Turn your webOS into a white noise box – Rockus Sound Machine

When I was younger, I remember my parents and elders referring to my loud music being a ruckus of noise. It’s most likely just coincidence but I’ve sometimes read the name of this application as Ruckus Sound instead of Rock-Us Sound Machine. Either way, both names ironically fit the general idea of a white noise program.

White noise generators are devices that produce random noise to simulate falling rain to atmospheric sounds.  These were ideal for people who have sleeping issues, or need some type of background noise to help break the silence in a room. I usually had a TV running in the background when I work on my computer, because music can sometimes really distract you. However this application may be classified as just a sound engine, for the playback are just audio samples. Some white box machines actually uses the white noise to create real-time effects, and cheaper models will use pre-recorded audio and play with a continuous loop. Either way you look at it, its intentions is helpful, benefiting people who may need something relaxing to listen to, and its price tag most definitely beats most competitors physical devices that may range from the $100′s.

Rockus Sound Machine is developed by www.rockus-studios.com and is available for $1.99 in Palm’s App Catalog. It offers 12 different sounds that are listed in three different categories; Water, Wildlife and Man Made.  Each sound offers some quality sounds that are comfortable to listen to. Obviously the webOS handsets today do not have a hi-fi stereo system, so headphones are recommended for a clearer experience.

Each sound will seamlessly loop until you select another sound or close the app all together. When selecting a sound, the button will have a simple GIF style animation for easy recognition what is playing. Each sound can have a sleep timer from minimum of 15minutes to a maximum of 5 hours. During playback, the timer will count down to zero, but the user has the option to reset the timer and restart the countdown. For an infinite loop, set the timer to ‘no timer’.

One thing that I truly enjoy when I’m working in my room, is the sound of rain outside my house. The sounds are very hypnotic and it draws me into that zone of concentration and peace of mind. The application’s water and wildlife are my favorite, and I’m catching myself using the rain and atmospheric jungle/insect sounds. I haven’t tried sleeping with these sounds yet, but it definitely works for me when I have it playing on my headphones. The benefit here is you can take it anywhere – on the bus, waiting rooms (DMV anyone?) and work. I’m confident that many users will find this application pretty useful if they’re being overwhelmed with distractions and minor stress (if you’re having major stress problems, then your doctor should consulted). The Man Made sounds consists of electronic devices, wind chimes, hand clapping, cars driving by and the sound when riding a plane. Some of these sound I can think people will use, but one that caught my attention is the hand clapping sound. I really don’t see it as a type of ambiance like the water and wildlife, but I can picture this for people who may need a boost in their self-esteem, confidence and energy. According to the application notes in the app store, the developer removed it from the list thinking that it wasn’t taken too seriously. But by popular demand, they included the feature back into the app – pretty cool how one feature can make a difference.

As for the feature set, there aren’t many options to choose from. In some cases, less is definitely more and it works well with this application. I would probably like to see an option to add your own noises and have the app loop them as well. This would definitely offer expandability to what the application can do.

The developer was very prompt and informative. When the 1.4 update landed on my phone, it broke some features of the app, causing the looped playback to not function properly. After asking the developer about this, he explained that there were technical difficulties and even went an extra mile to explain why it was doing it. This is a definite plus in my book when an enthusiastic developer is responding to your messages clearly and quickly.

The help menu offer’s direct link to the support email and website. It also offers a direct link to the app store for all other Rockus applications too, good idea for recognition and expandability.

The app deserves a 7 out of 10; the user interface is very simple and easy to use. The sounds are clear enough to listen to and enjoy.  The application could use some new features for its price tag, but I’m positive that customers will come to appreciate the subtle atmosphere and comfort this app has to offer.