Any musician worth his/her credit knows that accurate tuning is a given. It's a crucial starting point to playing any instrument at home, on the job, in the studio, or on the road, and an embarrassment when it isn't.

Some time ago I was doing an unplugged acoustic gig when my regular stomp box tuner broke down mid-rehearsal. I was in desperate need of a reliable tuner, without a music store in sight. Roll on Agile Partners Guitar Toolkit [iTunes link] for the iPhone/iPod Touch at £5.99

I had heard about various tuner apps on the App Store, but I was reluctant to try any of them. I could not believe that a tuner on my phone would provide the same accurate and reliable tuning that my current (expensive) tuners could. However, I was desperate, so I took the plunge.

Utilizing the iPhone's built in microphone (or the iPod Touch with a microphone headset), Guitar Toolkit's chromatic tuner performed just like using any other quality tuner. It was simple, effective and to my delight, it got the job done.

After the gig, upon further inspection, I soon realized that there was much more than just a common guitar tuner in this app.

Guitar Toolkit comprises a chromatic tuner, a metronome, a chord section, and a scale section too (practice your scales!!).

The chromatic tuner can be used to tune a variety of stringed instruments. By changing the 'mode' selector on the tuner, from standard 6-string EADGBE guitar tuning to 'all notes' tuning, you'll be able to tune almost any musical instrument. Or, you can preselect a particular stringed instrument, from a custom list, for that instruments specific tuning arrangement (guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, etcetera).

If you're feeling creative, why not come up with your own custom tuning arrangement and input it into the tuner for later reference, or choose one from the alternate guitar tuning selection. DADGAD anyone?

For advanced tuning, you can alter the standard reference pitch from 440.0 Hz to whatever you'd like (some orchestras play at varying reference pitches). I've used it to tune a violin perfectly, and for all you bass players Guitar Toolkit, using the iPhone's microphone, picks up those low notes as well.

There are a few noticeable nice touches here and there. On the tuner, there is the option to alter the display to a 'high contrast mode' for tuning in low ambient light conditions. Also, when the app is open, the power saving/auto-lock features of the iPhone are disabled so the tuner remains usable until you're finished.

Short of being able to plug an instrument line directly in, I can't find a fault with the the Guitar Toolkit tuner.

American Public Radio has updated and improved its free app for listening to public radio streams on the iPhone/iPod touch. We had a look at the first version in early December, and the criticisms Megan Lavey noted in her review have been addressed.

Public Radio Tuner [app store link] has access to more than 200 streams from stations around the country. With this 1.1 update, this version starts up faster, works better over the slower EDGE network, and you can now search for your favorite station by call letters, frequency, city, region or format.

The app now uses location services to find stations that are near you, which is great if you are traveling.

Here are some things I'd like to see in the next version. Most important would be to have stations grouped by category. As it is now you can use the search tool and input a keyword like 'jazz' to get a list of stations with that format. I'd rather see some buttons that let me get this information without typing.

Another welcome fix would be web links. Each station page has the web URL to the station, but it is not click-able. I know you'd lose the stream if you bring up Safari, but the developers could have browser access from within the app as some others have done. Even better, Apple should fix the restriction in the iPhone OS that won't allow multitasking for 3rd party programs.

A spokesperson for the Public Radio Exchange, which is behind the app, tells me a May update will include program guide information. It will also allow listeners to get on-demand content, which is a big plus. And they say they are working on integrating a web browser. Yippee!

Not all Public Radio Stations are going to be found with this app. All stations were asked to contribute, but some don't stream, and others didn't want to participate.

The new features in Public Radio Tuner are most welcome, and I expect to be using it quite a bit. Give it a try and see if it fits your needs for music and talk that goes beyond the usual commercial radio fare.

TV on a Mac is a foreign concept to most people, but EyeTV hopes to change that with the introduction of the minuscule (just a bit larger than an iPod Shuffle) EyeTV Hybrid USB TV tuner. Capable of receiving both digital (S-Video via an adapter) and analog (using the built-in coax plug or the included composite adapter) signals, the Hybrid can pick up regular run-of-the-mill standard standard definition TV, as well as up to 1080p HDTV over-the-air programming (if you have either a dual G5 or Core Duo). With that delicious combination of input options, I can hook up both my Xbox OR digital cable to my PowerBook, sit back, and relax. The EyeTV Hybrid goes for an extremely affordable $150.

[via OhGizmo!]