I’m not sure how many app reviews we’re going to be doing on this site, but one’s things important: highlighting the ones that we think are interesting, especially when they take the iPhone experience in unforeseen directions.
In that vein, Ocarina fits the bill perfectly. When the iPhone was released, the potential of the platform was evident. But even when third-party applications finally came on the scene, I never expected to find an application that turns my phone into a wind instrument!
There are plenty of reviews of Ocarina, as it’s been out a while. It’s a cheap app that has you blowing into the microphone, and using the 4 keys of the Ocarina to make music.
It’s also been consistently one of the most downloaded apps in the App Store. Why? It’s fun. A bit ridiculous, no doubt, but fun. There are a ton of songs to play, available at smule.ocarina.com. There’s a demo video available at YouTube.
And the greatest feature I could possibly imagine…
Parents of new babies will try absolutely anything – anything – if it calms a screaming newborn. Out of desparation recently, I tried playing Ocarina to my youngest son. He went from apopleptic to calm in about 30 seconds.
Thank you Smule. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is a feature they should promote heavily 
If your puff runs out, there’s always the option to listen to other Ocarina players around the world. Last night I caught someone playing The Imperial March from the Empire Strikes Back. Quality!
Improvements?
I’d like to be able to record my compositions, so I can listen to just had bad I am. It would also be great to have a “guided mode” – download music from Smule’s website and have the buttons light up to show you how to play it. This could also lead into a sort a Guitar Hero game – Ocarina Hero anyone?
Cost: 59p, from the App Store.
Benefit to parents of screaming child: Priceless.
Update (18/12/08):
I’ve just been informed that Ocarina 1.2 has been released. You can now record your music, and then have it hosted by Smule, plus you can share your recordings with other Ocarina users and friends without iPhones. Nice to see they were so responsive to my recommendations 😉