ReadWriteWeb

Zephyr: A Secular Winter App From the Makers of Ocarina

Written by Frederic Lardinois / December 29, 2008 10:19 AM / 3 Comments

zephyr_logo_dec08.jpgIf you imagine Brian Eno doing a Twitter-like anonymous messaging application for the iPhone, and then mix in a good dose of PostSecret and a somewhat belated holiday spirit, you might just come up with something akin to Smule's Zephyr. Zephyr (iTunes link) lets you write messages and draw pictures with snow on your screen and simultaneously creates sounds based on how quickly you draw. After you finish your drawing, you can then anonymously release it to the rest of the world. Zephyr is available for the iPhone and the iPod touch and costs $0.99.

While Zephyr is not quite as addictive as Smule's last app, Ocarina, it does have its own kind of charm, especially when you just sit back and let the messages appear on your screen. While testing the app, we came across quite a few interesting drawings from all over the world, though a lot of users also seemed to be content with just drawing their names or a few circles.

zephyr_screenshot_dec08.pngThe app also makes good use of the iPhone's and iPod touch's multi-touch screen and allows you to erase part of your drawings with a two-finger gesture, while shaking the screen deletes the complete message. You can also 'like' messages, which will then be passed on to more users, or mark them as inappropriate.

Not Quite Random: Bach, Schumann, Wagner

As Smule's CEO Jeff Smith pointed out to us, the 'music' created by Zephyr is not quite random. If you listen carefully, you will find both the opening from Wagner's "Tannhauser" and the progression from Claude Debussy's "Clair de lune," as well as progressions from Bach and Schumann in the app.

A Secular Winter App

Of course, we couldn't help but think that Smule's plan was to release this app before the holidays and that it was delayed by Apple's App Store review process, but Smule's CEO Jeff Smith assured us that even though Apple shut down for the holidays, it was always Smule's plan to release Zephyr as a "secular winter application after the holiday blitz."


Comments

Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all ReadWriteWeb posts

  1. The iPhone has so many different apps that i can't seem to keep up with them anymore.

    Posted by: Nick Stamoulis | December 29, 2008 11:34 AM



  2. Every "city" in the video is a Vegas casino. I guess what they say is true, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."

    Posted by: Bob | December 29, 2008 1:26 PM



  3. "While Zephyr is not quite as addictive as Smule's last app, Ocarnia"

    LOL! Ocarnia. That sounds sort of adult oriented. As far as I know, we don't have any adult oriented apps on AppBeacon or on Apple's App Store.

    It's actually called Ocarina.

    Posted by: AppBeacon | December 29, 2008 5:14 PM



RWW SPONSORS


FOLLOW @RWW ON TWITTER

ReadWriteWeb on Facebook



TEXT LINK ADS