Update: 1/14: We now have recommended fixes and resolutions to this issue here.

Update: 12/30/13: We have received information from several customers that the workaround of toggling the EQ does not operate correctly. We request if you fall into this category of customers, to contact Chris with Rocket Player support at [email protected].

Chris here with some support news for Rocket Player listeners. Several Samsung listeners have reported a loss in sound after an receiving an OTA system update on their device.
While we do not know exactly what is causing this, we do know how to work around the issue. Simply toggle (On/Off/On) the EQ in Rocket Player and your sound will return. Here's a YouTube video on how to turn ON the EQ

We've had several reports from Nexus 4 users that they have to double swipe to answer phone calls when Rocket Player is running. What has been stumping me is that our Nexus 4 with the exact same build couldn't reproduce this issue. However, customer Alan Green finally figured this one out. The issue is with an app called Contacts+. Once I installed Contacts+, I was able to reproduce the issue in Rocket Player and four other music players, including Play Music, so I'm sure the issue is with Contacts+. That being said, we've not had any reports of this issue on other devices, so unless you are on a Nexus 4 running 4.3, don't worry too much about this post. :-)

-Justin

This is my first equipment review. While most JRT Studio customers may not know this, I spend an awful lot of money on tablets, phones, phablets, bluetooth headsets, wired headsets, wired headsets with buttons, and pretty much anything else I think my customers should expect my apps to work well with. Why keep all this good information to myself? I'm going to try and write regular blog entries about our equipment in hopes it helps someone else out.

First up is a Belkin Bluetooth Car Recieiver that I bought. This product is pretty simple. It has a male mic end and a 12V cigarette lighter for power and a little Bluetooth receiver. Just plug the mic into an audio in jack on your car and plug in the 12V for power. When the car is on, the Bluetooth receiver lights up and you can connect your Android device to it. At least that is how it is supposed to work.

The goal of this product was to allow me to start my car and have my Android phone automatically connect over Bluetooth and then use my begin play connect feature in Rocket Player to start the music automatically. That way, I turn on my car and music just starts streaming. I turn off the car and music just stops streaming. Sounds like a great way for me to eat my own dog food and create a commercial free radio station that only plays music I like. :-)

The Skinny

This Belkin product is pretty cool. For $45, it did 90% of what I would expect. It was easy to connect to with my device. It sounds pretty darn good to me (for Bluetooth). Overall, I would be a pretty happy customer, except.... the device does not broadcast it is available when it first turns on. Since it does not tell the phone (oh, I tried six phones and three cars), "Hey phone, I'm available, connect to me!", the phone does not automatically connect. That means everytime I get in the car I have to unlock my phone, go to "Settings->Bluetooth->Connect to Belkin". To be honest, that is more work than just plugging the phone into a mic cable. In the end, I have to give this product a thumbs down, as it just doesn't implement Bluetooth correctly.

Continue the conversation on Google+

Hello to all the awesome iSyncr users out there! I just wanted to give everyone a heads up over a change around here. Rather than leaving you all with only the information in the title, I'd like to explain why I've made the decision to move iSyncr Lite from being a "Lite" version to being a 14-day trial version. The first reason for the change is simple… I'd like to alleviate customer confusion. At this point, Chris (our amazing support guru) or I spends 20-30 minutes a day answering customer emails related to the fact that things like play counts do not work with the lite version of iSyncr. While I've enjoyed offering a lite version, the confusion causes too many headaches for people who are using iSyncr for the first time, so we've simplified all of the lite restrictions, which should save us all time. The only restriction on the new trial version is that it only supports 100 songs per playlist. That's it. Play counts/ratings/playlists/start/stop times/USB/WiFi all work with the trial version. So people trying out iSyncr for the first time will be able to get the full experience. The other reason we are switching to a trial is to simplify iSyncr's development. In the past, I would have to test the lite version restrictions with each release and spend time assessing whether to make each new feature available in the lite version or not. This time added up and took away time I could be spending adding cool new features that everyone could enjoy. There is a long list of feature requests from users that I can now start digging into with the added time. Lastly, I'd like to add that current lite users need not fear. If you've been using the lite version, it will continue to work for you, even if you update to the trial version. I didn’t want to take away any functionality from our current loyal users. However, if you get a new phone or uninstall the current version of iSyncr Trial, the 14-day trial will start for you, just like anyone else. Sorry but that is just a code thing that I can’t get around. In the end, I hope that if you do try iSyncr Trial and enjoy using it, you will consider purchasing the paid version to support my continued efforts at making quality Android music apps. Cheers! Justin