SoundCloud has today released an HTML5 player enabling audio recordings embedded in news stories to be viewed on an iPhone or iPad.
The move will no doubt be welcomed by news organisations and podcasters, keen to embed audio in posts but aware that the iPad and iPhone audience cannot view them as Apple devices do not support Flash.
In an announcement SoundCloud lists the features of the public beta version of its widget and named those who have been using the first test version.
- iPad/iPhone mobile support
- Attractive new waveform design encourages more interactivity with the sound
- Timed comments now are more usable on the widget (at the request of users)
- Easier to view information about the sound (e.g. title, person)
- Easier sharing (e.g. Facebook Like, Google+ and Twitter sharing options)
In addition, this HTML5 widget is the first move to provide creators with clearer indicators of possible sharing actions and further transitions SoundCloud away from a pure music player to more robust, interactive sound object. Thus far, Britney Spears, Big Time Rush, Wattpad, Intelligence Squared (a global forum for live debate), Future Human Podcast and West African Democracy Radio have been using SoundCloud’s HTML5 widget and as this beta test is the first iteration, subsequent versions will include even more social elements. The public beta is built on a new HTML5 technology platform that will allow SoundCloud to add new features to the widgets at a faster pace from now on.
Last month, SoundCloud announced a partnership with Storify, allowing users to add SounCloud recordings to the curation site.