http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080520-hands-on-napsters-new-mp3-store-stumbles-out-of-the-gate.html
Napster Inc., the digital music service, on Tuesday opened the world's biggest MP3 download store with more than 6 million songs in a direct challenge to Apple Inc's iTunes store. The new Web-based music store will have digital songs from all major music labels as well as thousands of independent labels. The MP3-format songs will be compatible with the vast majority of digital media devices and mobile phones including Apple's popular iPod as well as its iPhone.
Before now Napster has focused on selling all-you-can-eat monthly streaming music subscription packages but has struggled to win over the majority of fans who want to be able to transfer songs they like on to a portable device such as the market-leading iPod. The new Napster service tries to take on Apple's dominance in digital music by offering fans more songs without copy protection or digital rights management (DRM). Most of the six million songs on the iTunes Music store are available with Fairplay DRM, which prevents the songs from being played on most portable players other than the iPod.
Most songs on the service will be available for 99 cents each and $9.95 an album. Though Napster will be hoping to take on iTunes it will try to do so by being compatible with Apple's service. According to executives, MP3 songs bought on the Napster Web-based service will be automatically synched into a user's existing iTunes music library if they use that library.
Napster is also selling MP3 packs
- 15 MP3s for $13.95–Save over 5%
- 25 MP3s for $21.95–Save over 10%
- 50 MP3s for $39.95–Save nearly 20%
Netflix offers movie downloads; stock upgraded
Netflix Inc said on Tuesday it will offer a device for just under $100 to let people transfer movies to their televisions, while a Lehman Brothers analyst raised his rating on the company's stock, sending shares up more than 9 percent. Netflix said that it and partner company Roku will offer a device that lets Netflix subscribers "stream" movies and television episodes to their TVs. The player costs $99.99, Netflix said in a press release.
There are no extra charges or viewing restrictions and people can "watch as much as they want and as often as they want without paying more or impacting the number of DVDs they receive," Chief Executive Reed Hastings said in the statement. The player is about the size of a paperback book and requires an Internet connection. It also works with wireless Internet connection systems through Wi-Fi technology. Users can fast-forward and rewind the video streams with a remote control, Netflix said. The Netflix service offered through the Roku player offers more than 10,000 movies and television episodes, Netflix said.
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