Busker is a Palm OS media player from Electric Pocket Ltd. for MP3, Ogg and WAV files. The program adds some iPod-like functionality to your Treo, and has clever functions not yet incorporated into other Treo music applications. It has a colorful user interface that is easy to use.

When you run Busker on a Treo, it searches the device’s SD card for media files. This information is used to list the files first by artist and then by album. This process takes place whether you have files stored in a single folder or multiple folders. You can view all files, or view files in a folder view, which gives a user experience similar to an ordinary file manager.

The automatic SD card search sounds like a nice idea. But in practice it means an approxiamtely 12 second delay in using the program while it searches a 1 GB card. During this time, your device essentially freezes. With a 32MB card, there is no delay because smaller SD cards can be read more quickly. But I dread to think what the delay would be like on a 4 GB card. I wish there was an option for the program to remember the files it had previously found and only refresh the list on demand.

The start screen (see right image) provides several ways of playing music: Quick mix (a random selection of 15 tracks), all tracks, most recently played, favorites, select a play list, or play an album. Personally, I’m not a play list lover because I can’t be bothered with the hassle of creating them. But I like being able to play entire albums, and using the quick mix feature.

The media player screen (see lower left image) is clear and easy to use, with large buttons and full 5 way nav support that controls track, artist selection and basic media player controls. Right/left = next/previous track, center = stop/play, and up/down = volume. The media player screen is also where things start to get clever. The program can read album art that is contained in the MP3 tag or can download album art over your data connection.

There are several icons on the media player screen. Clicking the headphones opens the volume control (also adjustable with the side volume buttons or 5 way nav). Clicking on the star marks the current track as a favorite, so when you play the “favorites play list” it will be included. Tapping the icon containing the image of two people takes you to the start screen.

The most interesting icon on the multimedia player screen is the lightening flash. Clicking on it causes Blazer to open and wirelessly download a wiki full of information and history of the band you are currently enjoying (see right image). This is a brilliant function that I’ve never seen on another media player before!

I found the sound quality of MP3s to be great using the application. To me the tracks sounded better than in the basic version of PocketTunes. Busker lacks a graphic equaliser, and does not offer bass boost. But I don’t particularly miss them because the sound quality is so good.

Once you have music playing, you are free to leave Busker and use other programs (or to blank the screen). However, to alter the volumes or use any other functions, you have to launch Busker into the foreground again.

Busker has an option to place bookmarks in tracks as you are listening to them. This is useful for podcast and audio book fans more so than people, like me, who just listen to music. Lastly, there is an alarm clock. Just set the time and track and you’re done. It’s a much better way to wake up than to a bleeping Treo.

Overall, I think this is a great MP3 player with a few issues that with any luck will be worked out in future versions. I wish I could alter the volume when the program is playing in the background, like you can in PocketTunes. I wish it didn’t search for media every time I started the program. (Why can’t I disable this search? Solving this solitary annoyance would make Busker an awesome media player!) But overall the interface is nice, the feature set is strong, and I recommend the product to anyone looking for an alternative to the built-in music solution.

Want to test the application out for yourself? There is a free fully functional 7-day trial in the mytreo.net/download area. It has received a strong 7 out of 10 stars on average from the more than 80 mytreo.net members who have reviewed it. If you decide to buy it, the full version of Busker is available from mytreo.net/store for $19.95.

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