rdio

Rdio launches app for Windows Phone 7

Music subscription service Rdio first gained attention back in June when Kazaa founders originally announced it as their latest foray into the digital music space. The service got official a couple months later with a Web service and apps for Android and iOS devices. Today, Rdio added one mobile OS to the mix: Windows Phone 7.

Much like Slacker for Windows Phone 7, Rdio is designed in deference to the operating system. As such, it, too, has a very Zune-like interface--I'm beginning to sense a theme here. As far as music apps are concerned, Rdio competes much more directly … Read more

Rhapsody move revs up independence march

Subscription music pioneer Rhapsody was spun out from joint owners RealNetworks and Viacom in April, and it immediately declared its independence by dropping the price of its mobile service from $15 to $10 per month. Since then, the service has introduced offline playback to its iPhone application--critical, if you want to be able to get the most out of your subscription while on AT&T's notoriously flaky 3G network--and successfully launched an Android version, which will be getting offline playback shortly.

Tomorrow, the company is set to announce that it's moving its streaming service from several data … Read more

Welcome to the social, Apple

I followed Apple's music event keynote live on my MacBook and as CEO Steve Jobs demonstrated the upcoming Ping social-networking service for iTunes 10, I had a strange sense of deja vu. Ping lets iTunes users connect to friends, share their now-playing lists publicly, and make recommendations. It's built into the iTunes desktop client software and accessible from mobile devices as well.

Where have I heard this before? Let's see, iLike was kind of a social network. The Rdio subscription service has a social-networking element. But I'm thinking earlier than that. MySpace? No, that was more … Read more

Grooveshark comes to iPhone

It's been more than a year (!) since I first tested an early alpha version of the Grooveshark app for iPhone, and now the company has finally jumped through the necessary hoops to get it into the App Store.

Grooveshark's Web site has for several years offered on-demand streaming of just about any song in existence, and it remains one of my favorite destinations. The iPhone app is also free, and it gives you a 30-day free trial, after which you'll have to sign up for a VIP subscription. Still, that subscription costs only $3 a month or $… Read more

Rdio subscription service now open for business

Music subscription service Rdio first gained attention back in June when Kazaa founders originally announced it as their latest foray into the digital music space. Now, the service has come flying out of private beta and is tempting residents of the U.S. and Canada with tiered subscription pricing that allows unlimited streaming from a catalog containing more than 7 million tracks (compared to more than 10 million for Rhapsody).

Rdio's pricing is on par with Rhapsody, although there is a lower cost option for those who don't need on-the-go use. $4.99 per month will get you … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1283: Lying liars and the phones they sell us (podcast)

On today's show, Verizon tries to claim the Motorola Droid doesn't have the hardware to support hotspot tethering with Froyo. And here's the thing: that's a lie. In other news, the BlackBerry Torch hits, Rdio lands, and the FBI is cracking down on coloring books. Or something. I'm a tiny bit incoherent today.

MOG subscription service comes to iPhone

I've been testing the iPhone version of MOG, a subscription on-demand music service that I blogged about in December, for the last few days. While it performs adequately, I haven't seen anything that really makes it stand out from the other competitors I've looked at recently, like Rhapsody, Thumbplay, and the still-in-beta Rdio.

First, the positives. Sound quality was excellent when streaming over a 3G connection and you can download any song to store in a local cache, so you can play it even when you're offline (like Rhapsody and the BlackBerry version of Thumbplay). You … Read more

Handicapping the mobile music services

I'm a big proponent of cloud-based music services for mobile devices. I struggle figuring out which 500 songs I want on my 8GB iPhone at any given time, and the problem gets worse as as I download more apps. So it's gratifying to see an explosion of mobile music services in the last six months. Start-ups and established companies alike seem to believe that the current model, where users transfer songs from a computer to their phone using a wired connection, is not long for this world. Instead, these companies are coming up with various ways to dispense … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1241: Facebook needs an adult...and a towel (podcast)

Poor Mark Zuckerberg has an almost-literal meltdown on-stage at All Things D and it makes us wonder: is it time for a grownup to take over there? Or just time for Zuck to throw his privacy boss under the bus? Also, HP doesn't want to make smartphones with its new WebOS toy, the Dell Streak continues to baffle, and hey! Globular rovers!

Walt and Kara sweat Zuck at D8 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20006653-56.html http://d8.allthingsd.com/20100602/mark-zuckerberg-session/ http://blogs.forbes.com/velocity/2010/06/02/mark-zuckerberg-great-perspirations/

Ballmer and Ozzie http://d8.allthingsd.com/20100603/steve-ballmer-ray-ozzie-session/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20006637-56.html

HP CEO: “We didn’t buy Palm to be in the smartphone business” http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/02/hp-ceo-we-didnt-buy-palm-to-be-in-the-smartphone-business/

Dell Streak looks like HTC Evo http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20006644-56.html… Read more

Kazaa founders give music another try

After seeing their last digital-media start-up crash and burn, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis have come back with a new music service.

The pair, who founded Skype, Kazaa, and the ill-fated video site Joost, are behind new music subscription service, Rdio, which is scheduled to debut on Thursday.

Zennstrom and Friis first hit the music scene in the early 2000s for developing Kazaa, the file-sharing service that was accused of violating copyright in a lawsuit filed by the top music labels.

According to a story in The New York Times, Rdio will charge subscribers $5 to $10 monthly for unlimited … Read more