As a huge fan of Spotify, I couldn’t help letting out a little squeak of excitement at the news of a forthcoming mobile version.
But then the cold light of rationality hits me and I wonder how practical this is going to be. With our mobile network providers still charging ludicrous rates for even the fusty old GPRS data standard and patchy 3G coverage even in city centres, how functional will mobile Spotify be in the UK?
Of course, there’s Wifi and supposedly also WiMAX, but whatever happened to the dream of free (or at least cheap) wireless networks spanning our towns and cities? With very few exceptions, you’re limited to networks provided by BT, T-Mobile or The Cloud… complete with rip-off prices!
The “buffer” mode mentioned in the MusicRadar article sounds promising, given the mobile network issues, but then you might as well load up your iPod before you go out. The wonder of Spotify lies in its instant access, and it’d be a shame if our mobile networks robbed it of so much potential.
Spot on. I fear that the cause of this will not be resolved for some time. We are still paying for the ludicrous bidding war the government (at the time) engenedered between the network service providers for what turned out to be mobile internet services.
I don’t think we iPhone monkeys will get Spotify on 3G.
Wifi, yes, but that’s not much good…