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Winamp for Android beta is full-featured and offers wireless media sync
Earlier today Nullsoft pushed a beta version of Winamp onto the Android Market -- it's free, and should work on all Android 2.1+ phones. There is also a new desktop version of Winamp that you'll need ('full', not 'lite'!) to make full use of the Android app.Winamp for Android's key feature -- and indeed, the only real feature that it brings to a very saturated media player market -- is that it wirelessly syncs with your desktop Winamp music library. You can also sync via USB (which is a lot faster). I ran into a few issues trying to sync with Wi-Fi, but it did eventually work.
Nullsoft's offering doesn't bring a whole lot more to the party. There is a desktop widget, so you can control your music without having to open Winamp -- and it can also hook into your phone's lock screen, which is neat. The playback controls are available at the bottom of every screen, too -- so whether you're curating a playlist or searching through albums, you can still stop and start the music. Oh, there's Last.fm scrobbling too!
All in all it's a very promising start for Winamp on Android. It's not mind-blowingly awesome, but if you use Winamp on the desktop, this app is surely a must-have.
Check out the gallery below for a better idea of the 'omnipresent' playback controls, and the wireless sync.
[Oh, and to answer Engadget's question: yes, it still whips the llama's ass.]
Comments
18
Subscribe to commentsjohnOct 21st 2010 11:41AM
Doesn't need to be mind blowing to stand out, I'll settle for stable. Have yet to fall in love with any of the players, they all have issues.
Sebastian AnthonyOct 21st 2010 12:28PM
True true -- this is certainly good enough, and I didn't discover any bugs (except Wi-Fi being a pain to sync over).
RirathOct 21st 2010 12:17PM
I still use the Winamp on the desktop over any other player as I have for many years now, and I doubt I'll switch anytime soon. The main reason is the compact, skinnable player interface.
I'd love this (on iPhone) if it could use classic mode skin files from the desktop version as the program's user interface. I've made a handful of skins, but my wife has made nearly two hundred and they continue to be popular. http://www.spacecatsamba.com/
RichardOct 21st 2010 12:18PM
Maybe I've been out of the picture too long but I thought all the media players for Android were rubbish in one way or another?
In other words, isn't this currently the best of the lot? If so, seems a little harsh to call it not "mind blowing".
Sebastian AnthonyOct 21st 2010 12:24PM
Well, all of the media players I've used on Android are good enough. I don't know -- I don't do any kind of commute, nor do I take a music player with me when I travel, so perhaps I'm not experienced enough to say whether a media app is mind-blowing or not.
It's very good, certainly. The sync is cool. Ultimately... it plays music :)
AdeOct 21st 2010 12:39PM
Gapless playback for mp3, please. That's all I'm asking for. If the desktop version has it, then porting it to Android shouldn't be that hard, right? Ripping lossless files into ogg is too much work.
blasztaOct 21st 2010 1:03PM
Please do me a favor Sebastian, next time you write any Android app, put the QR code in your article ;)
Sebastian AnthonyOct 21st 2010 1:31PM
Yeah, I'd love to. What we really need is some 'click here to show the QR code' thing... a JavaScript pop-up or so...
KeithOct 21st 2010 6:46PM
Well, after having tried DoubleTwist (painfully slow..) and Songbird (not as bad as Doubletwist but still pretty lethargic) this is a revelation... picked up all my iTunes library in minutes as opposed to overnight for the other two, and transfers are fast. Can't get the WiFi syncing working as yet, but it's late and I'll try again in the morning
Very pleased with this one...
MatthewOct 22nd 2010 6:47PM
I have tried it and think its really awesome. I have music player pro though, and even though I had to pay for it, I'm really happy with it. I compared both and they are very similar, I liked music player pro's theme more. I am not sure which one I will stick with yet. Does anyone know if there is a codec difference between the two?
I'm talking about this music player pro http://www.androidapps.com/tech/apps/356612-music-player-pro-tristan-bigourdan
I think there are a couple
vashthestampede3Oct 23rd 2010 9:22AM
Does not read music files from internal storage on my Droid Incredible, rendering the program completely useless.
xuanxingOct 24th 2010 7:31PM
Awesome. Have read similar here http://techshrimp.com/2010/10/22/winamp-the-ultimate-media-player-hits-android-market-in-beta/
mahhkkOct 26th 2010 12:46AM
wait... WinAmp is still around?
I mean, I knew people still used it, but I couldn't believe they still have people developing for them.
AerospeedNov 1st 2010 4:07PM
From Wikipedia:
"Winamp is a media player for Windows-based PCs, written by Nullsoft, now a subsidiary of AOL."
AOL also owns this blog. It would be nice to see a full-disclosure statement in the future.
Sebastian AnthonyNov 1st 2010 4:40PM
I thought everyone knew that!
But I apologise, if you felt there was bias in my writing.
AerospeedNov 1st 2010 4:49PM
Sorry, not trying to be a jerk - in the past the AOL blogs I read have had a pretty good track record about pointing that stuff out.
Sebastian AnthonyNov 1st 2010 5:04PM
Yar, generally we're very good. I actually thought about throwing it in there... I guess I should've :)
I'll make sure all future Winamp stuff has the disclaimer! Cheers.
Adam ENov 17th 2010 10:14AM
Good to see WinAmp again, however, I just missed a call because WinAmp didn't pause to let the phone take over. Hopefully that will be taken care of.