In the battle of cloud music services, you have a variety of options including radio service like Pandora and Last.fm, online lockers like Google Music and Amazon Cloud Drive, Internet radio stations and premium, “program-your-own” services like MOG, Rdio, Rhapsody and Zune. But what if you want it all? Then you may want to consider mSpot and its recently updated mobile app for Android.
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mSpot, a Hybrid Cloud Music Service
To be fair, with the launch of the newly revamped application, mSpot is providing only three of the four service types mentioned above. You can’t play music on demand just yet.
But when asked if the company was considering such a move, mSpot’s co-founder and CEO Daren Tsui said, “we’re looking into that.” He also mentioned that he has several ideas for additional paid-only features that mSpot will debut later this year – features which could entice its free users to move into the premium tiers, he said. Tsui wouldn’t detail what these features are, however. But he did say that while the features themselves may not be novel, the way they’re packaged into mSpot’s hybrid system is.
And what could be better than music on demand, we ask? We expect that’s one of the hooks that mSpot has in mind. If so, this mashup music service could be the one that finally sells streaming music naysayers on giving “the cloud” a shot. Whether you prefer to purchase your own tracks, serendipitously discover new music through radio plays or listen to curated streams, mSpot has it. And maybe one day, on-demand tunes too.
For now, the service is free, and you get 5 GB of storage free. For $3.99/month, you can have 40 GB instead. Other tiers will be introduced this year, with access to more features. The iOS version, as well as PC and Mac versions of this updated service will launch later this year, as well.
Mspot’s Features
Mspot also offers a few bonuses that not all its competitors have: live lyrics that display while music plays, “cached mode” for offline access to tunes (even for entire playlists), automatic export of metadata, cover art and playlists from iTunes, automatic, wireless syncing from PC to cloud (i.e., when you add more music to your desktop music collection it immediately syncs to mSpot), and continuous playback of songs even in areas where cellular coverage is spotty.
In addition, with the newly updated mobile application (beta), you’re given 5 GB of free online storage for storing the MP3’s you own, access to hundreds of Internet radio stations, access to mSpot’s own 80 to 85 programmed stations and a Pandora-like personal radio player that builds a station based on artists or genres you like.
And unlike Amazon’s new Cloud Player app, when you stream your own music online via mSpot, it isn’t just a means to an end – it also helps to serve up recommendations. As your listening preferences change, so do these recommendations.
Not bad for a free app.
For those unaware, mSpot is not a newcomer to mobile music, despite its low-profile name. The company has been building mobile apps for over 6 and a half years now, including the white label radio apps for AT&T, Sprint, U.S. Cellular and others. The company also has other entertainment-focused apps like mSpot Movies.
To learn more about the service or to try out mSpot for yourself, head to www.mspot.com.
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