Microsoft joins music download fray with Zune
Microsoft is hoping to take a bite out of Apple with Zune, a music download service which the software supremos are pitching between Spotify and iTunes.
Due to launch in the coming weeks the service is compatible with the Windows Mobile 7 platform, employed by HTC and Samsung, and will compete directly with the iPod, although Microsoft has stated they will not release their own standalone player, Zune HD, in Europe.
Zune offers users the ability to stream or download over eight million songs by paying “competitive” rates to purchase individual tracks or subscribing to an £8.99 “Zune Pass” for unlimited streaming.
Alex Reeve, head of Microsoft’s UK mobile division, said: “The music is front and centre and presented in a fluid and attractive way. It’s not just a series of lists which makes it feel like a database.”