Music Player (Remix)

DanPLC

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UPDATE 12/23/12: Music Player (Remix) has been released in the Google Play Store and Amazon App Store!!!

Here's the link to the Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hedami.musicplayerremix

Here's the link to the free trial version in the Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hedami.mprtrial

Here's the link to the Amazon app store: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ASE8442

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Music Player (Remix) is a music app currently in development. It's being designed from the ground up with the purpose of providing an enjoyable listening experience. It blends powerful features along with a fun and easy-to-use user interface.

I've just posted a preview video on YouTube that showcases the Now Playing screen and the overall UI design concepts of the app (be warned it's 15 minutes long...lots to cover!):


The app is being packed with useful features, some of which you won't realize you ever needed until you start using them. Some of these features include lyric downloading and caching, karaoke/remix mode, faves list for quick access to your favorite songs/albums/artists/genres/playlists, auto-generated playlists based upon your listening habits, extensive bookmarking features, and much more.

But the primary focus of the app is going to be its user interface. I wanted to re-think how a music app should be designed. A lot of thought is going into how you use the app on a daily basis. The most common controls have large, finger-friendly tap areas and are easy to reach while holding your device one-handed. Accessing common functions like the Now Playing list, music library browsing, playlists, etc. are just one swipe away from anywhere within the app. And the user experience will be customizable including custom wallpapers & color themes, user-defined preset buttons on the Now Playing screen, and custom swipe gestures.

Music Player (Remix) is being designed to take advantage of the latest ICS and JB features; however it will also be fully compatible with Gingerbread and Honeycomb devices. The app is going to be optmized for all screen types and layouts. The interface on tablets will take advantage of the extra screen real estate.

As I mentioned, the app is currently in development but things are moving along rapidly. Eventually the app will be ready for beta testing. I'm not sure whether or not I'll have a full-blown open beta or a more limited closed-beta, but all news related to the app's progress and beta testing will be posted on Twitter @MusicRemixApp.

I'll also be using this forum thread as a means to receive feedback, suggestions, ideas, etc. And of course you can also contact me on Twitter. So please let me know what you think. Feedback from the Android community is going to be very important in shaping the eventual final version of the app. Music Player (Remix) was originally developed and released as a webOS app. It started off as a homebrew app becoming the most downloaded on precentral (now webosnation). There was a huge amount of community participation in the evolution of the app and I'm hoping for the same types of interaction here.

In addition to the video I posted above, here are some screenshots of the app (keep in mind the wallpaper is customizable so it's up to you how the app will look!):

Now Playing screen on phones (portrait orientation):
remix1.png


Now Playing screen on phones (landscape orientation):
remix2.png


Now Playing list revealed by swiping up on any screen within the app:
remix3.png


Thumbnail playlist preview mode:
remix4.png


Access your music library from any screen within the app by swiping the right side of the screen:
remix5.png


Access your faves, playlists, and autolists from any screen within the app by swiping the left side of the screen:
remix6.png


Some of the options available when interacting with songs:
remix7.png


Large, finger-friendly tap areas to control your music:
remix8.png
 
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DanPLC

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Anxiously waiting for a Alpha or Beta. Keep up the great work.

Thanks! There definitely won't be an "alpha". I don't want people using the app until it's completely funcitonal. Right now I'm using it as my primary music app because it does what it does well and it's just fun to use (miss it from the old webOS days), but it's still missing several key features that wouldn't make it suitable for most people.

In my eyes, the "beta" (which will be released) will be a version that is pretty close to release-ready. The purpose of the beta will be to uncover issues I haven't discovered on my own (from people running a variety of devices) and also to get feedback from users on things that could be improved.
 

DanPLC

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Below is a screenshot of the notification controls in Music Player (Remix). Unlike a lot of other music apps, the music controls are large and spaced out to make them easy to use. Tap anywhere in the song/artist/album area to pause/play your music. Tap on the large previous or next buttons to change tracks. Tap on the "X" to close out the notification and close the app. Tap on the album art to jump back into the app.

Speaking of controls, I'm going to be working on some very interesting widgets. A lot of the music app widgets I've seen are all the same. They display the album art, song/artist/album info, and have tiny music controls. Music Player (Remix) is going to do things a bit differently. Music controls will be large and easy to use, plus there will be some new type of widgets you've never seen before. I'll post some screenshots once they're ready.

But in the meantime, here's the notification screenshot:

remix_notification.jpg
 

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sledge007

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Hey Dan! This is one of the first things I looked for when I got my Galaxy S3, glad I found this thread, and am now informed :D If you need help with the beta, let me know, I'd be glad to lend a hand. Looking forward to an actual release. Looks great, still rocking this app out on my TouchPad :)
 

Blaize19

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Hi Dan. So excited! As you know, this is my most used app on webOS and I can't wait for the chance to use it on Android. I, too, would be glad to help with the beta.
:D

Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Android Central Forums
 

DanPLC

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Hey Dan! This is one of the first things I looked for when I got my Galaxy S3, glad I found this thread, and am now informed :D If you need help with the beta, let me know, I'd be glad to lend a hand. Looking forward to an actual release. Looks great, still rocking this app out on my TouchPad :)

Good to see you here in Android land! I'll announce beta news here (and on Twitter) so keep an eye out. I'll definitely need beta testers because there are so many flavors of Android devices and versions to test on. Recently I've been testing the app on the Gingerbread emulator and found a bunch of issues. Luckily I've been able to fix them all. But it would make my life easier if most everyone was updated to ICS and Jellybean. The Android SDK has definitely evolved a lot between Gingerbread and ICS.

Speaking of different types of Android devices, I've posted screenshots on Twitter of the app running on mid-size screens (480x800) and smaller screens (320x480). I think it came out looking pretty good considering the reduction in available space.

- - - Updated - - -

Hi Dan. So excited! As you know, this is my most used app on webOS and I can't wait for the chance to use it on Android. I, too, would be glad to help with the beta.
:D

Well I can tell you there's going to be a private beta before the app is released into the wild and folks like you and sledge007 who followed my app on webOS are going to be at the front of the line. But there are going to be spots for others as well since I need to represent a variety of different devices, screen resolutions, Android versions, etc.
 

Blaize19

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Good to see you here in Android land! I'll announce beta news here (and on Twitter) so keep an eye out. I'll definitely need beta testers because there are so many flavors of Android devices and versions to test on. Recently I've been testing the app on the Gingerbread emulator and found a bunch of issues. Luckily I've been able to fix them all. But it would make my life easier if most everyone was updated to ICS and Jellybean. The Android SDK has definitely evolved a lot between Gingerbread and ICS.

Speaking of different types of Android devices, I've posted screenshots on Twitter of the app running on mid-size screens (480x800) and smaller screens (320x480). I think it came out looking pretty good considering the reduction in available space.

- - - Updated - - -



Well I can tell you there's going to be a private beta before the app is released into the wild and folks like you and sledge007 who followed my app on webOS are going to be at the front of the line. But there are going to be spots for others as well since I need to represent a variety of different devices, screen resolutions, Android versions, etc.

Great! People are going to be so amazed when they get a chance to play with Remix. I sure hope you get a lot of interest and a multitude of devices for testing.

Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Android Central Forums
 

DanPLC

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I'm very excited to announce a new feature that I just finished up. It's going to revolutionize the way people interact with their music apps. Wouldn't it be nice if you could bring up rich music controls and scroll through your current playlist all while within another app? Imagine you're viewing a web site, browsing your Twitter timeline, or reading a book and you'd like to control your music. In Honeycomb/ICS/JB, you have access to simplistic, albeit tiny controls in the notification area. But now with Music Player (Remix), if you swipe up from the bottom of the screen within any other app, a music control popup (I call the "mini-player") will appear. It displays large album art with finger-friendly music controls overlaid on top. And tap another button to scroll through your current playlist and select another song.

Here's the demo video:


Here's the mini-player on top of the Dolphin browser:

remix_miniplayer1.jpg


And here it is in playlist view on top of my home screen:

remix_miniplayer3.png
 
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xlDeMoNiClx

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Sounds sweet to me.

Only thing is, how would swiping up to bring up these music controls differ from swiping up to scroll through the app or website you're browsing?
 

DanPLC

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Sounds sweet to me.

Only thing is, how would swiping up to bring up these music controls differ from swiping up to scroll through the app or website you're browsing?

Good question. It's designed to only pick up a quick flick gesture originating at the very bottom edge of the screen. Which means you have to originate the flick from below the screen.

Think of it like the notification area that appears when you swipe down from the top of the screen. It works in the same way. Neither one interrupts regular scrolling in apps because people don't originate regular scrolls from above the screen. They scroll in the middle of the screen.
 

xlDeMoNiClx

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Good question. It's designed to only pick up a quick flick gesture originating at the very bottom edge of the screen. Which means you have to originate the flick from below the screen.

Think of it like the notification area that appears when you swipe down from the top of the screen. It works in the same way. Neither one interrupts regular scrolling in apps because people don't originate regular scrolls from above the screen. They scroll in the middle of the screen.

Ah i see. Sounds good to me.

Sent from my HTC EVO 3D X515a using Android Central Forums