Sometimes, an app comes along that fits a small niche in a really interesting, kind of absurd way. How many people really need an app that combines ambient music with police radio? And out of the people who think they need that app, how many are willing to pay for it? Any development time is a gambling risk; wasted time developing an app that doesn’t work out is potentially wasted money (or so the saying goes — don’t ask me, I’m still trying to earn pennies by saving them so I fall for these scams all the time). Regardless, somebody put this app together. It’s called La Vue, it’s a universal app and it’s on the App Store for $0.99.
There’s no denying the concept is pretty cool, but cool concepts with weak implementations are never any good. The real question I had going into this isn’t why anybody would bother putting this together; it’s such an original and cool idea that the real question is why somebody wouldn’t. But I did wonder if the design was any good, if the app matched or exceeded its value and who could really use an app like this. My answers surprised me.
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Great Execution
La Vue’s simple concept is executed with panache. You can choose to hear police radio from four different cities (at the time of this writing): Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore and New York City. As you listen to the radio chatter, you’ll be watching a beautiful slideshow featuring photos of the city you’ve selected. Swiping to the left or right will take you to a different area.
La Vue is simple and beautiful.
The controls are practically non-existent. On the screen is a Pause button, the military time based on the respective city’s time zone and an Info button in the bottom-right that is literally just for the app’s contact information. On the iPhone, a small clock on the bottom right allows you to set an alarm. Like any other third-party alarm clock app, the app can’t be closed if you want the alarm to go off. (The display can be off, but don’t hit the home button or the alarm won’t go off.)
You can also just watch the slideshow, sans play/pause controls.
Tapping on the screen makes all the buttons disappear, so all you’re left with is the slideshow. Couple with the bizarre soundtrack, the slideshow becomes nearly hypnotic despite its loop-like nature. But you’re really not getting this app for the slideshow. You’re getting this app for the audio, and I’d be remiss not to discuss it in some better detail.
Sights & Sounds
I spent time listening to all four cities in the app and the police chatter. The music felt different in each one, but there was no consistency to it. Sometimes, while listening to New York City or Baltimore, it felt like I was listening to a bizarre martian landing, but I could say that for Los Angeles as well. And for what its worth, if you ever find you’re not enjoying the sounds of one city, it’s easy to flick to a different one and try something else. It was never impossible to find something I enjoyed listening to.
Setting the alarm is a piece of cake.
It’s such an odd combination that it initially left me scratching my head. After all, who in their right mind would want to listen to police chatter simultaneously with ambient music? As it turns out, me. When it works, it’s frequently such a divine combination that it makes for nearly-perfect white noise. I love having white noise background music on while I write (which I tend to do a lot) or while I read, and this app fit that bill in a really bizarre — but very cool — way.
And I never heard the same music more than once. Inspired by Youarelistening.to, the app gets its music streamed from each respective city’s own ambient radio stations so it’s literally an endless stream of sounds you aren’t likely to hear repeat.
Should I Pay for La Vue? Who Is This For?
These are the questions of the hour. If this app were free, I’d unconscionably recommend the app for everybody on a try-it-and-see basis. It’s hard to answer this question, but it’s worth discussing what I think La Vue isn’t good at.
I don’t think La Vue makes for a good alarm clock. While I was testing, my alarms never actually went off. I could tell they were supposed to — the music and police chatter briefly dropped out — but I never did hear an alarm go off. I wouldn’t recommend using this as a replacement for the alarm clock. And in the same sense, I wouldn’t recommend using La Vue to fall asleep to. The sounds and noises are sporadic, sometimes suddenly louder than other times. I can’t sleep to it; I’m sure some people could, but it’s not my recommendation.
That all being said, I think if you like listening to white noise while you work, you’ll love La Vue. I used it while writing this review and a few other articles, and it’s really easy just to space out to it and get into a working groove, at least for me. It feels like the same sort of white noise I’d find at a coffee shop: It sits in the background, but it never impedes on my work and it helps keep me focused. At the end of the day, getting that in my home is worth the price of a cup of coffee to me.