Taking on Apple
Rivalling Apple's iTunes, Swedish company Spotify has introduced a new music streaming service for iPods, iPhones or even Android phones.
Spotify users can simply connect iPods to their PCs, and sync tracks using the desktop application. iPhone and Android users can download a free mobile app that allows them to do the same using their smartphone's Wi-Fi - a service that isn't available on iTunes yet.
Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify, said: "From today, Spotify really is the only music player you'll ever need. Our users don't want to have to switch between music players, but they do want to take their playlists with them wherever they go, on a wider range of devices, more simply and at a price they can afford. Now we've made that possible on one of the world's most popular consumer devices."
The company has also introduced its own music store that lets you buy in 'bundles,' where a bigger bundle costs less. A bundle of 10 tracks costs £7.99, effectively costing 80p each, while a bundle of 100 costs £50, you'll pay 30p less for each track.
Understanding that music on your mobile phone is the future, Gustav Soderstrom, chief product officer at Spotify, adds: "We want to open up the Spotify experience to as many people as possible, and in a way where they can get exactly the music they want at a great price."
While premium users can already synchronise content from Spotify playlists on iPod Touches, iPhones and Android phones, free users are limited to the desktop version. Guardian noted that "Spotify can only synchronise "static" playlists from iTunes, and not "smart" playlists which are updated in iTunes when new songs are added to the library." Soderstrom had reportedly said "that functionality was being worked on both for synchronization and for Spotify playlists generally."
In the meanwhile digital media company 7digital today announced a new version of its free Android app, bringing its MP3 download store to the Android platform. For the first time, 7digital's cloud locker allows users to sync tracks stored both locally and on the go.
Ben Drury, 7digital CEO said it is now "available natively on the BlackBerry Playbook, Samsung Galaxy Phones and Tablets and all Android devices. With new cloud features, this update is a major step towards our vision of giving our customers access to their entire music collection on all of their devices."
