Spotify is working on an iPad app and it should be available very soon. Spotify, for those that don’t know is a music streaming service that offers a subscription service for mobile devices with features like playlist sync for offline listening.  Spotify Managing Director Chris Maples told Pocket-Lint that it is making an iPad app a priority and it is absolutely in the pipeline.

“We launched recently on Virgin Media’s TiVo platform and our fundamental philosophy is anytime, anywhere,” he said. “Consumers make no differentiation between devices and we want our service to be available on any device that people want it on.”

Source: Pocket-lint

• Our podcast feed: Audio | Video
• Download directly: Audio | Video
• Subscribe in iTunes: Audio | Video
• Subscribe in Zune

Phil, Adam, Derek, Jay, and Rene talk Amazon Kindle Fire pros and cons, Porsche’s BlackBerry and phones as fashion, webOS indecisions, and Google Music vs. iTunes Match vs. Amazon Cloud vs. Zune Pass and more! This is Mobile Nations!

Agenda

• Amazon Kindle Fire
• Google Music
• Porsche Design P’9981 Smartphone from BlackBerry Video Unboxing!
• HP still not sure what to do with webOS, will take three-to-four weeks to decide
• iTunes Match

Hosts

Feedback

Got something to say? Agree or disagree with something we said? Have something you want us to discuss on a future show? Don’t just sit there yelling at the screen, dammit, let us know!

• Email: podcast@mobilenations.com
• Twitter: @mobilenations
• Web: www.mobilenations.com

Credits

Our music is pROgraM vs. Us3R by by morgantj. Introduction by Joseph Holder.

Thanks to the Mobile Nations network of store for sponsoring this podcast, and to our fantastic live chat members for keeping us honest and making us smart!

Just two months after hitting the US in an invite-only beta, Spotify is now open to to the public and is offering users 6 months worth of unlimited streaming under the free account.

Stream millions of tracks from thousands of albums and artists to your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Take your existing Spotify playlists with you on the go – listen to them during your commute, in the gym or on a flight. With ‘Offline mode’ you can listen even when no connection is available. Wirelessly sync your local files to your phone to merge your catalogue with ours, no cables required! Download and get started directly from your mobile.

• Instant access to over 15 million tracks
• Stream online
• Listen offline – no mobile connection needed
• Share music with your friends
• Star your favourite tracks
• Wirelessly sync your own MP3s to your iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad
• Create and sync playlists
• Send the tracks you listen to direct to Last.fm & Facebook

Spotify is on a role right now, as just yesterday they partnered up with Facebook to allow free streaming on the social network from user profiles at no cost.

I’ve been in the invite-only beta since it launched in the US and have been loving it, although I can’t see myself spending the money for a premium account just yet given my loyalty to iTunes and iCloud. Spotify is still one of the best online streaming music providers out there, however, so give it a try and let us know how you like the service!

Spotify is available for Free for iPhone and requires a free Spotify account. There are also premium and unlimited accounts available starting at $4.99 per month.

[App Store Link] [Spotify]

When I hear the word Kazaa it conjures up images from the past of peer-peer file sharing.  Now the company behind Kazaa, Atrinsic, Inc has released a totally legal iPhone music streaming app to challenge Spotify etc.

With Kazaa you can use your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to listen to unlimited, on-demand music everywhere. Play any of our millions of songs as much as you like, make your own playlists, listen to artist stations and discover new music that you love. Sync songs, albums and playlists to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch and listen even when you’re offline. Search and find any song, album or artist, and start listening immediately.

• Access millions and millions of songs
• All the music you love – and new music to be discovered – at your fingertips
• Sync and play music even when you are offline
• Build and save playlists
• New music added every week

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

iTunes Replay is the rumored name of the rumored Apple subscription video streaming service rumored to compete with the likes of Netflix. Apple Insider reported on the rumors a while back, and now App Advice hears it might be coming soon.

There’s talk you’ll be able to stream content purchased as far back as January of 2009. We’re not sure what will happen to content purchased before that. There’s also talks of certain content only being available for re-downloaded five times. This lines up with Apple traditionally allowing 5 computers to be authorized to play purchased content under one iTunes account. If true, iTunes Replay would basically just extend what Apple is currently offering for re-downloading content via iCloud.

It should also be interesting to see if iTunes Match content will be integrated into iTunes Replay. If we can simply stream a lot of our content, it will free up precious storage space on our devices.

App Advice

Following months of rumors and tons of hype, Spotify finally made it’s US debut last week and… we’re curious as to whether or not you’ve switched to using it for most of your mobile music fix? Given that iPhone users could already choose between Pandora, Slacker, rdio, Napster, Rhapsody, and pretty much everything except Zune Pass (come on Microsoft!), not to mention Amazon Cloud Player, Google Music Beta, and iTunes sync (and soon, iTunes Match), there’s some strong, established competition for Spotify to contend to.

If you did switch, why? If you didn’t, why not? What’s most important to you in a streaming music service? That they offer tons of tracks, that they let you upload your own, rare music, that they offer streaming or subscriptions, that they have playlists or genius/recommendation engines?

Bottom line, have you switched to Spotify or are you using something else? Vote in the poll up top and give us the details in the comments below!

After rumors that Apple attempted to block Spotify from entering the US market, now there’s a suggestion they might just be negotiating with the Swedish-based streaming music startup over a possible acquisition. TechCrunch reports:

“Apple and Spotify are in on-again, off-again discussions about an acquisition, but at best it’s very early in the process. No firm price has been offered, no term sheet tabled. Still, it’s interesting that the two are talking.”

Now, it’s important to understand that these rumors are just that — rumors — and as such, you should be taking this with a massive data center-sized grain of salt. However it’s still rather interesting to hear that these two clashing companies have been in possible talks.

Apple purchased Lala late last year, a streaming music service similar to Spotify, and many were under the assumption that Apple might create an online iTunes music service with streaming and possibly subscriptions. Now Lala has closed and there’s still no iTunes.com in sight.

What do you think, should Apple buy another streaming music company? And if Apple did buy Spotify would anything come of it, or would it disappear as fast as Lala? Sound off in the comments!

[TechCrunch]

by Andrew Wray

Is Apple trying to block popular European streaming music service Spotify’s US launch? In addition to labels being uncertain as to Spotify’s business model, it’s ability to monetize, and the future of ad-supported music, CNET is reporting:

In meetings in Los Angeles recently, Apple executives told their music industry counterparts that they had serious doubts about whether Spotify’s business model could ever generate significant revenues or profits, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions.

But Apple executives worried about the effects of a free music service might have on the rest of the market. They noted that it’s tough to sell something that someone else is giving away, the sources said. One industry insider said it is only logical that if Spotify were allowed to launch a free-music service here, at a time when Nielsen recently reported that the growth of digital sales has flattened out, it could eat into the businesses of proven revenue-producers like Apple and Amazon.

iTunes is operated at low-margins for Apple as a way to encourage iPod and iPhone hardware purchases, but low-margins at iTunes like sales levels is still a large amount of money and Apple hasn’t been this successful so far by leaving anything on the table.

Likewise, labels have been trying to hold Apple at bay by giving competitors like Amazon earlier access to DRM free music at much lower prices, and the entertainment industry in general has been denying them subscription TV, full participation in $0.99 TV show rentals, day-and-date movie availability, and other services consumers would probably enjoy having.

My base position is usually to suspect shenanigans on the part of the labels when these stories break, but should Apple be bearing the full brunt of these headlines this time?

[CNET via MacRumors]

Rhapsody for iPhone [free with subscription - iTunes link] has finally released an update to allow offline access to their music:

With a Rhapsody subscription, you can tap into over 9 million full-length songs, and download as much music as you want to your device. Create playlists for your commute, your workout or your flight – and download them instantly.

You can download and try Rhapsody for iPhone free for a week, and if you like what you hear, you can pony up $9.99 a month for a full subscription (which is locked to one iPhone).

It’s US only, but we don’t feel too bad for Europeans as Spotify [Free with subscription - iTunes link] revealed they were integrating Facebook Connect for the usual slew of new social interactivity, including sharing playlists, favorites, and likely the ability to mass shun songs and users who displease the collective (joking! A little!).

If you’re a Rhapsody or Spotify user and you check out the updated functionality, let us know how it sounds to you!

[Engadget, 9to5Mac]

Spotify [Free with premium subscription - iTunes link] is now available for iPhone (and iPod touch) is now available — if you live in the UK, Sweden, Spain, France, Norway or Finland.

According to Spotify, if you live in those countries and have a premium subscription, you can enjoy:

• Access to millions of tracks with Spotify’s constantly updated catalogue
• Search and stream music instantly. Browse by artist, title, album, genre, label or year
• Create and synchronise playlists. Updates from the desktop application will be synced instantly and vice versa
• Playlists can be downloaded and played in offline mode when you have no connection, are on a plane or subway, or abroad and subject to roaming data fees
• Listen to tracks and albums in their entirety. Rewind, fast-forward, pause, skip and shuffle
• View cover art for all tracks and albums

So, if you live in one of those countries, and have a premium account, and an iPhone or iPod touch (list long enough yet?) and you try out the Spotify App, let us know how it works for you!

[Thanks James for the tip!]

Apple went ahead and gave the green flag for the music streaming service Spotify, whose biggest selling point is the fact you can create playlists in a free desktop app, and then listen to those playlists via your iPhone at any point in time, with or without a data connection. Apple told the developer:

“The current status as of right now is it’s been approved, and we hope to add the app to the more than 65,000 apps on the app store very soon, We’ve been in constant communication working with the developer and have already notified Spotify that the app will be in the app store very soon.”

The good news is Apple approving this application for iPhone owners. The bad news being it is currently only available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Britain, France and Spain. The weird news is that we still don’t see it actually in the App Store in those countries?

Spotify’s popularity has grown to over 2 million subscribers in Britain and they hope to have their service available here in the US before the end of the year. Perhaps this approved iPhone app will help things move along quicker. Music lovers can only hope.

Would any of our readers be ready to lay down their hard earned money for a service such as Spotify?

[Via Wired]

Still searching for that perfect online music streaming application for your iPhone? Spotify may be exactly what you are looking for.

Spotify is a online streaming music service that gives you access to over-the-air streaming of their entire music library, as well as playlist access. Where this application has a leg up on the competition is that you’ll be able to cache playlists locally on your iPhone while in WiFi areas so that you’ll be able to play them back at any time without any data connection. Spotify will be available as a free app download but will only be available to premium customers who pay £9.99 a month for the service.

Now comes the disappointing part of the story — Spotify is not available here in the United States or Canada due to licensing restrictions. Sorry folks, we will have to make do with Pandora, Pocket Tunes, etc…

How many of you, our valued readers, think Apple will let this one slip into the App Store? Will it get rejected for “duplicating functionality”? Or will it mysteriously disappear into the abyss like so many applications before it?

[Thanks to icebike & Sam for the tip!]