Spotify Mobile app hits iPhone and Android
Spotify is already revolutionizing the way we consume music on our computers, allowing the streaming of over 6 million tracks for free and on demand. And now it’s also revolutionizing the smartphone market, with the release of Spotify Mobile on the iPhone and Android platforms.
I’ve been banging on about Spotify for the whole of 2009 after first giving the music streaming service a go at the start of the year. Being a resident in the U.K. means I live in one of the few countries where Spotify is currently available, the others being Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, and Spain. But the company is planning to roll Spotify out to other countries soon, including the United States.
Today saw an important event occur in Spotify’s mission to change the face of music. The Spotify Mobile app has been released on to the iPhone and Android smartphone platforms, meaning users are no longer limited to using the service on their computers. A version for the Symbian S60 has also been confirmed, with Windows Mobile and BlackBerry apps also likely to be in development.
Both the iPhone and Android versions work in the same way although there are some slight differences. Below are preview videos for both versions of the Spotify Mobile app.
Spotify Mobile for iPhone
Spotify Mobile for Android
Spotify Mobile is only available to those paying for the premium service. This is available for £9.99 in the U.K. and removes all adverts from the service which are seen and heard by those using the free version. The addition of the Spotify Mobile app is going to be a huge draw for users who have so far balked at the monthly subscription fee.
Many industry watchers are surprised Apple is allowing the Spotify Mobile app on the iPhone because it clearly offers an alternative to iTunes. After all, why buy music when for a fairly small amount of money each month you can consume as much as you like?
As can be seen in the above videos, Spotify Mobile even allows you to play songs when not connected to a network. This is made possible by the caching of selected playlists and means the end of boring car or plane journeys. The only real complaint so far has been that the Spotify app cannot be used in conjunction with other features. So reading emails would stop the music from playing. This only seems to be a problem on the iPhone and not Android.
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September 7th, 2009
This is amazing. So much better that I can run it in the background haha