Musical madness?
Digital music firm 7digital will go head-to-head with Apple's iTunes on tablets as it has revealed it will provide the music service for Samsung's forthcoming iPad rival, the Galaxy Tab.
Samsung built its music hub using 7digital's open API platform and now has a proposition similar to iTunes, where users can search, preview, buy and download music tracks. It will be pre-installed on the tablet when it launches on 1 November.
7digital also said Toshiba's Folio 100 tablet will also have the API at the heart of its music service and the company is also now O2's digital music partner for the UK across its PC and mobile platforms.
In the mobile space, Ling Khor, consumer product manager at 7digital, said the firm has launched a mobile web store accessible on different mobile operating systems, which is also HTML5 forward compatible for watching music clips in the browser and scales up for tablets.
7digital has rolled out its dedicated Android app which is also tablet-friendly and acts in a similar way to iTunes. It also boasted that its BlackBerry app, which launched last year has enjoyed over 50,000 installs to become the platform's favourite music store.
Intriguingly, the company is also waiting for Apple to approve an app for iOS, which would see it pitted against Apple's own iTunes on iOS devices, The Register reported.
7digital reportedly said it is ‘optimistic' the app will be approved by Apple but its app can sync wirelessly with a user's music collection, which iTunes currently cannot do, despite being around for considerably longer. It is believed the 7digital app will in time get streaming too.
Commentators will no doubt be watching with interest as to whether Apple takes a protectionist stance and blocks the iTunes rival app, but it has approved services like Spotify and Shazam- although they are not direct competitors to its own music proposition.
7digital is also in the process of revamping its website, which should be ready in a few months and said it is working with Mobile Acuity to make use of image recognition and search technology.
Marck Unsworth, commercial and strategic product manager for 7digital said the new app will let users take a photograph with a smartphone or tablet and have the album details returned back to the device.
"Now, we know this has already been done with CD covers, but we'll go one better, by allowing users to be able to listen to the preview clips from that album," he added.
7digital also has ambitions to make music advertising more interactive to let users buy tunes from snapping magazines and billboards.
