3 Will Offer Spotify With HTC Hero
Spotify have announced they are teaming up with 3 to bring their music streaming service to the network. From November 2009 mobile network operator 3 will be offering a mobile phone package that will include a subscription to the music streaming service Spotify.
Initially the offer will be available only on the HTC Hero – a smartphone that operates on the Google Android system-and will be on a 24 month contract for a price of £35 per month. The fee will also get you free unlimited internet browsing, unlimited texts and 750 free minutes, plus Spotify Premium for mobile and PC.
Charlotte Blanchard, director of Products and Services at 3, said: “We have built this service into an attractive, well-priced package. Over time, our deal with Spotify will extend across a range of our products including mobile broadband.”
The Spotify Service is similar to the one available as an application for the iPhone. Users are able to stream music in real time as well as store playlists for when they are out of range of a mobile signal. The deal from 3 also gives users’ access to the Premium Spotify Service where they will be able to access the music streaming service via their home computers, in addition to their mobile handsets.
There is one aspect of the deal that may prove to be a stumbling block to people taking it up and that’s the £99 sign up fee, but with Spotify normally costing £10 per month with the iPhone,it’s not too bad a deal really.
It’s a pretty bold move by 3 to try and lure iPhone users by offering access to one of the leading music streaming services. But will it work and are people really that interested in Music streaming on their mobiles?
Despite claims that they had sold over 3 million units of the Nokia 5800 comes with music mobile phone, the Nokia Comes with Music Service doesn’t appear to have been a great success. Figures do suggest that subscribers are thin on the ground with only just over 100,000 people worldwide signing up for the service.
While Spotify is already well established, many people use the free service that is available rather than the Premium Service and we’re not sure just how many people will be tempted by 3’s contract.
Most people we know still prefer to use their iPods to listen to music and use iTunes as their music subscription service, so we’re not too sure how successful any music subscription service for mobile phones will be.
