If you recall, earlier last month we mentioned that a new UK based cellular carrier “3″, was set to offer quite the bundle for the mobile music streamer in conjunction with Android and the HTC Hero. At that time, the deal hadn’t been officially announced by anyone, however splash pages and documentation of the deal were available for many to see giving this “rumor” a legitimate footing. Today 3 UK has come forth via their online blog officially announcing the deal to all. In case you forgot, for £99 up front and recurring £35 a monthly subscription you get 750 minutes of cross network minutes, Unlimited texts, data and free Three to Three calls, and (2) FULL years of Spotify Premium access via your phone, PC, or Mac. If you have some sort of undying lust for streaming music, this is certainly a deal worth checking in to. The fact that it’s paired with an awesome phone, the HTC Hero rockin’ Android makes the deal all the more sweeter. If you were even thinking of getting an Android handset, it’s definitely worth giving this package a look. So what do you think?
Pocket-Lint
I’m sure many of you remember the early days of P2P and file sharing. Yes, back to a time when rampant file sharing went unnoticed by the public media. For even a few years back, the internet was still a sort of “wild frontier”. Everything was great until Napster was axed by big media only to return a few yeas later with fees attached in order to sustain a longer, more legal lifestyle. With streaming services and mobile internet usage exploding, accessing Napster services on the go seems like a win win — labels and musicians still get exposure and income while consumers get to listen to whatever whenever. Wish no more because Napster is coming to the iPhone.
According to Napster GM & VP, Thorsten Schliesche, the Napster iPhone app is “good to go”. Though, Apple hasn’t approved it yet…essentially because they haven’t sent it to them. Why? Mr. Schliesche has said that the app will “remain behind closed doors until the labels drive down streaming costs”. An example he used to illustrate the still overpriced prices for streaming music was the £9.95 premium Spotify for iPhone carries.
While it is definitely good for consumers that such a large figure at Napster is siding with consumers in the push for lower prices in regards to media content, a little bit of me is left with a feeling of hopelessness as we all know how much big media loves money and wringing it from consumers. Any optimists/pessimists care to comment?
Electric Pig
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If you were a fan of Napster of years past, this article is not for you. Re-emerging after their epic court battle and shut down has created a leaner and not quite as mean online music retailer. Looking to shake things up a bit and get back into the game, Napster is introducing subscription based option for a mere $5! On top of the very attractive low price, you will now also be able to keep 5 “CD quality” tracks per month as an added bonus. There is however one catch. The subscription and the accompanying $5 only gives you unlimited access to the 7 million+ library by means of streaming, not downloading. Bummer. If you were looking to use it much the same as many other subscription based options where you can download songs and take them with you, disappointment will fill you heart, sorry. Looks like you’ll have to pony up some more dough in order to get those tracks onto your own devices. Still, $5 isn’t that much. Personally I would much rather “own” (a term in the digital age that is constantly getting translated to “rent”) my music than rent it. But that’s just me, for some, the subscription method is the way to go. To each his own.
Source: Engadget
If you are a Last.FM user living in the U.S., UK, or Germany (and any other users outside of those countries who have to pay for the service), you may have noticed some new lipstick on your audibly digital girlfriend. Last.FM is updating their exceptional music streaming service with an enhanced UI and new features. Regarding the new found eye-candy, the meta data and album art area of the screen is now larger, as well as much more visually oriented. Feature wise, you can now become your own DJ and choose up to 3 tags in which to match up and pull music from creating a more diverse and unique listening experience. Among other things, the “recent stations” list is now longer, stations can now be removed from lists, and a new “scrobble toggle” is included in order to hide whatever it is you are really listening to. You no longer have to worry about your obsession with Hannah Montana getting loosed to the guys. Of course, if they have ears they won’t be fooled. Regardless, the latest update to Last.FM is definitely a welcome addition to an already outstanding online service.
Source: Pocket-Lint
- February 15, 2009 9:01 pm
Wires are so 1895. In this day and age of 2009, everything should be wireless. Well, that’s what the folks at iSkin believe anyway (count me in too!) At MWC they announced the iSkin Cerulean FX, a bluetooth iPhone dock adapter that allows you to use your iPhone/iPod dock stereo system without even plugging your iPhone in! The benefits will be the ability to stream over bluetooth your tunes to any dock with the Cerulean FX attached. Pretty neat! A legitimate gadget nerd would remember that Blackberry’s just received a bluetooth adapter a few weeks ago, however, unlike the Blackberry version, the iPhone/iPod version will work with any bluetooth A2DP enabled handset. The price tag for such convenience will cost you a cool $70.
Source: Into Mobile
- January 24, 2009 12:13 am
Android users have reason to celebrate tonight/today as Last.fm has been released for Android. One might ask why is this any better than the aLast.fm app. Well folks, it loads a little faster and has more features that mimic the desktop version. One awesome feature that is an Android exclusive is background streaming (sit down iPhoners) which allows you to close the app and open whatever else your little heart desires, all without ever losing the stream. Awesome job Last.fm team!
Source: Andronica
