Presentation
One thing that has to be said about the BlackBerry app is that it is very well laid out. They don’t try to cram too much onto one screen, and they keep the menu short while still providing all the functionality you need. The play screen itself borrows a fair bit from the iTunes look, but that’s to be expected. Navigation between playlist and player screen is quick, but there’s one thing lacking if you’re used to the native media player at all – shortcuts. On the BlackBerry Bold, holding down either volume key skips tracks, and the mute key on top acts as pause/play, but nuTsie apparently can’t override these controls. It’s really too bad, as I’ve grown accustomed to skipping songs without having to unholster my device, or pausing the music quickly when someone wants to talk.
nuTsie
It’s hard to talk about mobile nuTsie without talking about the web-based service, however, since one depends on the other. nuTsie’s web page has a lot more to offer than the mobile client alone, including videos and lyrics when available. In fact, it’s a bit of a shame that these aren’t accessible on the BlackBerry, since they would make the app more than just glorified satellite radio. The web interface is also where you build and share playlists, which isn’t as easy as one would hope.
One of the big things about these clean streaming music sites is that they don’t allow music-on-demand, which in the eyes of the law would look like piracy. As a result, you can only build playlists after stumbling upon songs randomly elsewhere, or chosing an album and skipping through it until you find your track. Keep in mind that nuTsie stays free by selling music as an iTunes affiliate, and sales really feed off that generated frustration. On the flip side, it’s much easier to nab others’ playlists if they happen to have what you’re looking for.