Does the Shazam Music App Work with the IPod Touch?

Apple has made a smash hit out of their iPhone with some very clever ads featuring some very cool applications (otherwise known as "apps"). One of the coolest apps I've seen advertised in an iPhone commercial is the Shazam music application, which allows you to record a small snippet of a song you're hearing and get the track & artist information moments later. I like the idea of an iPhone, but I don't like the $80+ in monthly service charges you have to pay to make it work. That's why when I saw the commercial for the iPod Touch, which is basically an iPhone without the phone, I knew it was for me.

The iPod Touch allows you to stream data over a wireless connection, so many of the apps that are available for the iPhone which require data access will also work with a wi-fi connected iPod Touch. However, the iPod Touch does not have a built-in microphone like the iPhone does, so I figured apps like Shazam wouldn't be available to me, which honestly bummed me out a little bit. (Apple is reportedly releasing an iPod Touch with a camera and microphone this year, however it is not available yet.) Then I was poking around the internet looking for information about the iPod Touch when I found out something that could help me out.

Apple makes a pair of earphones for the iPod Touch with a "remote control" and microphone built-in. There is a tiny white capsule located on the right earphone wire, and this lets you change the volume of your music or the track you are listening to, and also contains the microphone which is held conveniently next to your mouth. This microphone would obviously be perfect for voice applications like Skype, but I wondered how it would work with the Shazam music app. I gave it a try, and it worked perfectly! I was surprised that I could be wearing the headphones while I was tagging the music playing in the room, and Shazam had no problem identifying it even without an effort to point the microphone in the direction of the music. So while the Shazam app will not work with the iPod Touch on its own, it will work with an iPod Touch that have the Apple Earphones with Remote & Mic attached. A pair of the earphones will cost between $20 and $30, and will open up a whole new world of apps to your iPod Touch, including the Shazam music identifying application.