Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review
Put nature in your head
Naturespace [App Store] for the iPhone and iPod touch is a free app that lets you sample very natural and realistic sounds to relax to. They come from the folks at Holographic Audio Theater, who produce some very serene audio tracks for meditating, relaxing, or helping you sleep.The app itself is attractive and easy to use. It provides 5 different audio environments for headphone listening. While there are some other nice apps that provide similar features, I thought this had the best audio and the most enveloping sound I had sampled. I especially liked the sound of waves lapping on a beach because of the gentle right to left movement.
I listened on both regular headphones, and iPhone earbuds. The software has a switch to turn earbud equalization on, and it did seem to deepen the bass and improve the realism of the presentation.
The app is very well thought out, and if you change to one of the other ambient recordings the sounds slowly fade down and then the new selection fades up. You can go to sleep using these sounds and turn on the iPhone sleep timer. The developers will be glad to sell you additional low cost ambient recordings, but the free app is not crippled in any way and has no advertising. The positive reviews at the App Store are a pretty good indication that this is a well conceived piece of software.
This app will be worth a couple of bucks to many people, but since it is free, I think it's a no-brainer to try and see if you get swept into the sonic environments that are provided. The loops are seamless, so there is nothing to interrupt your reverie as you s l o w l y... r e l a x... a n d... b e g i n... t o... n o d... o f f ...........
Here are some screen shots:
Gallery: Naturespace
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Justin said 3:16PM on 5-20-2009
Mmm. I love these sort of apps. I must admit, I use White Noise to fall asleep every night. My favorite is the crickets. I feel like I'm falling asleep in a field. Delicious! http://tr.im/whitenoise (opens in iTunes)
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Terry Brett said 6:32PM on 5-20-2009
Naturespace is a beautifully crafted application with gorgeous sounds. Lay down besides a running creek in a rainforest without having to worry about the leeches and mosquitos!
My only word of warning - there's a intro sound on launching - a crack of thunder - and the default sound setting is 100% for the first launch. If you've got sensitive headphones you may want to leave them off the first time you launch it!
Other than that... highly recommended (and free!)
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pListOFF said 8:38AM on 5-21-2009
Heard that, Terry (pun sorta intended) ;^)
That thunder crack scared the crap out of me the first time! Fortunately, it doesn't always play as the opening sound (though I would love to have a nice thunderstorm sequence to sleep to).
Jinto said 7:15PM on 5-20-2009
I've had ambiance from when it ws 99 cents, great app. Of course, now it is like 2.99, but still worth it I believe. You can download many ambient noises, and even mix them. This is my favorite feature. The original version is still 99 cents.
Here is a TUAW link to a review of it: http://tinyurl.com/5bkbkn Of course, this is the original version.
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dUN said 8:22PM on 5-20-2009
Nice...
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Bowser said 8:39PM on 5-20-2009
Just to warn those of you who haven't updated to 2.2.1, this app requires it. (I've been lazy and haven't done it yet.) If that really matters or not, who knows. :)
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ianlive said 10:50AM on 5-21-2009
Thank you Bowser. I was wondering why it didn't show up on my phone. Not worth re-pwning 2.2.1 when 3.0 is soooo close. Will have to wait.
Bowser said 10:54AM on 5-21-2009
I'm in the same boat. I hope 3.0 comes out soon, I can't wait for it!
mark said 1:11AM on 5-21-2009
Thanks Mel!
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davpel said 10:49AM on 5-21-2009
And a warning that this app does not work with the 3.0 beta (neither does Ambiance).
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Mel Martin said 12:36PM on 5-21-2009
At the iTunes store the Naturespace page says clearly it does not work on iPhone OS 3.0 but will soon.
Mel
TUAW
dvconnell said 1:51PM on 5-27-2009
Listening to it now and loving it! The loops are seamless, unlike Ambiance, which I found to have annoyingly sharp and distracting sound effects and loop breaks. It's great for tuning out office noise and other distractions while working when music might be too intrusive. It's been very relaxing so far. I just started using it this afternoon, so I haven't tried falling asleep to it yet. Tonight! :-)
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