A new version of BlackBerry Media Sync has been made available by RIM updating the software to version 3.0.

Media Sync 3.0 allows BlackBerry users to sync their desktop iTunes or Windows Media Player music with via USB "simply and quickly".

In addition to an improved interface, Media Sync 3.0 adds the ability to sync images to and from a device as well as add folders for syncing from a PC to a handset.

As far as pictures go, the software includes an option to optimise pictures for the phone with a "smart memory management" tool that shrinks down files to around 2% of the original size.

BlackBerry Media Sync 3.0 is available for PC and Mac via BlackBerry Desktop Manager for OS 4.6 and over but supports OS 4.2 and over, it's available for free via www.blackberry.com/mediasync.

Tags: Phones BlackBerry RIM Software updates BlackBerry Media Sync iTunes Windows Media Player

BlackBerry Media Sync 3.0 released originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:11:59 +0000

In Japan, Sony has outlined basic plans for a new online store that, if the plans pan out, will manage to rival iTunes, Amazon, YouTube and Flickr - at least for Sony customers.

Sony Online Service, as it's been dubbed at this early stage, will offer digital content including music, movies, and books as well as other downloadable applications for Sony's entire range of products and will be based on Sony's popular PlayStation Network offering for the gaming side of its business.

A movie into this kind of software - if done well - is seen as a clever way for Sony to improve its fortunes: "Sony has been too focused on hardware", Tokai Tokyo Research Center analyst Osamu Hirose told BusinessWeek.

"It has to focus on networked products [and] delivering digital entertainment to consumers".

Sony will try one interesting way to try and differentiate its service from iTunes, or other such offerings, by giving users the chance to also upload media, such as home made video, photos and "other digital content " to their personal online accounts.

We will keep you posted on this one.

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Tags: Software Sony iTunes Audio YouTube Home Cinema Gaming Playstation Network Sony Online Service

Sony Online Service iTunes rival announced originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:44:02 +0000

Following the release of Fawlty Towers, BBC Worldwide has seen fit to launch another British classic on iTunes.

To mark 20 years since the series last appeared on our screens, the entire series of Blackadder is available to download from the iTunes Store for the first time ever.

Fans can now download series 1 to 4 or a single episode from iTunes, while in December, the Christmas special "A Christmas Carol" will also be made available in time for the festive season.?

Of the release, Tony Robinson said: "The words 'I have a cunning plan' have forever haunted me since the making of Blackadder, but I'm glad that lines like that amongst others, continue to be remembered with such fondness by fans of the show years after it was made. The fact that Blackadder is now in these fantastic new formats is a real tribute to the longevity of this classic British comedy and its ongoing appeal to audiences both old and new".

In addition, the Complete Collected CD series will be available from BBC Audiobooks with 3 hours of specials and extras including previously unreleased material and CD narration by different cast members of the show.? ?

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Tags: Home Cinema BBC Worldwide iTunes Apple Blackadder

Blackadder now available on iTunes originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:03:41 +0000

A survey of 2000 internet users in the UK from GfK NOP has found that iTunes still remains by far the most popular music service, but that new entrant Spotify is shooting rapidly up the charts, despite having only just celebrated its 1st birthday.

The survey asked participants which music services they used, and 11% said Spotify. That puts it in fourth place behind Real Player (13%), Amazon (24%) and iTunes sitting at the top with 50% approval rating. Spotify sits ahead of the slightly older Last.fm (7%), MP3.com (5%) and Napster (4%). 60% of users stream music direct from the Web.

In the navigation arena, Google Maps dominates with 72% of those surveyed saying they used it. The AA came in second place with 40% and Multimap was third with 35%. Behind that came Mapquest (7%), MSN Maps (4%), Yahoo Maps (4%) and Streetmap (3%).

When it comes to social networking, new boy Twitter draws for second place with MySpace - but both only have 4% of people who use them as their main social network. Bebo is even lower with 2%, but Facebook romps home with over 74% of users picking it as their favourite.

IM is similarly dominated by one provider - Windows Live Messenger. 50% picked it as their main provider, with 16% going for Facebook chat, Yahoo IM coming in third with 8%, Skype at 6%, AIM at 5% and Google Talk coming in at just 2%.

Webmail is closer - 33% opt for Hotmail, but Yahoo Mail was chosen by 14%, 10% picked their own ISP's service, and only 6% have "Gone Google" and picked up a Gmail account. Interestingly, a further 6% said they used email provided by a social network - is this MySpace mail?

Lastly, Skype wins out when it comes to VoIP - 60% of respondents picked it as their favourite online voice-calling app. Google Talk was second with 13%, and VoIP.com and Gizmo came in third with 3% each.

Of course, while the best provider is winning the day in some categories, others are dominated by bloated former giants commanding the attention of people who are too lazy to make a change. Which would you pick as your favourite in each category? Let us know in the comments below.

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Tags: Software Online Websites Music IM Mapping Software Social Networks Email iTunes Spotify MySpace Twitter Facebook Amazon Lastfm Gmail Hotmail Skype Yahoo Microsoft Google Statistics

iTunes still most popular music service by far originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:41:43 +0000

Apple has introduced a new iTunes feature called iTunes Preview that lets those without the application, or those that don't want to launch the software in full, view some content.

Currently limited to music, it's a big change from Apple's previous way of dealing with iTunes links where those without the app would get a blank page informing the person only that they would have to install iTunes to view the content.

Links to an iTunes Preview page can be generated through the iTunes Store "Copy Link" feature while the iTunes Preview page allows browsing of artists and albums including artist biographies, similar acts suggestions and prices.

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Tags: Software Apple Audio iTunes Music software

Apple intros online iTunes Preview originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:29:05 +0000

While preparations for the Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards are in full swing, Apple has announced the shortlists for the iTunes Best Album & Song 2009.

Selected by the iTunes UK editorial team in London, the shortlists have been compiled from the thousands of singles and albums released on iTunes in 2009. ?

While the winning album and song will be revealed in early December, you can have your say by voting for your favourites in the "People's Choice" categories published on the iTunes UK Facebook page.?? ?

iTunes Best Album 2009 shortlist - Editor's choice

"Empire Of The Sun" - Empire Of The Sun
"Lungs" - Florence & The Machine
"West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum" - Kasabian
"La Roux" - La Roux
"Guns Don't Kill People, Lazers Do" - Major Lazer
"Sunny Side Up" - Paolo Nutini
"Primary Colours" - The Horrrors
"The Invisible" - The Invisible
"Conditions" - The Temper Trap
"The XX" - The XX

iTunes Best Song 2009 shortlist - Editor's choice

"My Girls" - Animal Collective
"That Golden Rule" - Biffy Clyro
"Boom Boom Pow" - Black Eyed Peas
"Bonkers" - Dizzee Rascal
"Heavy Cross" (Fred Falke Remix) - Gossip
"Tonight's Today" - Jack Penate
"Empire State Of Mind" - Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
"Use Somebody" - Kings Of Leon
"In For The Kill" - La Roux
"1901" - Phoenix

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Tags: Audio iTunes Apple Music

iTunes Best Album and Song Awards nominations revealed originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:32:21 +0000

Sony Creative Software has announced the launch of "1000 Ringtones", a DVD containing ringtones designed for the Apple iPhone.

As well as music, the ringtones include sound effects and spoken words and users can select tones for incoming calls, emails and text messages.

In a move that will see iPhone owners bypassing Apple iTunes Store's charges for ringtones, the files are in MP3 and M4R format and can be used straight away by syncing the selected files with iTunes.

The DVD includes a tutorial video that demonstrates how to get the tones loaded on the iPhone in "simple steps".

"iPhone devices are one of the most popular cell phones on the market. We invite users to add a personal touch to their device with 1000 Ringtones", said Dave Chaimson, Sony Creative Software vice president of global marketing.

"1000 Ringtones" is now available for $19.95 in the States and for ?12.95 here in the UK.

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Tags: Phones Mobile phone apps Sony Music software Ringtones Audio Sony Creative Software iPhone Apple iTunes

Sony offers 1000 Ringtones for the iPhone originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:19:24 +0000

That's a headline you could read in the not too distant future thanks to a new technology that?is hoping to change the way we listen to music forever.

The concept, created by Zenph Studios and called "Re-Performance", works not by re-mastering music in the traditional sense but by capturing an artist's or instrument's musical essence or DNA and allowing it to be controlled and re-performed.

"It will be a sea change", claimed Jeff McIntyre, director, sales and marketing worldwide of Zenph Studios, when Pocket-lint sat down to experience the technology. "Everything you've known to be frozen will be free".

The best way to get your head around the new technology is to think of the movie "Jurassic Park". In the film Richard Attenborough's character extracts DNA from an insect trapped inside a piece of amber to re-create living dinosaurs.

The key here, is that Attenborough's character doesn't just re-master the dinosaurs, he re-creates them.

Instead of dinosaurs now think musicians.

Studying how artists like Rachmaninoff and jazz pianist Art Tatum performed, the company has created a software algorithm that allows them to re-perform, not just their original performances, but anything they want.

"We know what makes an artist sound like them", says McIntyre.

The company describes itself as a "software company that specialises in the algorithms and processes for understanding - and re-creating - precisely how musicians perform".

What that means in reality is that where currently producers can create remastered tracks by taking the original and doing their best to enhance, clean and improve the track they are still having to work with the original recording, which could be poor, based on when that track was originally recorded.

Zenph Studio's approach is to work out how the musician and the instrument acts and responds, then get a computer to play that track again as a real-time, real-life performance, which in turn can be recorded using modern techniques. The new track isn't a re-mastering, but a re-performance, as if the musician was actually playing it even though the artist may or may not be dead.

The technology works by ascertaining how an artist strikes a note and then recreating that note again. For the piano, the company takes into account everything from how an artist strikes a note to their hand movement, how they play when tired (yes, it can recreate fatigue) and even, as for the case of Jerry Lee Lewis, how they play with their feet. For the guitar there is even more to take into account, like pad placement, fingernails, and bending of the strings, the list goes on.

The result is that songs recorded 100 years ago can and will be able to be re-recorded with modern recording equipment, allowing old songs to be revitalised and enjoyed once more?"in surround sound or headphone listening".

An example:

These two files were made in 1926 and 2005: "before" and "after" recordings by legendary pianist Alfred Cortot. He's playing Chopin's third prelude, lasting 55 seconds. The recordings offer a glimpse into what is possible when a performance can be separated from its original acoustical setting.

The concept that Zenph Studios is pitching is a simple one.

"If we can recreate music rather than just re-master it, then music can be truly interactive", says McIntyre. "Who buys a paper map? The map is dead".

McIntyre believes that offering a more interactive music experience, just as consumers can with Google Maps over a paper map, will be the key to the success of music in a world that is quickly moving away from the "frozen" media we once knew.

"You will be able to change key, tone, make it sadder, happier as well as change the point of view or the location, making it sound like it is being played anywhere in the world".

In a move that will no doubt offer mind-boggling opportunities, the technology allows an array of options including the ability to record the music with different points of view as if you were in the audience, or even actually playing the instrument.

"Imagine if you wanted to hear the songs Norah Jones plays as if you were Norah Jones", says McIntyre. "We could re-record her performance with the microphone where her head is as she doesn't have to be sitting at the piano. Or how about if you want to hear what the song would sound like in the audience at a certain concert hall or venue. All is possible".

However, the one that is likely to really garner interest will be the ability to play "fantasy band".

"Re-performing artists that have been dead for years is one thing, but what about the ability for John Lennon to play in the Rolling Stones?"

According to MyIntyre the software Zenph has created will allow them not only to capture that musical essence, but also allow you to inject it into new tracks, which that artist has never played before.

"We've already proved it can be done. Earlier in the year violinist Joshua Bell played a duet with pianist Rachmaninoff. Working with Joshua we were able to produce a piece that was if the two artists had worked on the piece together. It was a completely new piece created by a living artist and one who had been dead for over 60 years".

But it's not just about bringing back the dead for wishful duet albums, (could you imagine Clapton and Hendrix, or Johnny Cash and Lennon?), but also re-creating music for video games.

"Beatles Rock Band was a defining moment in the music industry", claims McIntyre. "For the first time you could see execs acknowledging that music wasn't just for listening".

He is right, Rock Band: The Beatles and the Guitar Hero series have both enjoyed success in the video games charts as gamers clambered to play "musical instruments" in their living room.

But imagine if when you played the game you could sound like you were in the Cavern in Liverpool playing as one of the Beatles, in a recording that sounded like it was real thanks to point of view and location, rather than just a track being re-played.

McIntyre confirmed that Activision has already expressed an interest in the capabilities of the technology, hoping it will allow it to offer a product that has an edge over Harmonic's Rock Band offering.

"They want the technology like yesterday, unfortunately we just can't work that fast".

Zenph believes that there are so many uses for the technology that the possibilities are endless. How about repeat performances of an orchestra at a ballet or opera with the individual musicians captured so they play once and then get paid without having to turn up (the unions supposedly back the move, but it will be interesting to see it happening), or for teaching you how to play an instrument (why have Mrs Fairbottom from down the road when you can have Art Tatum?).

While Apple already offers the ability to download a select handful of music lesson videos given by artists such as Sting and Norah Jones via its GarageBand software package, McIntyre believes that a re-performance would allow the user to select hundreds of songs all at the press of a button.

So how far off is this technology?

It's here right now. There are already a couple of re-performance CDs available to listen to and we are currently touring with "Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff". The dead composer will be playing at Carnegie Hall on 6 November, 100 years after he first played in the US.

As for the "fantasy band" element, McIntyre believes it will take around 3 to 5 years before it hits the home, with consumers able to mix and match artists to create new bands, music and experiences.

The reason for the delay isn't the technology, it's there now, however it takes time to capture that "essence". So far Zenph Studios has captured just four artists; Glenn Gould, Rachmaninoff, Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson, all of whom are dead.

On the instrument side of things the company has done piano, with the bass guitar around 90% done with plans to capture all the instruments eventually.

"When we started it would cost us $14 a note to capture the musical DNA, now we are down to $2".

The biggest hurdle, however, is going to be legislation:

"We are breaking new ground here", states McIntyre. "There is nothing in the law about bringing back artists from the dead to play to a concert hall or stadium full of fans".

The concept is a licensing nightmare, who gets what, how is the pie divided, what happens about dead artists, is copyright re-enabled when it runs out? None as yet is accounted for.

With the music industry still reeling over the digital march and consumers wanting more interactivity and an enhanced experience, Zenph hopes that it can be the answer to their prayers allowing us a new array of options when it comes to listening to music in the future.

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Tags: Audio Software Zenph Interviews Features iTunes Music games Beatles

Beatles live performance coming to venue near you originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:45:02 +0000

Apple could be about to offer users of its Apple TV product the chance to watch all their favourite TV shows for $30 a month according to rumours.

Although Apple has so far refrained from a monthly subscription package similar to Napster or Spotify for music, that hasn't stopped chatter about a supposed series of talks Apple has been having with TV companies about a new service for TV shows and movies.

Apple, a small player at the moment in an already crowded market, will hope that its iTunes install base will allow it to leap frog companies like Netflix and Microsoft's Xbox into pole position while at the same time offering an alternative to traditional satellite and cable offerings like Cablevision, Comcast or Sky.

According to the rumours Apple is hoping to launch a service in the first half of 2010, although sources suggest that it has yet to sign any TV companies.

Would you pay for an all you can eat TV subscription package from Apple? Let us know in the comments below.

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Tags: Home Cinema Apple iTunes Apple TV

iTunes to take on Cable with subscription offering? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:03:40 +0000

Not content with crashing down hard on the satnav industry yesterday, today Google put the willies up the music industry too with the launch of a Google music search feature. Just before you go diving off to try it, it's only available in the US at the moment, but so far it's not that extensive anyway. Currently, you can enter a song, a band, a lyric or anything that pertains to music and the engine will come up with a section of music results at the top as it might do with images or videos. The links include streamed previews, music discovery services and, indirectly, mp3 sales too. So, in its current form and even looking to the future, just whose toes are getting trodden and which sites and services will manage to come out okay?
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imeem

As one of the music discovery services that Google promotes in the music links, imeem should receive a boost when the service goes global. It's already a popular site but being thrust to the top of the rankings will certainly do it the power of good. There's always new users waiting to be signed up. Even this development from Google is a long way off the kind of niche that imeem occupies, so the company should be pretty pleased about it all.
Verdict - Winner

iTunes

Plenty of music purchases start with an internet search to find out what an artist, album or song is called and if there's a link to buy the track straight away, this being the case it could take some business away fro Apple. At the moment, the links to buy are only there on certain tracks and only once the user has already clicked through to one of Google's partner sites. The other issue is that the Google offering could develop into a streaming service and prove a threat to iTunes on that front. Whatever it means, it's not good news for Apple but you'd think that Jobs Inc has something clever up their sleeves what with the wind of change in the music industry anyway. Apple ditched DRM when it realised it had to and doubtless the company will look to streaming or another change in model soon anyway.
Verdict - Short term loser

Pandora

As one of Google's partners for this venture it's generally quids in for Pandora. A link straight to the top of the rankings without having to battle the SEO gods saves a lot of time, stress and effort and should win the service even more users than it already has. Opening out beyond the US would probably do them more favours though.
Verdict - Winner

MySpace

The vintage social network already does surprisingly well out of Google's ventures with the odd music video popping up far higher in search results than the site's waning popularity would suggest. Hard to tell whether the service is on an endless slope to destruction or if it'll reach an eventual plateau of loyal users, but the music feature from Google will certainly provide a brief stay of execution. In the long run though, it could just keep actual traffic away from the MySpace site with just its content being streamed to Google's pages. No ad impressions for them there.
Verdict - Short term winner

iLike

On the other hand, MySpace's recent acquisition of the ex-Facebook app iLike could prove to help a whole lot more. Firstly, the site has a far more modern offering than its buyer, and more importantly, it's one of the click throughs for Google where you can buy the track you've just searched for. Nice business unless, of course, Google decides to sell the tracks itself.?
Verdict - Winner

Spotify

No real problems at present. Yes, there's a degree of streaming you can do with the Google music feature but it doesn't compare to the entire Spotify platform and its tidal wave of good will support. If Google really wanted to, there's no doubt the engineers could build themselves an equally impressive model with even further reach. Daniel Ek won't be losing any sleep over this one but it might sit at the back of the Spotify supremos mind
Verdict - Long term niggle

Record shops

The damage was done here a long time ago. As Pocket-lint's resident expert on digital music put only too succinctly, "went into Fopp the other day. Made a mental note to check out a few things on Spotify. Bought nothing". Most high street retailers will be too busy looking across at the empty Zavi stores to have noticed what Google has just announced.
Verdict - Already lost

Wikipedia

Wikipedia has done a fantastic job of romping its way up the searching rankings for absolutely everything, including music. Having Google plonk its music feature at the top of the list along with links to the companies partners with all the information you could possibly want on a band or a song is something of a party pooper. Naturally, this isn't Wikipedia's sole business but what happens when Google has a feature of its own for just about everything?
Verdict - Loser

Amazon mp3

Like Wikipedia, Amazon has enjoyed top billing on the Google rankings and having its mp3 downloads service trumped by something of Google's very own is both frustrating and simply insurmountable. As it stands, it's an irritant, but if Google takes the time to put a Buy Now button next to their results that go straight to Google check, then there's a problem. Fortunately, mp3 sales aren't the core of Amazon's business, the company will still do fine with them all the same through deferred sales within their own network and as much consumer trust as any e-tailer can have.
Verdict - Loser

YouTube

Bit of a strange one seeing as it belongs to Google anyway but the music results will not only cannibalise some of YouTube's traffic but also divert it elsewhere too. Listening to tracks on the world's favourite video service is big business for the Tube and if you can do that straight from search, then they could lose out quite a lot. Again, it's not the only thing on YouTube but what with the public tiring somewhat of sneezing pandas, it's probably a bigger issue than you'd think.
Verdict - Loser

Last.fm

Like Pandora, it's the excellent nature of Last.fm's music recommendation system that sets it above all the rest and, at present, that's not something that Google has on the roadmap. Naturally, if the search giant wanted to, it could put the resources into making something similar. What it does have to its advantage is the enormous database on the subject but it doesn't seem like a logical step for the company. What is a slight concern for Last.fm is that Pandora has been chosen as a partner, but, seeing as that service only works in the US, it's not such a problem at the moment.
Verdict - No bother

Related links:

• Feature - 29th August 2012: the date Google becomes "aware"
• News - VIDEO: Google demos Music Search
• Feature - Six serious reasons why Google Maps Navigation is pure win...

Tags: Software Online Google Search engines MySpace Pandora iTunes Amazon MP3 Wikipedia imeem iLike

Who'll be the casualties of Google Music? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:32:59 +0000

MySpace has announced what it says is "the next phase" of its music offering with a wave of new products and tools now available to artists and fans.

As well as allowing users to buy music on iTunes in addition to Amazon MP3, the global rollout of a new "MySpace Music Video" experience has begun, while the "MySpace Artist Dashboard" - a free data and analytics tool for artists - has hit beta.

MySpace Music Videos launches with the boast of being one of the most comprehensive online collections of music videos available anywhere.

The MySpace Artist Dashboard offers detailed analytics about artist's content within the MySpace community offering trending data and info on song plays, profile views, friend count, and profile visitors.

Tags: Software Online Websites MySpace Social networking Audio Video on demand iTunes Amazon MP3

MySpace hits next phase of music offering originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:38:35 +0100

To mark the 30th anniversary of the classic series, a special edition remastered DVD boxset of Fawlty Towers has been released while the original series has become available to download in the UK on the iTunes Store.

For the boxset, every episode of the of sitcom has been remastered, with special features including, for the first time ever, audio commentaries from John Cleese on all 12 episodes.

The whole series or single episodes can downloaded, while exclusive to BBC Worldwide interviews of John Cleese discussing the making of Fawlty Towers (like the clip above) will soon be made available to download for free on iTunes.

John Cleese says of the release: "It's so pleasing to see that Fawlty Towers continues to make the British public laugh. I think fans will find the commentaries interesting and understand better the process of making the shows. I hope this will lead to a lot of laughing out loud in public places".

Tags: Home Cinema DVD iTunes Fawlty Towers BBC Worldwide Video

VIDEO: Fawlty Towers released on iTunes, remastered for DVD originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:38:30 +0100

It is rare that you find an Apple product associated with any kind of discount or offer. However, Currys appears to be doing just that with the offer of a free iTunes gift card and charger with the 8GB iPod touch.

Currys are suggesting that the free charger and ?15 iTunes gift card total a saving of ?40.99, which, if we are to believe, means in effect you'll be getting an iPod 8GB for just ?108 and a penny - well, we can sort of see that that's the case.

The iPod itself gets a 3.5-inch multi-touch widescreen, will store up to 1750 songs or 10 hours of video, whilst battery life will come in at around 36 hours of music or 6 hours of video. Wi-Fi is, of course, also included.

The offer, however, is only available in-store, but you can use the reserve and collect option when ordering on the Currys website.

Tags: Audio iPod iTunes Apple Currys Daily Tech Deal

Daily Tech Deal: iPod touch with £15 iTunes credit and charger originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0100

With Sky's announcement of the company's upcoming service, Sky Songs, we finally have proof that every man and his dog is getting in on the music scene. As a consumer, though, the picture just gets that little bit more complicated.

If you want all the music in the world for free, then that's still possible - just not necessarily legal. So, if you've a conscience and you're looking to listen to whatever you want and even keep it, then here's a run down of a few of the options open to you.

Sky Songs

Year launched

2009

Catalogue

4 million

Streaming

?6.49/month for ad-free, unlimited service

Downloads

Same ?6.49/?7.49 buys 10/15 tracks/month

DRM

No

Music Quality

Unknown

File available

MP3

Announced just today, the Sky service seems to have simplicity at its heart for a subscription model. There are just two options both of which provide an advert free unlimited stream of whatever music you choose plus the bonus of either 10 or 15 tracks to download and keep as MP3s each month. No mention of the level of quality but expect it to be around 256kbps with no choice on the matter.

Verdict - With all four majors on board and a low monthly payment, it's a very good option. If the catalogue can back it up, the "free" downloads act as a very nice bonus.

Spotify

Year launched

2008

Catalogue

8 million

Streaming

Free, ad-funded streaming or ?9.99/month for non-ad premium service

Downloads

courtesy of 7digital

DRM

n/a

Music Quality

160kbps (free service) 320 kbps (premium)

File available

n/a

The current people's champion, Spotify is both social and free which massive pluses to the public. Yes, the ads can be annoying, yes the catalogue does have a few gaping holes and yes, the audio quality of the basic stream is relatively low, but then you can always sign up for the ?10 per month and get it on your smartphone too.

Verdict - Still the best offering for the majority of people. Perhaps not for those looking to build a library of tracks.

eMusic

Year launched

1998

Catalogue

6 million

Streaming

No

Downloads

24/35/50 tracks for ?9.99/?13.99/?17.99 per month

DRM

No

Music Quality

192kbps on average

File available

MP3

At the other end of the spectrum eMusic provides a series of subscription packages and no music for free whatsoever. The structure is fairly rigid and unlike all good mobile phone plans of days gone by, the unused credits do not roll over to the next month. That said, it's one of the oldest, most successful services out there, has built up an excellent catalogue of independent labels and more obscure, hard to find tracks.

Verdict - Great option for collectors but the audio quality can vary quite a lot.

We7

Year launched

2007

Catalogue

3.5 million

Streaming

free, ad-funded streaming

Downloads

pay-per-track & free ad funded versions

DRM

No

Music Quality

256 & 320kbps paid; 192kbps free

File available

MP3

The most interesting thing about We7 as opposed to the others is that they do offer tracks to download and keep for free. The downside to this is that each contains a small piece of advertising, known as ablipvert, which plays every time with the track. You can pay to remove it and also for a higher bit-rate version too. A free streaming service is also available, so overall users get a lot of choice here.

Verdict - Good universal platform. Not such a large catalogue and slightly on the ad-heavy side.

7digital

Year launched

2004

Catalogue

8 million

Streaming

No

Downloads

pay-per-track

DRM

No

Music Quality

192, 256, 320kbps

File available

MP3/AAC/WMA/FLAC

7digital is a simple one on the outside - no streaming, no subscriptions, all downloads and all paid for. However, there's an excellent degree of flexibility once you start shopping. As with all the pay-per-track services, the songs are reasonably priced but what you get with 7digital is the option of how you'd like them downloaded. It's the only service which allows users to select both the audio quality and the file-type they'd like as well with the lossless FLAC, a noticeable intrigue.

Verdict - Good flexibility, good choice but could do with a few more tracks and some kind of free option too.

Amazon MP3

Year launched

2008

Catalogue

9 million

Streaming

No

Downloads

pay-per-track from 29p

DRM

No

Music Quality

256kbps

File available

MP3

With downloads starting at just 29p, a catalogue of over 9 million songs and each of them at an excellent level of audio quality, it's hard to ignore Amazon's recent step into the music world - especially as it's somewhere many of us do our online shopping in the first place.

Verdict - Very good value pick and chose option.

iTunes Store

Year launched

2003

Catalogue

10 million

Streaming

No

Downloads

pay-per-track: $0.69, $0.99, or $1.29

DRM

No

Music Quality

256kbps

File available

AAC

If AAC files are your thing, then the iTunes Store is the place to be. Over the air access via iPhones and iPod touches play a large part in its success as well as iTunes being the default music player for anyone with any kind of Apple PMP. Certainly not the cheapest but it's a tidy piece of software with a great catalogue and so much more palatable ever since they ditched the DRM.

Verdict - Expensive but very convenient.

Napster

Year launched

2003

Catalogue

8 million

Streaming

Unlimited, ad-free for ?5/month to PC or ?14.95 to portables too

Downloads

pay-per-track

DRM

No

Music Quality

128kbps streamed, 256kbps downloads

File available

MP3/WMA

So many years and so many changes, Napster will always be associated with the hay day of the Web and the way this place has changed over all these years. The new version of the service is slightly over-complicated compared to all the others, but once people get over the bitter taste that still surrounds the original site's shutdown, they might discover that the streaming service is wonderfully cheap - just not free.

Verdict - Great value streaming from a broad catalogue. Portable version much pricier.

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Related links:

• News - Sky Songs music service officially announced

Tags: Audio Software Napster Media streaming Music downloads eMusic Spotify Amazon MP3 iTunes 7digital Sky Songs We7 Features

Which is the best online music service? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:50:20 +0100

In a cat and mouse battle, the style of which Apple is familiar with following similar exploits with the iPhone unlockers, Palm has re-enabled iTunes syncing for the Pre.

After Apple blocked the smartphone several times from syncing with iTunes via iTunes software updates, Palm has used a questionable work-around to make it possible again.

The solution is so questionable in fact, it has drawn the attention of the the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), as it fools iTunes into seeing the Pre as an iPod by product numbers reserved for Apple's hardware.

Palm makes no bones about its intentions - the release of webOS 1.2.1, "re-enables the ability of Palm media sync to work with the current version of iTunes", Palm's director of online communications, said in a blog post.

The ball is in Apple's court now, and it will be interesting to see if it responds with another tactical update, or takes things further via the USB-IF.

Read

Related links:

• Link - Palm
• News - Apple blocks Palm Pre from iTunes

Tags: Phones Palm Palm Palm Pre iTunes Apple Software updates

Palm re-enables iTunes Pre syncing originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:11:24 +0100

doubleTwist, DVD Jon's media-syncing software company, is generating lots of publicity for a new version of its "media platform" product with a cheeky video that uses Apple's famous 1984 advert against it.

In the clip - shown above - drones wearing white iPod earphones are lectured to by a Steve Jobs-a-like until the screen is smashed with the message "On October 6 doubleTwist brings you choice".

Does the Apple-as-the-new-Microsoft argument ring true with you? Are you more likely to check out the new software because of this ad? Have your say in the comments box below.

Read

Related links:

• Link - Double Twist

Tags: Audio Music software doubleTwist Apple Video Advertising iTunes

VIDEO: doubleTwist parodies Apple's 1984 ad originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:51:56 +0100

Apple has revealed that more than two billion apps have been downloaded from the App Store.

This follows on from the 1.5 billion mark hit in July this year, a year on from the App Store's launch.

Claiming the service is "the largest applications store in the world", there are now more than 85,000 apps available and over 125,000 developers in the iPhone Developer Program.

Those apps have been downloaded by Apple's more than 50 million iPhone and iPod touch customers worldwide.

"The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone", said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO.

"The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it".

Related links:

• News - iPhone 3GS coming to Orange UK
• News - App Store downloads hit 1.5 billion

Tags: Phones iPhone Apple App Store iTunes Statistics iPod Touch Audio iPhone apps

App Store downloads top two billion originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:49:06 +0100