ベン・ギルド (Ben Guild)


Napster "To-Go" vs. iTunes

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Although I currently don't plan on renewing or paying for anything on Napster, I'm all over the “all-you-can-eat” downloads during their free trial.

Whenever you use iTunes to buy music, it's always so stressful since you're paying for music that you can't really get a feel for. A 30-second sample isn't always enough!

I love having the Napster-To-GO trial to preview tracks fully, then being able to buy whatever music doesn't actually suck on iTunes later. Depending on your success with the trial, you might actually save money by paying the $15/month just so that you won't get stuck paying to download songs or albums that you won't want.

So, how could iTunes implement a fantastic service without the limitations? Let's see… what if they threw together an option where you could return music if it sucked within 7-days (or something) for a store credit or gift certificate/balance? Or, even by offering a similar service to Napster's? — Napster wouldn't have an ad campaign anymore! Ha. Steve, say the word and finish burying the cat. (ouch… that was a low-blow, sorry! 😜)

One last thing that I noticed— Napster's music store's interface is a lot nicer than Apple's, actually! Apple could really take a page out of their book and make things a bit less “bland” and basic. I love how Napster appeals to teens like myself, yet isn't “over-teenish.” Pretty slick… if you ask me.

Anyway, if you want to try out Napster-To-GO… check it out! You've got nothing to lose for the first week as long as you don't forget to cancel if you don't want it, so just make up your mind before then. All-in-all, I've really enjoyed my “iTunes accomplice” over the past few days, and found it to be a great way to discover some new and old music from my favorite artists.