Only a year ago we heard that Napster wasn’t keen on launching phones apps, simply because the licensing fees were too expensive. They seemingly got over that small issue, as you can now download their “free” iPhone app. More »
Napster’s music service is part store, part radio, and attractively cheap. They know it’d be great on the iPhone, so much so that they’ve written an app—but they’re not submitting it. Predictably, it’s the money. More »
Giz reader and champion Craiglist peruser Andrew F. happened across a job posting from Napster, asking for a software engineer with experience in “Mac/iPhone OS X Development.” Such a posting might not normally be worth getting too excited over—after all, everyone’s making iPhone apps nowadays—but Napster just launched a new, cheap unlimited streaming service last month. Five bucks a month for instant access to seven million songs (plus downloads) is a solid deal as is; throw in an iPhone client and it’d be a great one. [Craigslist—Thanks, Andrew!]
Weird. The new Denon iPod docks are not only pretty, but they also can access some stuff called “Rhapsody” and “Napster.” Don’t quote me on this, but they are some kind of streaming music services.
Hey guys, remember when Napster was relevant? You know, when it was the first peer-to-peer program and it changed the internet and music industry forever? Then, later, remember when it was turned into a pay service hoping to piggyback on the popularity of the brand? And everyone just moved on to Kazaa or Limewire or whatever? Well, apparently the Napster name still means something to some people, as Best Buy is purchasing it for a whopping US$121 million.
Napster announced the transition to all DRM-free MP3s several months back, but now their 6 million song catalog is fully up and running. Now compatible with iPods/iPhones, Napster even claims that their inventory is “50% larger than any other MP3 store,” though we’re a little confused on the math since iTunes offers “more than 6 million [songs] ” themselves. Most of Napster’s catalog will be available at 256kbps bitrate, and they claim to be the first store to offer 100% MP3-formatted tracks. Anyone gonna give the service (another) go? UPDATE: Ahh, we get it. Largest “MP3 store,” not digital music store. Nice catch, commenters!
In a raft of announcements, Sonos today confirmed the existence of the $US99 ZoneBridge 100, and launched two more PC-free music-store options on the system, including Napster and Best Buy’s new Digital Music Store. More »
