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Holy sh**, Grooveshark iPhone app now available in the App Store!
It's no secret that there was a little bad blood last time Grooveshark submitted their iPhone app to the Cupertino Crew. The app was denied, and Grooveshark didn't fell they had to take the rejection lying down... So they decided to release it to jailbroken iPhones and iPods via Cydia.Yesterday, however, Grooveshark announced that Apple had approved the app. Yep, it's in the app store right now and you can download it for free. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I can't think of another app which has made the jump from Cydia to the actual App Store (I have been thoroughly corrected -- thanks, commenters!).
Now, we Canadians aren't blessed with the same number of choices as those of you in the U.S. or U.K. when it comes to all-you-can-eat music apps -- but even if I could use another service I'd probably stick with Grooveshark. The iPhone app lets you search Grooveshark's massive library, it can pull up your saved playlists and favorites, and songs can be downloaded for offline play.
If you like, you can even switch to Offline Mode, which replaces the search button on your toolbar with offline songs -- a particularly nice feature for iPod touch users like me who aren't constantly around WIFI.
Don't forget, Grooveshark VIP access is only $3 a month. That's dirt cheap for a music service as good as this, and you even get two months free when you sign up for a year.
If you haven't seen the app before, check out my gallery -- or better still, just install it on your iPhone [App Store link] and try it out!
Thanks for the heads up, Mobiputing!
Comments
18
Subscribe to commentsdownloadsquadAug 12th 2010 9:42AM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't RSS Player start out on Cydia?
AlmoAug 12th 2010 9:46AM
yxflash player, mitube as well and quite a few others too.
CurtisAug 12th 2010 9:51AM
I believe Qik has also made the transition from Cydia to App Store.
FloAug 12th 2010 9:42AM
You could just set up Ampache on a old GNU / Linux box at home and hook it up to the internet. Then you could just access it from your iphone / android since they have ampache clients for both phones. That would be free. Of course you wouldn't have all the music grooveshark has.
ToxsumiAug 12th 2010 9:45AM
"Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I can't think of another app which has made the jump from Cydia to the actual App Store."
Remember, before App Store, there was only Installer / Cydia. Probably the only one that you'll easily recognize that made such a transition is Tap Tap Revenge. Back in the 1.x firmware days, when it was first released, it was called Tap Tap Revolution, a bit of a nod towards DDR.
So, no, anyone that has played Tap Tap Revenge has used an app that was born during the jailbreak-only era, before the official App Store released.
Heh, I remember when Apple was talking about how Web Apps were the thing when they were showing off 2.0...
MDPauleyAug 12th 2010 9:54AM
Snapture started in Cydia first also.
JustinAug 12th 2010 10:18AM
Not sure how long they're going to offer it, but they're giving away a 1 year VIP membership with any t-shirt order on their store: http://store.grooveshark.com
MikeAug 12th 2010 10:46AM
No iOS Background music playing though?
adam.planteAug 12th 2010 12:01PM
And music controls no longer works. Grrrr. Should not have deleted cydia version.
tankAug 12th 2010 11:00AM
Labyrinth, Puzzle Maniak was separated out into a bunch of separate apps, iSolitaire became Solitaire Top 3, and Real Artist all originated from Installer. I tend to support the original jaibreak developers who jumped to the app store. Thanks!
aftermathAug 12th 2010 11:50AM
I'm confused. If Apple had released mobile devices with a proper web browser that supported standard Internet technologies and a more complete Internet experience, then wouldn't we have been able to access Grooveshark from the very beginning and wouldn't the staff of Grooveshark been able to fully focus on improving and supporting their one product. That would have been a pretty big win-win-win for Grooveshark, those of us with iPhones, and the rest of the Internet population. That's not what happened, and it leaves one to wonder what the real character of this situation is. To me, this feels a little like celebrating the day that a bruise finally goes away from the time when you got struck in the head with a baseball. That's great but isn't a world where you're not getting hit in the hear with baseballs in the first place a better one? Maybe I'm overthinking?
TomAug 12th 2010 12:41PM
Yes, i Devices don't support Flash. We get it. Please stop.
ChrisAug 12th 2010 1:42PM
With a form of Flash available to jailbroken iPhones now (called Frash), I can actually say from experience that Flash on mobile devices really isn't that great. While I think that users should be able to choose what they do with their device, the omission of Flash really isn't that big of a deal. It sucks up the battery, videos don't play in full screen, and games are nearly useless without a mouse. Plus you don't have to see any placeholders for those annoying Flash ads.
With that being said, Grooveshark as a flash app would not work well for mobile devices. The UI would be much too cramped for the iPhone's screen, and you would always have to leave a tab open in Safari that would be running Flash. That would not be good.
The fact that Apple has finally allowed Grooveshark into the App Store is a good thing. Grooveshark is a great app, and now that it has the chance to go mainstream, hopefully the developers will put more resources into developing the app. I would like to see the graphics updated for the Retina display, background streaming, and easier playlist creation for starters.
In summary, Tom is right. Stop beating a dead horse and be happy that you can enjoy Grooveshark without jailbreaking your phone. HTML 5 really is the future anyways.
GrahamAug 12th 2010 7:04PM
This is awesome news! I was actually considering jailbreaking my iPhone just so I could use the grooveshark iPhone app! I've downloaded it and will be playing around with soon. Any idea how much bandwidth is used for each song? What bit rate do they come across at?
Jeff O'HaraAug 13th 2010 7:21PM
I finally joined grooveshark 2 weeks ago. I loved it even without an iphone app. I bought a t-shirt ($18) and got a free year of grooveshark premium. Now the iphone app is out. Lets just say i am in love!!!
nick_ZernoAug 17th 2010 10:45AM
I just looked on the AppStore and didn't see it...any idea why. I'm ready to download it! Help!
Marc KrejciAug 17th 2010 11:37AM
http://blog.grooveshark.com/post/964834618/what-happened-to-the-grooveshark-iphone-app
nick_ZernoAug 17th 2010 12:46PM
Thanks man, hopefully it's back real soon.