The newest 4IP platform - AudioBoo

[Mark Rock]

I delighted to formally announce that we are now able to share the news that AudioBoo, an innovative audio platform powered by 4IP - is ready to enter its beta phase.

AudioBoo is both a platform and iPhone application which allows you to effortlessly record audio, annotate with a photo, title and tags and then automatically upload it to the AudioBoo website along with geo-location data. You can read the official press release here or see a short walk through here.

The iPhone application is intuitive and lovely but it's really just the icing on the cake. It communicates with the website using extensible API calls. So all the uploading of audio, images and metadata are made using very specific read/write protocols. In every day language that means that, at some point in the future, we will be making those protocols public for anyone to use to make their own recording application. So that'll mean we can extend beyond the iPhone to other manufacturers of products that support audio recording.

The beta website is having the finishing touches put to it but I can show a few images here:

The iPhone is just about to go to apple for inclusion in the App store but if anyone would like a beta copy, it can be installed remotely through a process called ad-hoc provisioning. Unfortunately, we've only got 90 goes at this, so beta testers will have to have a very clear reason why they want to use it. If you're interested, just mail me at mark.rock (at) bestbefore (dot) tv with the type of application you had in mind.

I'd also just like to add tremendous thanks to the 4IP team, in particularly Dan Heaf, for all the work they put in during what proved to be a very stressful period. Good work.

[Michael Coulter]

[Mark Rock]

Yes, one of the problems (plus good things) of designing in public is that things start off looking a bit shite...

[Darryl Collins]

Mark, had a look at the current beta site - it'll be really nice when it matches the layouts above! Loved the other stuff you are working on too. Cool.
Darryl
http://banjax.com/

[Mark Rock]

Darryl - thanks. The proper address will be audioboo.fm. At the minute it's on staging servers at http://audioboo.bestbefore.tv. This one is even pre beta, so don't expect any wonders. A work in progress shall we say! But we're very keen on designing in public. You get good feedback that way..

Ivan - you can always get an iPod Touch. Tad cheaper and works fine over wifi. Would love to see how you would start using it. Let's have a chat.

[Ivan Pope]

Looks great, must get iPhone. I'd like to be their artist in residence, pass it on.

[Darryl Collins]

Excellent. Looks great. Look forward to playing with it. BTW what's the web address for AudioBoo - it looks lovely too?

[Mark Rock]

Like I said, early days.... However, it'll also work off an iPod Touch if you buy an external microphone. Grey box? Provisional rating system i think

[David Hamill]

Looks interesting. Need to make that 'Add to Friends' link a little clearer.

What does the grey square with the dots on the right mean? I'd remove the 'search string' from the search box too.

I don't have an Iphone so I guess I'll need to wait.