[M.I.I] "Spotify launches mobile service"

This Monday, Spotify launched an application for particular mobiles including the Apple iPhone, iPod touch or any mobile that has Google’s Android system (software) or another wireless broadband connection. Now, users can search and listen to the millions of tracks on the database. However, the application can only stream music which means that the user only listens to them and cannot keep the tracks.



Unlike on the website which you can listen for free, the mobile application does not have the adverts popping up but instead you have to pay a premium of £9.99 per month. The adverts are not necessarily a problem for some users however, as they can be paid to be taken off.Radio one asked what John Scott (26, from Leeds) thought: "I like the idea, it's good… I do like to keep all my music so it's alright but I might stick with iTunes instead." This suggests that users prefer to keep the music, whether downloading illegally or legally.



David Curly from Acton, said that it would depend on how often you listen to music. “I listen to quite a lot so I reckon it would be worth it". This is a true point, as for some people it would be more beneficial for regular and music lovers than those who do not listen often.It is difficult to say whether it will help combat the problem of illegal downloading. The music industry has claimed that illegal downloading costs millions of pounds every year.He added: "As far as cutting out illegal downloading, with illegal downloading you get to keep the song and so just being able to listen to it isn't good enough."

A disadvantage of playing music on a mobile is that it is a mobile phone, so the quality won’t be great compared to a proper music player- although- this has been overcome by advancing technology allowing phones to be plugged into speakers.
Even more, the application is only restricted to some mobiles, so other users will not be able to get it on theirs- perhaps Spotify should make it available to other phone companies. Lastly, on some phones and internet connections, it's likely to betime-consuming and have problems with connections.
On the other hand, the user can create a playlist of their favourite or wanted tracks, which is useful for social gatherings and parties.

Is Spotify going to be iTunes competitor?


Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_10000000/newsid_10001400/10001456.stm