So, as we all know, Handy Taskman is, in my opinion, hands-down the greatest S60 application on the planet. I realize that’s a big statement, but I believe it wholeheartedly. This may leave you wondering, ‘Well then, Guru, what’s the 2nd greatest?’ I’m glad you asked. It’s Mobbler.
What is Mobbler? Mobbler is a free little application that ties into your Last.FM account (which is also free, though *very* worth paying for) and keeps track of the music you listen to by ‘scrobbling’ it. There are countless ways to scrobble your music from various players, both desktop and mobile. Previously, Mobbler simply functioned in the background on your S60-powered handset, quietly reporting your listening habits back to HQ.
Today, Mobbler has gone from the background to the forefront, solidly placing itself as the 2nd Greatest S60 Application available. Mobbler now offers streaming music, with several custom stations to choose from, all personalized on the spot:
1. Artist/Tag - With this option, you can simply enter in an artist or tag (for example, Counting Crows or ‘reggae’) and then tune into a streaming internet radio station customised around that entry. Brilliant.
2. User – This is a station that Last.FM creates based on your listening habits, customised to you.
3. Loved Tracks – As you use Last.FM, you can love or ban certain tracks, depending on whether or not you like them. This station consists of all the tracks you have ever marked as ‘loved’ (Note that this station is only available to subscribers).
There are a few others that are available, but I’ll let you install the application to find them for yourself. Album art is automatically fetched and displayed during playback, and you can even skip to the next track, if you don’t like the current one.
So, is there *anything* negative about this applicaton? Sure, I can dig up one or two things. First, you cannot currently love or ban tracks directly within Mobbler. Hopefully that comes later. Also, Mobbler is an internet radio application. That means it uses a constant stream of data. If you use Mobbler with your cellular data connection, be sure you have an unlimited plan, or just use WiFi instead. Neither Symbian-Guru.com nor the Mobbler gang are responsible if you use the application all day and then get a huge bill from your carrier.
That’s it. Now what are you waiting for? Sign up for Last.FM (go ahead, it’s free), and then download and install Mobbler, and love your S60 device even more.
