastes, or you can use preset options based on genre.
As awesome as Spotify is, they only allow you to play music through a single device at a time. If you start trying to play music through your tablet while someone is listening to Spotify with your phone, your phone’s music will pause once your tablet’s music starts up.
What We Like about Spotify
- Spotify Connect lets you control playback on your tablet from your phone
- Curated playlists based on mood, activities or genre.
- Play any song you want with a free account from a tablet
- Ability to create custom playlists or find other user-created playlists
- Built-in equalizer that actually works
What We Don’t Like about Spotify
- No option to play straight through a playlist, you have to shuffle play as a free user
- Can only play music from one device at a time
Rating: 9
Songza isn’t trying to do anything fancy or revolutionary. They have a simple interface, which probably contributes to why I disliked it so much, and a simple goal. They simply aim to deliver predesigned playlists to cater to specific activities, moods, decades and even ages.
The consequence of this simple goal is a severe lack of features. That is all that Songza has to offer. A set of playlists tailored to for various topics. You can like or dislike certain songs in a playlist, but I am unsure of how that affects the playlist. It would appear that the song doesn’t play again, but I cannot say that with 100% confidence as I am pretty sure that some of my disliked songs came back.
Other than the playlists, you are also given a Sleep Timer that will stop your music at a set time. This is a great feature that can be used to prevent music from streaming all through the night jacking up your WiFi/Data usage.
There really isn’t anything else noteworthy about Songza. There is an option to pull up the currently playing song in the Play Store, but that is about the extent of the app.
The limited number of skips (present in pretty much every free music streaming app) and ad banner that runs on the bottom of the app are rather infuriating and the limitations of Songza are just too numerous for my taste.
The worst part is that there is no way to remove these limitations. By that, I mean there is no paid service that will remove the ad and enable unlimited skips. This is the only music service I have found that implements those limitations and doesn’t allow the user to remove them.
There could be a market for Songza. It would be perfect for the casual listener who just needs background noise, but it is definitely not the music streaming app for me.
What We Like about Songza
- ‘Sleep Timer’ function
- Predefined playlists
- Simplistic goal
What We Don’t Like about Songza
- Limited skips
- Persistent ad banner
- No paid option
- Inability to play what/who you want
Rating: 5
Round 2:
Spotify – 9
Songza – 5
Round 3: Price
Spotify Free Version: Ads, commercials, can’t select individual song to play on mobile phone, limited Spotify Connect functionality and limited skips
Spotify Premium Version: $0.99 for the first three months then $9.99 per month upgrades you to no ads and fewer interruptions and unlimited functionality
Rating: 8
Songza Free Version: Limited skips, banner ad and only version available
As much as I dislike it, you can’t beat free
Rating: 10
Round 3:
Spotify – 6
Songza – 10
After 3 rounds of head to head action between Spotify and Songza, we have to take it to the judges score cards. Not really, but we don’t want to hurt Songza’s feelings. In reality, Spotify took out Songza in the first round.
Final Score:
Slacker – 23.5
Pandora – 18.5
Summary
Songza really didn’t have a chance against all mighty Spotify. Spotify offers everything, well the one thing, that Songza offers and a whole lot more. Not to mention that Spotify also manages to do it loads more elegantly than Songza did.
Songza is just too simple of an app. It really does fill like more someone’s Senior project than a marketable and functional app.
I actually have to thank Songza though. After this experience, I found Spotify to be so vastly superior to Songza that I went out and paid for the premium version of Spotify. Spotify’s Connect feature and other features deserve the $9.99 a month.
So that is how I rank Songza and Spotify against each other. Which one do you prefer? What is your go-to music streaming service? Let us know in the comments down below!
The post Epic App Battles of Android: Spotify vs. Songza appeared first on AndroidGuys.
The Moto X Style Pure Edition hands-on
So if you’ve ever wished you could get a Nexus 6, but with all the Moto Maker customizations, you’re in luck, cause that’s pretty much what the Moto X Style Pure Edition is. It’s got the same basic shape and design as the Moto X you love, just super-sized to 5.7-inches. At its thickest, the Moto X Style is a surprisingly beefy 11.06mm. That’s not exactly chunky, but it’s certainly thicker than many other super svelte flagships out there. You don’t necessarily notice the extra bulk though, because the edges taper down to a more manageable 6.1mm. What you do notice is the heft. The 179g body feels substantial. But not in a holding a brick way, more in a premium way. The Moto X Style feels like it was made from durable high-end parts and materials, not from cheap flimsy plastic.
What you really want to know about though is those customizable backplates (it’s ok you can admit it, you don’t really care what processor is inside). And let me tell you, Motorola has knocked it out of the park. The new silicon backs are soft and lovely in a way that you don’t come across too often any more on smartphones. They feel difficult to scratch or mark and, at least on the light champagne finish, collected exactly zero fingerprints. Even more impressive was the natural Saffiano leather. Now, obviously this is a matter of personal preference, but I love the feel of the Saffiano leather. Most commonly you find this material on handbags and briefcases. It’s a leather thats stamped with a crosshatch pattern that makes it scratch resistant and offers great grip and texture. It wont age in the same way smoother leathers will, or develop the same type of patina, but it will still gain character as you beat it up use it.
What about the software? Well, it’s Lollipop. It’s Android. It’s pure as the driven snow. Ok, maybe not that pure, but pretty close. There’s no ugly skin, no carrier bloatware. The only additions to the basic Google package of apps are a few Motorola tools that are actually pretty useful. Moto Assist, Moto Display and Moto Actions are there to add more features to your voice commands and automate things like turning on and off your ringer based on your calendar or location. The boost in processing power, including the dedicated context and language processors, mean that all these features (and the phone in general) zip along with nary a hiccup. (At least until you’ve install a few dozen apps and taken a few hundred photos.)
The one new hardware feature that you can’t avoid noticing is the screen. It’s big. It’s crisp. It’s beautiful… so long as you don’t turn down the brightness too much. When cranked to top brightness the Moto X Style’s display is beautiful. Samsung, Apple and LG hold a bit of an edge in pure quality, but that’s hardly a knock on Moto and more a testament to the insane level of work that goes into those company’s screens. The only issue with the display is that when you drop the brightness too low, the screen takes on an unmistakable blue hue. It hardly ruins the experience of using the phone, but it’s something to be aware of if you’re a stickler for color accuracy. It’s also surprising since Motorola is touting the Style’s photo capabilities. It does take excellent photos, but if you’re trying to save battery by dimming the screen, you’d never know it.
What’s most impressive though, is that you’d never realize this phone only costs $400 when you’re playing with it. It feels and looks better than many phones that would cost $600 or even $700 off contract.
Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Lenovo
This year’s Moto G feels like another cheap champion
It’s a little hard not to look at the Moto G as one of the less interesting devices we saw today — after all, it got unveiled in India well while plenty of us were sleeping and it was quickly overshadowed by the unlocked beauty of the Moto X Style. Motorola clearly doesn’t see it the same way. The Moto G has been the best-selling smartphone in the company’s history, and it had to make sure that this year’s model struck a crucial balance between price and performance. We just got our own unit to fiddle around with, and so far, Motorola has another cheap champion on its hands.
As we know, this year’s Moto G is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410, but there’s a there’s crucial difference between the two major models available today. The baseline model – the one we just got – costs $179, but only has 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM. In all likelihood, you’re going to want the model starting at $219 since it has double the storage and RAM for, not accounting for all your MotoMaker add-ons.
Sussing out performance in situations like this is always a crapshoot, but the combination of some decent silicon and an almost-completely-stock version of Android 5.1.1 Lollipop mean there’s not much room for hiccups just yet. Not everything worked the way it should right out of the gate, though. I spent a good 10 seconds trying to figure out why the on-screen shift key wouldn’t work when punching in a WiFi password, and the despite setting the system language to English, the very first notification that popped up in my shade was something en Francais. Still haven’t been able to figure that one out. Still, after installing some apps and taking the Chrome for a spin, I didn’t notice much in the way of glaring slow-down. The Snapdragon 410 certainly won’t blow you away, but at first blush it’s easily as solid – if not moreso – than most of the other low-cost unlocked smartphones I’ve played with lately. Smarter features like Moto Assist work just as well as they always have too, which only helps Motorola stand out from the madding crowd.
So yes, the Moto G is finally starting to feel a little more premium — thankfully looks are catching up too. There’s still a sizable bezel running around the 5-inch 720p screen, but the addition of a metallic accent around the 13-megapixel camera and flash add a welcome dose of style to the thing. Oh, and there’s a very good chance your Moto G will look better than ours since you’ll be able to run it through the MotoMaker wringer, choosing your own colors for the accents and backplates. While I’m rambling on about the Moto G’s back, it’s been said that it has the same camera as the Nexus 6. Turns out that’s not the full story. Yes, the Moto G uses the same 13-megapixel Sony sensor as its much bigger cousin and a similar f/2.0 aperture lens. The differences lie in the way the elements around it are constructed — the lens is loaded up with IR-filtering coatings that help the camera handle ambient light more intelligently. I haven’t spent too much time with the thing yet, but early results are pretty impressive — it more accurately exposed a photo of me in a darkish room than a similarly priced Samsung phone.
It’s obviously way too early to start passing judgment on this thing, but one thing seems clear from the get-go: Motorola still knows how to make a good, cheap phone. We’ll update this story with more nuanced impressions as they develop, and stay tuned for our full review in the days to come.
Filed under: Mobile
We’re live from Motorola’s ‘Relationship’ event!
Weeks of leaks and an early Moto G unveiling in India didn’t keep Motorola from putting on a show here in New York (oh, and London too). And why should it? We’re expecting to see a brand new Moto X take the stage this morning, and if we’re really lucky, we might catch a glimpse of a shiny new Moto 360 to go with it. The most puzzling angle of all is Motorola’s insistence that today will change our “mobile relationships,” but hey — it’s still early and there’s plenty of time for bizarre, corporate rationale. Bring it, Moto.
Filed under: Mobile
The Moto X Style is big, gorgeous and (of course) highly customizable
The Moto X is alive and well in 2015. The latest iteration of the highly customizable flagship, dubbed the Moto X Style, has a giant 5.7-inch quad HD screen with the tiniest of bezels. It also has front facing stereo speakers, a 21-megapixel camera and “TurboPower” quick charging technology. But what you really care about is those lovely customizable elements, like the back plate and metallic accents. Those luxurious leather and wood pieces you love are back, of course. But there’s also a new silicon finish for the rear of the device that has a “soft feel” and a “warm look.” Though, we’re reserving judgment until we get to grope it ourselves.
Developing…
As you’ve come to expect from Motorola devices, there is no skin here. You’re getting as close to vanilla Android as possible, without buying a Nexus device. Of course, you can always buy the Pure Edition of the Moto X Style and get even closer to that Nexus experience. But if you go with the standard version you will get Motorola’s add ons like Moto Assist, Moto Display and Moto Actions, which are actually kind of helpful and minimally intrusive. Oh, and all of this is running on Android Lollipop 5.1.1. No aging and outdated version of Google’s OS here.
Inside is a 3,000 mAh battery that Moto claims will give you 30 hours of “mixed use.” Which we’re going to assume means the average Engadget editor will get about 12 hours from it. Thankfully that TurboCharge feature should get you back to a full charge pretty quickly. Motorola claims its charges 50 percent faster than a Galaxy S6.
There will be 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models. But interestingly, the phone will also support Micro SD cards up to 128GB, in case you can’t deal with internal storage only.
As far as price, what we know now is that it will be “$200 to $300 less” than the latest from Apple and Samsung. But what that translates to when purchased at a subsidized price from a carrier isn’t clear just yet. But you can get the Moto X Style Pure Edition from Best Buy, Motorola and Amazon starting at just $399 (seriously) in September. That device will work on any LTE network in the US, is unlocked and has zero carrier bloat. Eventually there will be carrier branded versions, but there’s no info about that right now. Instead Motorola is focusing on direct to consumer online sales and by passing the traditional carrier subsidized model.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Lenovo
Moto X Style Pure Edition will work on any US carrier
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Lenovo
The Moto X Play is the Style’s more affordable cousin
While we’ve been expecting Motorola to refresh the Moto X and revise its bestselling Moto G, we didn’t expect a big-screened handset for those on a budget. The waterproof Moto X Play is designed to be exactly that: it’s powered by a 1.6GHz Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor with 2GB of RAM and features a slightly smaller 5.5-inch Full HD display, 21-megapixel rear-facing and 5-megapixel front-facing cameras and a whopping 3,630mAh battery that Motorola says will last around two days on a full charge. If you liked Droid Turbo’s longevity, then Moto X Play could be your new favorite — especially because its “TurboPower” quick-charging technology will get you back up and running in no time.
Like the original Moto X, the Play will offer 16GB and 32GB of internal storage, but it will support up to 128GB of external storage via its SD slot. Out of the box, the Moto X Play will feature Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and come complete with features like Moto Voice and Moto Assist. If you’re clamoring for Google’s latest OS, don’t fret, because the phone will be updated to Android M when it rolls out later this year.
As expected, the Moto X Play can be customized via Moto Maker. Motorola will also keep the price lower than many flagships, pricing the handset at a respectable £299 ($467) in the UK. And there’s the kicker: while Motorola has confirmed the Moto X Play will be available across Europe, Latin America, and Canada, US customers won’t be able to buy it when it goes on general sale in August.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Motorola
Razer acquires Android based console maker Ouya
In a press release today, Razer announced its acquisition of Ouya. Ouya is best known for bringing games and apps to the living room through its $99 Android based console.
In the press release, Razer lays out its plan to use Ouya technology to improve its own console, the Forge TV. In time, the Ouya Store will be merged with Cortex, Razer’s game and app store, and while development for the Ouya console will cease, the current consoles will continue to be sold, and all employees will be retained. Ouya’s founder and CEO believes that “[Razer] can take the Ouya platform to new places, inspiring developers and embracing gamers everywhere.”
This acquisition is a great way for Razer to prove that they are willing to invest time and money into the Razer Forge TV. This should minimize doubts around the quality and longevity of their newest product line.
Source: Razer Press Release
The post Razer acquires Android based console maker Ouya appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Xbox One screenshots are coming to SmartGlass on Android and iOS
Xbox One users who also own a Win 10 phone have long been able to share their gaming screenshots using Microsoft’s Smartglass app. Now that ability is coming to both Android and iOS devices. Users will be able to view, share, and save their screenshots. There are some restrictions however. For Android users, the new features will only be available, at least initially, on the Android Xbox One SmartGlass Beta. And for Apple fans, only those users who have already signed up for the iOS Xbox One SmartGlass Beta program through the Apple Store.
[Image Credit: commorancy/Flickr]
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Apple, Microsoft, Google
Source: Major Nelson
Google introduces safety warnings for corrupted and modified Android software
An interesting page has shown up in Google’s support website. It’s titled “Warning about operating system safety”, and looks to be a fresh guide for understanding what a new set of notifications mean. These new warnings haven’t been seen in previous devices, making us believe they are something to be introduced with Android M. What are they all about, though?
Moving forward, your Android software will be checked every single time the device boots, giving you a specific warning if the phone has been somehow tinkered with, or is corrupted. I can see this being a great feature for those who have a habit of buying used smartphones. You never know what others have done to second-hand devices, and a warning like this will prove to be a good red flag for those who would rather stick to stock software.
By the way, all these messages should disappear after 10 seconds, or if you press the power button. So if the software is not actually corrupted and you just happen to have an unlocked bootloader or a ROM installed, this will be nothing but a slight distraction.
Now, let’s move on to what these 3 different warnings will tell you about your handset.
Yellow – “Your device has loaded a different operating system”
The yellow warning will show up whenever the device boots an OS that is different from what was originally installed in it. This means you are likely running a third-party ROM. In this case, you can choose to continue using this ROM, or reach out to your device manufacturer to try and get some help reinstalling the original software. Hopefully they will want to help you, as the warranty is usually void after choosing to install a ROM on your device. If it doesn’t work out with them, Google is your friend!
Orange – “Your device software can’t be checked for corruption. Please lock the bootloader.”
As the warning itself mentions, this message will show up whenever your bootloader is unlocked. As with the previous situation, you can refer to your manufacturer or forum threads to figure out how to revert the procedure.
Red – “Your device is corrupt. It can’t be trusted and may not work properly.”
This is the ultimate warning, and you likely don’t want to see this message show up on your screen. Shall this appear, it would mean your device is not safe to use, not trusted and/r corrupted. The OS could still work, but there’s high chances you will encounter performance and security issues.
Wrapping up
What do you guys think of these new improvements? Is it good to have these security systems in tow, or will it be more of an annoyance to those of you who like to tinker with devices’ software? Hit the comments and share your 2 cents!
AIVAnet 
