Audio

Shazam has announced a major expansion of its television companion service, officially known as Shazam for TV. The update brings television fans in the US access to audio recognition during practically any show on any channel. Shazam now has support for 160 channels, with the exception of some shows such as local news broadcasts or local paid advertising programs.

You may have seen the "Shazam for more" logo pop up on your television before. The popular app is also capable of tagging TV shows and ads at any time, right from your smartphone. So what information can Shazam deliver about your favorite program?

Wideband audio was announced at Apple's iPhone 5 media event, and 20 carriers are expected to support the technology at launch. Unfortunately for US customers, the major carriers AT&T, Sprint and Verizon are not included in this list.

Apple is working to bring wideband (HD) audio support to more carriers across the globe. Wideband audio provides superior audio quality over current narrowband technology. With narrowband, the midrange frequencies are emphasized, leading to shallow sound. Wideband audio fills out the audio spectrum to provide more natural sounding voice communications.

Before the iPhone and before electrical recording there was the gramophone. Although the sound quality of these wind up machines may lack something to the modern ear, the retro look of a Victrola still has its appeal. Now you can enhance the sound from your iPhone 4 or 4S without electricity while adding century-old flair.

Other audio docks such as Koostic work in the same way, essentially using the shape of the dock to amplify sound from the iPhone speaker. The iVictrola does this with ultimate simplicity while harking back to the era before radio.

Some iPhone 4S users are experiencing a strange, involuntary mute when dialing out using their mobile devices. The problem is that the person dialing out can't hear anything on the other end of the line, not even a ringing phone. People receiving the calls can hear the iPhone 4S owner just fine. An Apple discussion page titled Outgoing call no audio started almost immediately after the iPhone 4S was released and has leap over to additional discussions.

Although Apple was quick to respond to complaints about iPhone 4S battery life being shorter than expected, there's no official word on whether or not a fix is in the works for the audio issue. Some iPhone owners who experienced the problem were able to correct the issue with a full restore. Others who have not had luck fixing the problem have begun to call the issue Audiogate.

Pioneer is set to bring a touch-screen car receiver to market that will integrate seamlessly with your iPhone or iPod touch. This either sounds like a great idea or the most distracting in-dash system ever manufactured. The AppRadio features a 6.1-inch 800 x 640 pixel resolution multi-touch display, Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free calling and an AM/FM radio. The real magic happens when you plug in your iPhone 4 or iPod touch 4th generation and start the vehicle.

Apps that have been modified to display on the AppRadio can be used directly on the Pioneer unit. Initial partnerships with app developers include Inrix Traffic, Motion-X GPS Drive, and Pandora and Rdio streaming music apps. More are sure to come on board, as the modifications required for an app to run on the AppRadio are relatively minor.

Sometimes music will not play loudly when using the iPod app on your iPhone. There could be several reasons for this, but one to check is the built-in volume limit setting. The volume limit sets a maximum volume to be output on the speaker or headphone jack, limiting the top volume that can be set using the side volume buttons.

To increase the volume limit on the iPhone:

1. Navigate to Settings -> iPod
2. Check the Volume Limit.
3. If the Volume Limit is OFF the volume is maxed out.
4. When the Volume Limit says ON there is a limit set.

You may notice a special icon with the number 30 appears when playing a podcast, audiobook or when streaming audio over the web. This circular icon with arrows appears next to the main play controls or under the scrubber bar.

What does this icon do? Tapping this icon will replay the last 30 seconds of audio.

Looking for a natural solution to amplify the sound coming out of your iPhone speakers? Koostic now offers a line of completely electricity-free iPhone docks made of high-quality wood. They are finished with orange oil and beeswax instead of harsh chemicals. The dock will amplify sound 2-4 times the normal volume of your iPhone speakers.

Koostic creates dynamic sound with acoustic amplification through specially designed sound channels and hemispheric sound chambers. As the Koostic website explains, the technology is similar to that used in an acoustic guitar. Strumming a hollow wood body will increase the volume.

Sound will normally only come out of one opening on the bottom of the iPhone. One "speaker" is actually a microphone and the other is a speaker.

The original iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS feature a speaker on the left side of the iPhone (with the iPhone screen facing up). The right side is a microphone and produces no sound.

The iPhone 4 has a microphone on the left (with the iPhone screen facing up). The right side is the speaker and produces all of the sound.

The iPhone speaker is good for a portable device, but it's not great. If you don't have a dock or external amplified speakers you can hook up to the headphone out jack you're stuck with the stock speaker. Here are a few tips to make the audio louder:

1. Maximize the volume within the app you're using by pressing the side volume buttons while you're already running the app.

2. Place the iPhone flat on a table and the volume will get a boost.