Ocarina, the second iPhone application from Silicon Valley based Smule, has surged to the top spot on the iPhone App store just a little over a week after launching (you can download it here for $.99).
Why? Just like Smule’s first application, a social virtual lighter (yeah, I know), People are fascinated by interacting with others. With the lighter it was competing geographically for the brightest light. With Ocarina, it’s listening to the music of others.
Ocarina, named after an ancient flute-like wind instrument, lets people play haunting, flute-like songs by blowing into the iPhone microphone and hitting the virtual buttons.
Yay. But the cool thing is you can hit a button and listen to what other Ocarina users are playing around the world. It’s social music, and strangely compelling. The company says Oscarina users have have listened to more than three million melodies. You can listen to some of them here.
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f it, im buying it. sick of everyone talking about this damn thing, although i can’t help but feel very Zelda over this whole thing.
making iphone music {seesmic_video:{”url_thumbnail”:{”value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/IOkoKycpMD_th1.jpg”}”title”:{”value”:”making iphone music ”}”videoUri”:{”value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/rXtmOZxvd5″}}}
Now that’s cool
Mike
http://www.wannadevelop.com
It looks like a fun application. I wish I had an iPhone versus a crackberry. Although my office wouldn’t appreciate me using Ocarina during work hours.
And speaking of Zelda…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhCJq7EAJJA
I just bought the Ocarina too… It’s pretty unbelievable and addicting.
Please stop with a gazillion iphone posts..
Android - GPHONE is way better anyway why… well it has a keyboard, same easy navigation, it’s open source, background processes allowed, compass and gravity sensor (where’s the ground). Besides it’s 10% cheaper to build, replaceable battery, and faster cpu.
Hate to say that but this phone kick’s the iphone’s ass. Yes apps are still in development not as wide as the iphone.. but it’s getting there…
In a few years the Iphone will join the ranks of OS2, betamax, HD-DVD and others… good innovators, but the copycats were better.
I’ll bet a you a million dollars you’re wrong.
I’d bet a whole $700 billion… the adoption numbers aren’t even close.
Android sounds too scifi geek for most people. The iPhone attracts all audiences equally (from the biz exec to the talkaholic girl on the street).
The fact that little kids (6 years old) know what an iPhone is tells me all I need to know on why Apple will probably be successful in the future.
and no multitouch… oops… no ocarina app or a million other types of apps that exist solely because the screen can recognize multiple points of contact.
Just bought this. Amazing!
The playback feature where you tour the globe and hear what people are playing around the world is really impressive.
Deservedly raking in their millions
Now, I’d like to see this with piano, or maybe even just live voice broadcasting around the globe.
ocarina world view {seesmic_video:{”url_thumbnail”:{”value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/tGm2B8CECf_th1.jpg”}”title”:{”value”:”ocarina world view ”}”videoUri”:{”value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/4xSVItZsvM”}}}
I already declared this as iPhone App of the Year for 2008. My 3-year-old picked it up and played it for hours, she loved it. Why wait for the 4th grade to start playing a musical instrument?
Having BlackBerry buyers remorse.
At the iPhone Bootcamp in New York we’re developing some amazing apps on the level of Ocarina now- well not quite but we’re working.
http://www.meetup.com/The-New-.....-BootCamp/
Ocarina is what I was expecting more iPhone apps to be like when I purchased the phone. Simple, fun, quirky, awesome looking, social, and inspiring. I’ve been googling sites that can fill me in on music theory so I can play it better.
In short, it’s a fantastic app.
great app but the flood of copycats will kill the buzz.
Great example of how something so simple can be so good!
Oh btw.
Check out http://www.jobstaxi.com
New Jobs. Razorfish. Art.com. Edge of Reality.
This app is pretty ridiculously cool and at 99 cents, the cost of a song, most people are gonna buy it just to play with it.
A small correction: it is their 4th app. In fact, at one point recently all 4 were in the top 100 in App Store sales. Sonic Lighter was the first and Ocarina is the latest. I love reading about innovative apps btw, so keep up the great work.
Wow, that’s awesome! I’ll have to download that and try it out. I’ve only grabbed one other musical thing and that was the free piano. It was OK, but nothing I play with often.
Jake
NoteScribe: Premier Note Taking Software
Had the pleasure of sharing an office with Jeff and Ge while being incubated at Bessemer together. Wait till you guys see what’s coming next.. these guys are wicked smart.
Congrats on being #1.. oh, and Chris’ comment above with his 3 year old being addicted to it should tell you they are building apps for everyone
I bought it because you touted it Mike. Now to go have some fun with the Zelda flute….