A WEEK AGO ON SUNDAY APRIL 11th, we finally released our all-new app for iOS devices: iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
If you're a current Hearts of Space Full or Standard service subscriber you got an email advising you of the update. If your device was set to accept updates automatically, it happened overnight and the next time you signed in you were in a shiny, happy new world.
We'll be the first to admit that it took forever. The entire development process stretched over FIVE YEARS:
| Phase 1 included our first full "API" (Application Programming Interface — the protocols that allow computers to negotiate with each other) and an all new "back end" infrastructure running in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud.
| Phase 2 was a completely redesigned and rewritten web site and a new HTML5 Player launched in December 2019.
| Phase 3 is the new iOS apps and soon-to-come Android apps, which deliver "feature parity" with our main web application. Now anything you can do on the web site you can also do on the mobile apps.
This was by orders of magnitude the biggest and most complex software development project we've ever attempted. God Bless ALEX BURROWS and his team at BAY INTERACTIVE for their extraordinary patience and competence!
We spent almost two years testing and refining the design of the user interface to make an inherently complex application as intuitive as possible. We resisted massive pressure to launch before it was ready, and conducted a rigorous six week beta test with over 200 participants.
The payoff was that the rollout went off with just a few minor issues, immediately spawned dozens of rave reviews from our users in the App Store, and a solid 5 Star rating. Sweet!
We encourage every fan of ambient, space, and contemplative music to download the (free) app and register for a (free) basic account.
This allows you to stream our new weekly programs anytime/anywhere, up to four times each week. And even without a subscription you can still explore the entire archive, play 30 second samples, view the playlists and artwork for almost 1300 programs and over 150 albums, and check out our 11 full time genre-focused "Channels."
In the words of London TV producer Matt Nida: "The shows themselves are exemplary. The opening monologues set up the week’s theme poetically and economically before letting the music do the rest of the work. The selections are well judged and the themes consistently intriguing and surprising. Specialist radio doesn’t get much more bang-on than this. If you’re looking to expand your ambient horizons, there’s no finer resource available to you."
Safe streaming, spacefans, wherever you are…
:: Stephen Hill and Team HoS
3 Responses
Thrilled about the app update! Thanks for taking the time and effort to ensure a quality experience – well worth the wait.
The app is great! longtime listener, but getting seriously reacquainted wit.h HOS with app and your high-level of membership, thanks for all these years, since ‘the 80s!
Dear Stephen,
Ever since that fateful day in the late eighties when I first heard HOS in a taxi, I have enjoyed this amazing sonic portal that frees our minds to frolic in a myriad of amazing soundscapes. I remember the days when I had to scan online schedules of public radio stations to find HOS listening opportunities. Now this new app has really opened up access. Hopefully many more future space fans will now stumble upon the treasure that is Hearts of Space. Thank you