Shazam Hits Windows Phone 8 With Xbox Music Support And Live Tiles

Shazam has launched its first app for Windows Phone, with the new software supporting unlimited tagging as well as integration with Xbox Music and Nokia Music. The Windows Phone 8 app can identify songs playing around the phone and flag up artist, track name, and album; they can then jump over into Xbox Music and buy the track, or alternatively – if they're using a Lumia – Nokia Music to get the song.

There's also the local tags feature we saw on the updated iOS and Android Shazam apps earlier this month. On Windows Phone, they flag up what's being tagged and listened to nearby every 30 minutes, with the option of a homescreen Live Tile.

In the US, users can use Shazam to identify TV shows and adverts, with extra "second-screen" content opened up that way. There's also music reviews and artist biographies, along with lyrics, and there's a Live Tile "tag this" button for speedy access to the service.

Charts of the most popular artists and tracks are available, and it's possible to set the cover art for any track as the lockscreen background on the phone.

Microsoft's OS continues to be criticized for the gaps in its app offering for Windows Phone, though the company is working hard to engage with developers and fill in the holes. The platform has crept into third place in the smartphone OS charts, ousting BlackBerry OS from its position, though still lags significantly behind iOS and Android.

The new Shazam for Windows Phone 8 app is available in the Windows Phone Store. It's a free download, though there's an "Encore" premium version which is priced at $5.99, and which adds in recommendations and more.