In my continued quest to find interesting and useful apps from Apple’s App store I came across Ambiance. It’s a fun coincidence that the two apps I downloaded first ended up #1 (Koi Pond) and #2 at the apps store for paid apps. Both are $0.99 apps and both aren’t games.
I find this trend very interesting - a while back we had cheap software that anyone could download and use and then pay the author if they liked it, or pay a small fee for some nifty software. Now we’re seeing this trend appear again with the App Store and phones/PMPs of all things.
While it’s listed under the productivity category, Ambiance is really a relaxation tool. It’s a wonderful little app that plays relaxing sounds and white noise so you can tune out the rest of the world and concentrate on the task at hand - even if that task is gently slumping forward onto your desk and drooling on your keyboard.
There were other white noise or relaxing sounds apps out there but Ambiance seemed to carry more bang for your buck (or 99 cents). In this version you have 13 different sounds to choose from, ranging from good old white noise to my favorite - crickets.
The sound quality on all is good, if a little loud with some of the static noises. I found that sitting at my desk with this app running it worked wonders for tuning out the rest of the world. In situations that are loud, such as on the train during my commute, the softer sounds like crickets or the creek were very hard to hear.
Ambiance also has a simple timer built into it. Let your sounds run for 5 minutes or 5 hours based on how you set the timer.
Matt Coneybeare, the author, has a few updates already in the pipe with Apple that should prove to be very good for this app. There will be a built in volume bar for Touch users to turn down the louder color noises as well as 10 new sounds:
- Cicada
- Coast
- Rain - Light
- Rain - Thunder
- Rain - Tinroof
- River
- Stream
- Subway
- Train
- Vinyl
If you’re looking for a white noise and gentle sounds app this will be $0.99 well spent. It’s got all the hallmarks of great software. It’s pretty, easy to use, does what it says it will and it’s cheap!
Technorati Tags: reviews, software, apple, iphone, ipod touch, app store, ambiance, white noise, crickets
Leave a Reply