It's been a strange, long, frustrating, trip. No joke. I've been writing about the state of Android recording for years now.
Now with Android 5.0 "Lollipop" we finally have one of the most sought after, and completely neglected features, for those of us looking at project, home, and travel recording. I took a little time to demo USB Audio input and output on an NVIDIA Shield Tablet with the Lollipop update and my Blue Yeti Pro. It's always nice to have another option for recording, and makes Android a LOT more valuable for Voice Actors. Enjoy!
It was the last significant benefit of iOS. The ONE thing iPads and iPhones could do that our poor little droids could not. The ability to connect and record using a USB microphone or interface.
That black eye is starting to heal, not thanks to Google, but through 3rd party development.
I've been given the privilege of trying out eXtream Software Development's USB Audio plugin for their Android multi-tracking suite Audio Evolution Mobile. At long last, it seems this small team of developers has cracked the problem we Android enthusiasts have been facing when it comes to recording on our Droids.
It's still extremely raw software, but it is functional, and will eventually be built AEM for all of us looking to record and edit while on the go, with support for USB microphones and interfaces. Audio folks with Android gear, our tablets and phones are about to become a lot more useful.
[Note: This is a republished article from my weekly app review column over at YourTechReport.com. If you enjoy gadget reviews, you may like some of my editorials and reviews over there. Check it out.]
I'm a sad technology fan.
No really. There's been a severe lack of high quality audio software on Android.
Thankfully, Soundcloud has updated their social audio app, giving us droids a compelling option for not only recording and editing, but for sharing our audio as well.
The app is nicely laid, simple tabs direct you to either listen to audio your subscribed to, or to record your own audio.
During the recording process, you have the ability to pause and resume, a nice feature if you need to burp or otherwise interrupted.
Editing is very simple, and resembles my current fave audio app TapeMachine. I wish there were more options like noise reduction, but it's still a very functional workflow.
So how does it sound uploading something from your phone?
Well, here's me talking into a Motorola Photon Q:
It's a great update providing a LOT more functionality, and fans of the service will definitely want to check it out.
It's the perpetual struggle to maintain balance.
I want to put stuff out for free, but that means I lose control over it.
I just received a message from someone on Freesound that they had used some of my sound effects in an Android game now in the Android App Market. At first I was flattered, but it always ruffles my feathers a bit to see work pulled from Creative Commons communities so blatantly used in commercial ventures.
As it stands now, I rarely upload to these types of services anymore, so since this was an OLD effect I did for a failed animation pilot, I guess I'll just suck it up and be flattered again, that my SFX get to live on in some other capacity...
But couldn't I at least get a credit?
How do you guys find that balance between "social free" and guarding your IP?
As an Android fan I was tickled by the original version of this video (which only had text, no voice), so I volunteered my services to this tongue in cheek retort to Apple's current ad campaign.
Enjoy!
