I am pretty sure that Steve Jobs did not anticipate that people would be replacing the iPod app on their iPhone when he stated that the iPhone was the “best iPod” they have ever made.
I would imagine that many will agree with me when I say that the iPhone is far from the best iPod ever made.
Anyway, I have come to realize that I do not ever use the iPod app. In fact I have recently hid the app from view using the Hide Icons feature in SBSettings (a jailbroken app).
Of course, there was once a time where the iPod app was acceptable, in the past I used it to listen to music from my iTunes collection, audiobooks that I downloaded from Audible as well as audio and video podcasts.
Now, things have changed and due to my dislike of the iPod app, as well as my listening habits, I have since stopped syncing any music and podcasts from iTunes. The only audio I am currently syncing with iTunes are audiobooks.
So what have I used to replace the iPod app?
- For music, its all streaming. I use Pandora (App Store link) and Slacker (App Store link).
- For audiobooks, like I mentioned these are still synced with iTunes, however they are enjoyed using the newly released Bookmark (App Store link).
- For podcasts I use RssPlayer (App Store link), which ends up being much nicer because it allows me to download the items I want over-the-air regardless of the file size.
So yes, it took a mix match of three four separate apps, but these have made the “iPod” experience much nicer on my iPhone.
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September 17th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
This works great when u have a solid 3g. But it’s not much help on a plane or in any of the bajillion places that Att service sux!
September 17th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
ALL streaming music sounds like crap. I can’t believe you can accept such low quality sound. I need my hi-fi files.
September 18th, 2009 at 1:55 am
Doesn’t sound like crap to me. You can adjust the quality inside the app, you know?! So many times do I hear hard core “audio file junkies” rave about how awesome a sound track is on a movie and watch the video in mediocre 480i/p and drool. Seeing is believing, not hearing. Paired together and it is something special. However if I have to listen streamed in 128kbps versus 320kbps so be it. Saves me more room for movies, tv shows, and all the pixelated porn you can handle… Err, whatever. Half hazard rant over, fin, finished.
September 18th, 2009 at 6:38 am
I use the iPod app almost every day on my 3GS. I went from a 30GB iPod to a 16GB iPod Touch, to a 16GB 3G & finally to a 32GB 3GS. It’s a
primary reason I love my Apple devices! Pandora & other streaming apps are nice, but for me nothing compares to listing to my music the way I want to listen to it. Whether that be custom playlists, or enjoying the new “Genius” playlists.
But, to each his own…
Regards,
AreJay
September 18th, 2009 at 9:55 am
I have had my 3GS for a few weeks and still have not uploaded any music to it. I use Pandora all the time.
I hope to make some time to add music but I sure am not missing it right now.
September 18th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I agree with the consensus here, the best music apps are listed. I have also heard of Last.fm (which is supposed to be a good, but untested by me.) and iheartradio is a good one if you grew up in an area that has a certain radio station that you like, if you dont live there anymore you can still listen to familiar radio stations. Best case scenario is all the options at our disposal which leads us back to the absolute uselessness of the ipod app.
September 18th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
not for me. i love having the ipod app on my iphone! sure i use pandora and orb but the ipod will ALWAYS have a time and a place. the building i work in doesnt always have a strong 3G signal and im glad that i have the ipod function on my phone. plus my car came with an ipod/iphone connector in the center console and i absolutely love it. being able to control the ipod with my steering wheel is great! i still use pandora in my car from time to time but i mainly rely on ipod as my music source!
September 18th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
I have an iPod that I prefer. I don’t want to drain the battery on my iPhone and it doesn’t come close to holding all my music. I still love my 80 GB iPod classic that is full of all my music. Well even that doesn’t hold all of it but I’m OK with that. The iPhone and even the iTouch are small, the interface in my opinion is not as nice. When driving I can flip through songs with the wheel without looking at the screen that much. Id Apple would double the battery life and come out with an iPhone that had something like 120+ GB storage and wasn’t $800 I would probaly get it. I do keep a few songs on my iPhone. I have some play lists like recently added songs to iTunes, most played, and highest rated and a few of my favorite songs but rarely use it. It’s just when the iPod is not with me.
September 18th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Sure pandora is nice, but the iPod is the best and that will never change.
September 18th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
I think I’m in the minority but I HATE the iPod interface. The wheel sucks. It’s why I’ve never bought an iPod.
I really like the iPod app on iPhone though.
September 19th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Aaaaaand if you wanted to listen to a song while you surfed the net, played a game, check your email or twitter feed….. you’re happy with stopping the music, and going off to do those things? What it sounds like is you’re trying to make a point that you don’t NEED Apple’s iPod, that Steve Jobs is wrong, so you worked up a list of apps to duplicate features in every way except one of the most important: background functionality. Until Apple allows other music apps to work in the background, the iPod app beats them all. Seriously, I find your “solution” to involve a terribly unuseful workflow unless you use you iPhone as a glorified radio, sitting in your dock next to the Mac or in your car. I’m on the go and use my iPhone as a portable computer, pushing to its limits. I don’t want to jaw to be at my computer to hear music and complete other tasks at the same time.
September 19th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Such a wide mix of comments, some supporting and some thinking I am crazy. I love the discussion.
And for Tom, I guess I should have pointed out that I also have a jailbroken iPhone, which allows me to have apps running in the background.
But you make a good point, for most people who are not willing to jailbreak, the iPod will remain an important app if you want to listen to music and do anything else.
September 20th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Ah well there you go then! That changes everything then! Now your article makes sense. I’m in jail myself, iPhone-wise.
September 21st, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I thought jail breaking your phone voids your warrenty?
September 27th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Thank you for the Bookmark app. I was really frustrated with the audio books that I use from Audible. This makes it so much easier – great suggestion.