"3": An alternative Music Player for Android

If you like music (and I know you do, I see how popular my Syncing Music to An Android Device post was), you’ll love 3 (pronounced cubed).

Cubed is an alternative music player for Android. If you remember an application called Rock On, this is an extension of that project, done by the same man, Filipe Abrantes. It contains many of the same features as Rock On (Last.fm compatibility, automatic importing of album art, and an aesthetically pleasing UI), but sets itself apart from that project, and all other Android media players in the realm of functionality and looks.

The UI ideal behind Cubed is simple; the center piece of the music player itself is a cube. You can swipe left or right on the cube to scroll alphabetically through the artists and albums located on your phone. Swiping up and down searches through this list incrementally. Standard operation buttons (pause / play, fast forward, rewind, shuffle, etc) are along the top of the application (but can be moved to the bottom for easy thumb based operation).

Thumbs Up:

Fun to Use: The main problem with the stock media player is that its BORING. Cubed is anything but.
Suite of Functionality: Now only will this application play your music, but it will automagically download the album arts associated with it, scrobble your plays to Last.fm, walk your dog and more. As time goes by, the functionality of this application will only grow. Right now Filipe is working on a lock screen feature for the program.
Best Android Media Player Currently Available: There, I said it. In comparison with the stock player and what’s out there, Cubed takes the prize for the best of the bunch. Hopefully with the popularity of this program, there will be other offerings to the Android Market in the Music Player category.

Thumbs Down:

Cubed is still in beta, so if you’re looking for something stable, wait a few months. Personally I like the beta stage, though. Rapid development is being done with this application, and its interesting to watch it evolve.
As its still in beta, there are still some temporary bugs. Look for these to be fixed
Setting up on-the-fly playlists could be a bit faster (iTunes still hasn’t even handled this too well IMO)
Slight learning curve with operation of the program. Its not your everyday music player, so it will take a second to get used to.

Rating: 3.5 / 5 Droids