Those that want it, can download by going to www.tiggit.com/download

Please make sure that you have build 4027.

I thought it is also useful to share the changes I am working on for release 1.1.5, and give you the opportunity to add things to the list, and comment on the relative importance of these things:

• Use of the media keys – the volume keys on the side of the BlackBerry (etc) to control the volume on the currently active Sonos
• Ability to set screen colours
• Integration with BlackBerry Messenger
• Improve Queue Performance

I am hoping to finalise the list for 1.1.5 sometime soon.

This is all down to UDP Ports. Ports are like channels that are used between computers on the network, with a known protocol that is used more information exchange between applications. For example mail tools use a known protocol on port 143, and web browsers users a known protocol on port 80.

Sonos uses a protocol known as Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP) to discover the group of zone players that are related to your controller. There is a unique key per “household” which stops you discovering and controlling your neighbours zone players. SSDP uses port 1900 for discovery.

Sadly BlackBerry Smart Phones use port 1900 for something else: 1900 is used for the email attachment download. As a result it is not possible to run SSDP on a BlackBerry and participate in the SSDP protocol. There may be alternative ways to improve discovery, but for now I have drawn a blank on what would be the best route.

The problem is actually caused by an error in the Play 3 device specification XML. The Play 3 says defines it’s icon URL as follows, but in reality the player returns a 404 error.

<icon>
     <mimetype>image/png</mimetype>
          <width>48</width>
          <height>48</height>
          <depth>24</depth>
          <url>/img/icon-zpS3.png</url>
</icon>

The update to Tiggit Controller is a quick fix that stops it getting upset by icon not being available.

One other bi-product of this bug is that the Update mechanism may not work. Users with a Play3 should either turn off the Play 3, restart Tiggit Controller and select update, or use the BlackBerry Browser to navigate to this link to install the new version.

http://www.tiggit.com/tiggitController/release/latest/4.6/tiggitController.jad

I have managed to reproduce the problem Morten reports, and am working on a new release that will make Tiggit Controller properly compatible with Play 3. I will post here once the new version is available.

There does not appear to be any compatibility problems using Tiggit Controller 1.1.3 with Sonos 3.5. I need to do some more detailed testing, but for now it looks like there is no need for an update to Tiggit Controller.

I have not yet been able to test with a Play 3, as I don’t yet have one, but again see no reason that there should be a compatibility problem.

There are three ways to interact with Playlists. These can be found ‘at the top’ of the library, and clicking on Playlists will show a full list of the iTunes playlists.

Selecting a playlist you can either play or browse the playlist. Play does what it says, and browse opens the playlist and shows just one of the tracks. You can now click on a single track to play it, or just select Play from the menu to play the full playlist.

I have also added some more fast keys. The keyboard can already be used to navigate the library and playlists: Use the keyboard has type ahead search keys to search by track title, and hold shift to search by artist.

Now there are some additional hot keys to help with controlling iTunes

Space: play/pause

ALT-V: select the volume control

ALT-F: skip forward

ALT-B: skip backwards

ALT-M: toggle mute

ALT-S: shuffle

ALT-R: repeat

Another big change with version 0.2 is that it is built for OS 5.0, 6.0 and the new OS 7.0 that is due to be released this summer.

There are still a few things to add, not least of which is the ability to update the BlackBerry Messenger personal message, with the details of the track that is being played. This is mildly problematic as it is not certain that BlackBerry Messenger will be installed. I need to investigate this further.

Tiggit Controller for iTunes is, as you might expect, a remote control for iTunes (and other DAAP servers) that runs on BlackBerry Smartphones. It allows you to control what is playing on your iTunes music system, play/pause/repeat/shuffle/forward/back. You can select which track to play and select from playlists.

Tiggit Controller has features that are not found in the iTunes Remote for iPhone. Tiggit Controller is integrated with the BlackBerry phone, and you can configure whether iTunes should pause, mute, or be turned down when the phone rings. Although it might feel like an obvious function, iTunes does not have a mute button, however you can use Tiggit Controller to immediately mute what is playing.

All BlackBerry’s have volume button on their side. These can be used to control the volume of iTunes and can be used to skip forward and backwards by press-and-hold. Hot keys allow you to skip around the track list either bay track name, or hold shift to skip by artist name.

Tiggit Controller works with AirPlay, allowing you to select which speakers iTunes will play through.

A wifi connection is required between your BlackBerry and your iTunes computer. You will need iTunes for Windows or iTunes for Mac and OS 5.0 or later on your BlackBerry Smartphone.

I am looking for no more than 100 people to join a beta programme, to test and provide feedback. Those that interested should email tiggit AT tiggit DOT com for download information.

Here are all the necessary legal statements: iTunes is a trademark of Apple Inc. BlackBerry is a trademark of Research In Motion Inc. Tiggit Software is a BlackBerry Alliance Program Member, but has no association with or license from Apple Inc in relation to this product.

I thought it might be a good idea to post an early view of the face lift that Tiggit Controller is getting for version 1.2 and see if anyone has any opinions, so here is the new Zone View, snapped from a BlackBerry 9800. As always, post below if you have any thoughts.

The text on the splash screen suggests that there is a new version of Tiggit Controller that might work with something other than Sonos. Well yes, and the target platform is iTunes. Version 1.2 of Tiggit Controller will be released with the same look and feel, but in two versions. One for Sonos and one for iTunes.

Of course it may well be a matter of time before Apple decide that “Tiggit Controller for iTunes” is a copyright violation, but in the meantime I think it is going to be a great product.

Anyone interested in joining as an early adopter for the iTunes project should let me know by email.

1. You can press the back arrow when the “Selecting Radio Station” popup appears to clear the popup.
2. Display of radio station details is a little cleaner, and the track progress indicator is not displayed, as this is a bit meaningless.

There also a few other minor cosmetic changes, not least of which is a new icon that more accurately represents what tiggit controller does. It is not a great work of art, but I hope this will bring to an end the constant drip of complaining emails about the previous icon.

Existing users can simply select Update from the Zone List menu to install this new version.