Taking Technology to the Extreme
Is this really necessary?
AT&T Wireless began offering its U.S. subscribers a service Thursday that uses mobile phones to identify the names and performers of more than 1 million popular songs.
To use the music recognition service, users dial a three-digit code, then must hold their mobile phone for about 15 seconds near a speaker playing the tune that they want to identify. Moments later, the service sends a text message to the users' mobile phone indicating the title of the song and the name of the recording artist.
The first search is free, each subsequent search costs 99 cents, plus standard airtime charges. Subscribers are not charged if the service fails to recognize a song. Read More…
Ok, I’ve been stumped on some songs before, but I’m not willing to pay .99 cents to figure it out. In due time, I always find what I’m looking for.
From a technologist standpoint, however, I’d be very interested in knowing how this process works. Think about it… you have to break down the different sound characteristics, in various parts of the song, and put those into bits to search on. On top of that, you have to deal with the potential of a crappy cell connection.