Appletell reviews Tranquility for iPhone, iPod touch

Category: Healthcare and Fitness
Developer: Freeverse, Inc.
Requirements: iPhone 2.2 software
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod Touch
File Size: 122MB
Version Reviewed: 1.3
Price: $1.99

Tranquility is an app that’s been around since September of last year, and I’ve had it for nearly that long, and I’m just now reviewing it. Why? Maybe because I haven’t realized just how much I’ve been using it. Maybe because I’ve been too relaxed to write a review. Or maybe because I’m a hockey lovin’ man who prefers a shovel over a snow blower, eats beef jerky, and does push-ups with one arm. Or maybe does one push-up with both arms. Regardless, babbling streams and Zen gardens aren’t usually my thing, and yet Tranquility is still on my iPhone.

I think this goes back to the first 18 years of my life when I lived next to Interstate 71 in the heart of Ohio. Being out in the country with a large woodland area behind the house, I spent my summer nights being lulled to sleep by the sound of crickets and the constant, low rumbling of cars and trucks rolling down the highway. That’s what Tranquility replicates; the constant calming sounds of wind, rain, waves, thunder, and more…including, yes, street life. No interstate highways, though. And what’s up with that train sound? Paul Simon may have been right when he sang, “Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance,” but no one’s going to love the Tranquility Train, which sounds like it’s driving through your bedroom.

The app itself has a simple and elegant interface, once you realize that tapping the screen in the Settings menu launches the Freeverse website. I found this annoying, as it shuts down the app to take you to a listing of Freeverse’s iPhone programs. They wrote “Swipe to Change Audio” in big friendly letters on this screen, but if you try to swipe from this particular screen the app closes and up comes Safari. Rather, to back out, you have to hit the “reload” button.

This settings screen, then, is only for adjusting the volume level and the the timer, which can be set from 1 minute to “Play Forever.” The timer, of course, is great for those who want Tranquility to lull them to sleep. It ends abruptly, though—no nice fade—so if you’re just on the verge of sleep, the sudden silence could be enough to jar you back awake. Another problem with the settings screen is that the volume and timer sliders are very unresponsive. I usually have to touch and slide them four or five times before they’ll actually move, and the slider would bounce a bit when I lifted my finger, altering my intended setting.

You select your track of choice not in the settings screen, but in the main area where you also play and pause the audio. As mentioned above, you simply swipe left and right to change the audio, and each track is accompanied by a corresponding photo. The loops are very nice, with no noticeable breaks or restarts. Even better, the recording quality is very high. Flowing streams actually sound like flowing streams, for example. This is what makes Tranquility a 122MB download, which may be excessive for users who are likely to settle upon two or three tracks they really enjoy. Personally, I’m glad to have the options. There are some I wouldn’t have thought I’d like (Zen garden, windmills) had I not been forced to download them, and others I’m sure I would’ve selected that I now rarely use (the aforementioned train).

So, Tranquility comes down to two screens that’ll make or break this program for you. The main area where you select and play the tracks is very elegant and very calming, and the audio tracks are absolutely fantastic. There’s a great variety from which to choose, and each is professionally designed and looped for a pleasant listening experience…until it abruptly ends on timer mode. Adding a nice slow fade would go a long way towards improving Tranquility, as would providing more responsive slider controls in the settings menu. A single, small button for leaving the app for the Freeverse website would also be appreciated.

Still, I can’t get too upset about this. I’m too calm. Too relaxed. Too sleepy. I’m not even in the mood to watch hockey now or do my push up.

Good night, Freeverse. Sleep tight.

Appletell Rating:

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