Play this track:

Your pocket is bulging with power.

Wait… okay, that sounded really wrong.

Anyway, the mobile software revolution continues. There’s so much stuff out there that it can actually be hard to track. Here’s a round-up to help you navigate everything that’s going on this week.

And even if you can’t stand another word about the iPhone, consider this: the explosion of iPhone software, more than just a fad, illustrates what happens when you give developers tools to make multimedia capabilities easier, then provide a distribution outlet. I don’t love everything about the iTunes approach, but those are lessons that could easily be learned in desktop and mobile development alike. The iPhone platform, if nothing else, is surprisingly uncompromising in the sound and visual interaction departments, especially for a mobile platform. And even desktop platforms could benefit from this kind of distribution mechanism (see also: Steam for games).

Also, we do have some of the first signs that the iPhone won’t be alone for long – new functionality on Google’s Android could take that platform in new directions. See my next story, Android/Linux/open source fans.

Disclaimer: don’t worry. I’m not giving up on desktop apps. Relax. In fact, even now as I look across these applications, while there are lots of cool ideas, it’s still clear this is a nascent area. The experience is nowhere near as rich as you get on the desktop. But it’s nonetheless worth exploring some of the ideas before we return to our (more powerful) desktop applications for music.

Black Friday? Cyber Monday? Who need them? The entire month of December seems to be on sale when it comes to music tech.

Christmas (and Hanukkah, for that matter) are nearly here. Whether it’s economic pressure or just some aggressive holiday pricing, there are some big deals out there that could make excellent gifts – or might just give you a nice list for shopping for yourself before or after the holidays. (Yes, it’s true: most of what readers suggested in our “gift guide” for the CDM Winter 08 special wasn’t really all that practical. But it does make a nice list of things you love.)

Here’s some of what’s on our radar screen:

Blue Mic’s new Icicle and subsequent discussion of alternatives like CEntrance’s MicPort Pro has generated some interest and chatter. Matej Isak sends over a review he did of the MicPort Pro:

CEntrance MicPort Pro review [Mono & Stereo]

CEntrance links to some other good reviews online on their product page. Highlights:

• Craig Anderton writes a detailed review for Harmony Central and in March did a short round-up of “fun stuff to plug into your USB bus.”
• Steve Fortner at Keyboard is quite fond of the thing.
• MusicTech gives it a perfect score, even though I’m always suspicious of perfect scores and, well, scores in general.
• Chris Breen likes it at Macworld, as does Joshua Topolsky for Engadget

So, there’s a round-up of people I know and like. I’m still sticking to a dedicated interface, at least until someone makes one of these that doubles as a standalone mic pre. (CEntrance, you listening? I’d even add a little bulk for that, honestly.) Interestingly, one commenter points out that while I didn’t like the lack of a headphone jack for direct monitoring, some people might prefer to listen through the host, so that keeps Blue’s offering in the running.

Certainly, to anyone who thought an XLR-to-USB mic pre wouldn’t appeal to anyone, this proves otherwise.

I’ve personally always been happy carrying around any one of a number of portable USB/FireWire audio interfaces. But as readers pointed out following Blue’s announcement of the Icicle yesterday, various solutions have offered direct mic – to – USB hardware with preamps for connecting a single mic to a single USB port. And several tech blogs picked up on the Icicle announcement, so clearly there’s a need for someone.

The major oversight of the Blue Icicle is that (as near as I can tell) it doesn’t have a headphone jack. Result: the only way to monitor the microphone would be through your computer, which adds latency. And I’m a little hesitant on what the quality of the pre is, as well.

The Icicle isn’t your only option. Readers point to the Mic Mate Pro from MXL, and I’ve heard very positive stories about CEntrance’s MicPortPro. The MicPortPro gets high marks on audio fidelity, both anecdotally from those we’ve heard from and in reviews from Keyboard, TapeOp, and the like. Ronald Stewart writes to say he uses it with his Indamixx, the UMPC-based, tiny portable PC, so I imagine it’s an interesting option for those who like obsessive degrees of portability.

Ever wished you could take any mic you wanted and plug it directly into your computer? With Apple nixing FireWire and the whole size issue, it’s not quite practical to expect an XLR jack on your computer. You could use a USB mic, but they’re useless in other situations. Blue Microphones has a new product called the Icicle, which is a small, pen-sized gadget that has XLR on one end, USB on the other end, and a preamp and a converter in the middle.

Price: US$59.99. No drivers required.