Apple Approves Spotify for iPhone : Six Million Songs in Your Pocket | Hacker News Reader

Apple Approves Spotify for iPhone : Six Million Songs in Your Pocket

wired.com

25 pointsnewacc32 comments

Unless it can play music while you do other stuff, like the iPod app can do, it's not really making iTunes obsolete.

I find that really frustrating, with all the streaming radio apps.

I thought the new iPhone allowed background applications...? Why can't they play music all the time?

Edit: No really, I'm just asking. Why can't they? Is it banned? I honestly remember hearing the hoopla around background applications a few months ago.

They allowed push notifications, which are a serviceable substitute for some reasons you might want to run in the background. You can not actually have code running when your app isn't in the foreground.

The new iPhone does not allow background applications.

The iPhone does enable Notifications, which allow you to receive an aim message, for instance, while you are not running the AIM application, but this is more akin to having AIM send a special version of a text message to your phone, asking you to open AIM to see the full message.

There are ways to use background applications on Jailbroken iPhones, but the UI isn't designed for it, and they run slowly on anything less than a 3gs.

I was pretty shocked that this was accepted, I've been a longtime spotify fan and assumed I would have to be getting an android to get it on mobile (I'll probably still get an android anyway)

Maybe the google voice PR fiasco has caused a review of the approval rules.

Hard to tell with a company that is so opaque.

Why would you assume there was a change?

Pandora's been on the iPhone for some time.

Because there obviously is some conflict between this application and the iTunes store.

Read here for more info:

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1913680,00....

Pandora is closer to a radio station than a music store.

Spotify still sounds an awful lot like an IP-radio station. (Albeit, more like a caching radio jukebox). But it still sounds more like Pandora than iTunes.

I simply don't think ad-supported media is ever a replacement threat to a superior ad-free for-purchase alternative.

E.g. HULU is a substantial threat to subscription tv. But no real threat to TV-on-DVD sales. They just aren't the same thing.

the iphone application is only available to users who pay for spotify, not ad supported.

and its nothing like radio, I can play what I want when I want, without adverts, apart from the logistics involved in being online, there isnt a practical difference between it and itunes.

That's because hulu Usually only has the most recent episodes.

John Gruber was claiming recently that the iPhone SDK didn't allow your own codecs:

http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/08/24/rhapsody

Was he mistaken, or has Spotify started streaming songs in a different format from their desktop app that uses Ogg Vorbis?

Given most mobile devices have built-in AAC codecs but not Vorbis (Android is the odd one out here, I think, probably Maemo as well) if Spotify starts expanding to mobile devices an AAC stream (maybe lower quality than the Vorbis ones) would make sense.

I sent a mail to Spotify's support to ask, though they probably won't reply.

Nokia has always omitted Vorbis (and now Theora) from their Maemo devices for reasons they've never fully explained. You can add them fairly easily, but they don't ship them.

Wow really? That's pretty weird.

I don't know if you'll read this, but I'm pleased to report the Spotify team did indeed reply to my inquiry:

> We aim to tell more about the streaming of Spotify mobile as soon as we can, please keep an eye on the blog for more information!

No info, but a "stay tuned" reco.

Really sucks that they don't seem to be able to get an guidance on whether there app will get through or not before they create it. I'd imagine building an app like this one would be a sizable task, even more so in Google voices case.

It might just be a mistake on apple's side. They have and will probably continue to revoke apps which have previously been accepted to the App Store.

I doubt it's a mistake. The fact the BBC and Wired have reported this so quickly to me indicates the hand of Apple PR, slowly working to turn the tide of negative App Store stories.

... Or the hand of Spotify PR working to try and make it really hard for Apple to remove their app.

even with as little confidence in apple that I have, there is no way this is a mistake, its a high profile case and an application that apple have no doubt had their eyes on for a while

I feel like Apple has big plans for iTunes, and isn't really worried about this. There's a reason they're building a $1B datacenter.

6 million songs...until you lock the phone or exit the app, deeming it almost useless. So that sucks.

If they did it right you can still listen to it while it's locked.

They'll probably fix the lock part. However it is no big deal.

The main thing is that as good as Spotify is, it is useless once you close the app. You cannot even access the playlist leave playing musing alone.

I envy those in UK and Europe.

Disclaimer: I work for Grooveshark.

Grooveshark will hopefully have an IPhone app out soon.

Hey thanks - I did not knew about Grooveshark and now I am a fan. Its not the same as spotify but it works.

In short, Apple has just approved an application which renders iTunes obsolete.

And this is why I can't wait until it shows up in the AppStore.

Edit: Except the "minor" point renkeky brings up.

iTunes obsolete? Nah. I have lots of music I don't have to pay for (already paid for) that I don't need to use or even can use Spotify to access. It is hard to use Spotify on the plane. And when I travel, even if I wanted to, the data rates when roaming in Europe are pretty appalling. €4/MByte, no thanks.

These are speedbumps compared to the larger issues that Spotify has faced. For example, Spotify is bigger than iTunes in Sweden, now: http://www.swedishwire.com/business/687-spotify-overtakes-ap...

Hardly. Neither the music nor the playlist will be available as soon you close the Spotify app. Also there is no concept of 'owning' the music (at least now).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com