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Spotify or Zune Pass?
I'm in possession of a Windows Phone Mango Device, an Xbox 360, and a BlackBerry Playbook (It was a gift, don't judge me). What I want to know is if I am better off using a service like Spotify which has no proprietary requirements or should I go totally Microsoft and get a Zune Pass? Either way I am looking for a Spotify-like service to phase out iTunes or Zune music purchasing.
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Deletham's pick
In my case, both. It's "wasteful" - but Zune is MS-only of course, and if you have Windows Phone, while Spotify does provide a nice self-contained experience the WM7 app is not quite there yet - and to me, within the Microsoft ecosystem Zune Pass is still a better experience, one I'm still prepared to pay for.
These days I don't have the Spotify app installed on WP7 anymore as I always gravitate towards the Zune services. On everything else mobile of course that I do listen to music on, I do use Spotify - and as I'm also waiting for a small truckload of Sonos gear to arrive, Spotify will be used on that setup as well.
Part of it is a personal thing as well - I don't quite like how Spotify works in comparison to how Zune works, where on the PC with Zune I can actually take the files and arrange them / play them back independently of the (IMO rather crud) Spotify player, although what I don't like about it ultimately makes it more effortlessly multiplatform. i.e. in a purely Microsoft setup I think the Zune Pass is still a better experience.
On the other hand Spotify does stream in often noticeably higher quality (in Premium at least) and its music discovery features blow Zune out of the water. Zune's Smart DJ really is the dumbest among any of the online services - I was grumbling about the lack of relevant music in Zune, and it turns out that a good deal of it is there, just not being picked up by Smart DJ - and miscategorized to boot. These days I'm actually surprised if I *don't* see categorisations like e.g. Frank Sinatra = Rap or Bill Hicks = Pop.
It really is a case of "You win some, you lose some". For most people I suspect Spotify is the more compelling option - but for me, Spotify has a ways to go before I'm prepared to abandon Zune completely.
These days I don't have the Spotify app installed on WP7 anymore as I always gravitate towards the Zune services. On everything else mobile of course that I do listen to music on, I do use Spotify - and as I'm also waiting for a small truckload of Sonos gear to arrive, Spotify will be used on that setup as well.
Part of it is a personal thing as well - I don't quite like how Spotify works in comparison to how Zune works, where on the PC with Zune I can actually take the files and arrange them / play them back independently of the (IMO rather crud) Spotify player, although what I don't like about it ultimately makes it more effortlessly multiplatform. i.e. in a purely Microsoft setup I think the Zune Pass is still a better experience.
On the other hand Spotify does stream in often noticeably higher quality (in Premium at least) and its music discovery features blow Zune out of the water. Zune's Smart DJ really is the dumbest among any of the online services - I was grumbling about the lack of relevant music in Zune, and it turns out that a good deal of it is there, just not being picked up by Smart DJ - and miscategorized to boot. These days I'm actually surprised if I *don't* see categorisations like e.g. Frank Sinatra = Rap or Bill Hicks = Pop.
It really is a case of "You win some, you lose some". For most people I suspect Spotify is the more compelling option - but for me, Spotify has a ways to go before I'm prepared to abandon Zune completely.
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Deletham's pick
ArmpitofDeath has a point.
I, myself, go Spotify. I just switched to a WP7 handset, but my primary computing platform is Linux.
Either way, I end up being screwed--but for ubiquitous music service across my platforms, Spotify is the only answer. While no real support is given for Linux, there are a few preview builds living on the net which you can hobble together to run (sometimes quite poorly) on distros like Ubuntu and Fedora. Overall, that's a better state of affairs than Zune's software.
He's right on the WP7 software, though. Spotify is prone to freezing, a little stuttering and "forgetting" which music it downloaded--usually something that i find is only rectifiable with a complete reboot of the system. Of all the WP apps I've used it is one of the worst--but when it works, it does its job quite well.
It's all about what you need. I'm sure Zune Pass works beautifully with WP7, as most of the built-in services do. If it's that ease you want, it might be worth considering.
The good news? Switching from one to the other really shouldn't be devastating, since you're merely holding the play license.
I, myself, go Spotify. I just switched to a WP7 handset, but my primary computing platform is Linux.
Either way, I end up being screwed--but for ubiquitous music service across my platforms, Spotify is the only answer. While no real support is given for Linux, there are a few preview builds living on the net which you can hobble together to run (sometimes quite poorly) on distros like Ubuntu and Fedora. Overall, that's a better state of affairs than Zune's software.
He's right on the WP7 software, though. Spotify is prone to freezing, a little stuttering and "forgetting" which music it downloaded--usually something that i find is only rectifiable with a complete reboot of the system. Of all the WP apps I've used it is one of the worst--but when it works, it does its job quite well.
It's all about what you need. I'm sure Zune Pass works beautifully with WP7, as most of the built-in services do. If it's that ease you want, it might be worth considering.
The good news? Switching from one to the other really shouldn't be devastating, since you're merely holding the play license.
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Use the solution that has no proprietary requirements.
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Well, Zune sounds a bit more up my alley. I don't think I'll be abandoning Windows, as a computing platform, anytime soon so for now I think I might go with Zune Pass. I'm more looking for ease of use and with so much Microsoft in the house Zune will do that easiest, though if ArmpitofDeath's Music Discover claim is true it may be a short lived experiment. I will, however, toy with the Spotify free service and see if I ultimately prefer it enough over Zune to commit to a total switch.
I appreciate the input fellas, it has been very, very helpful.
I appreciate the input fellas, it has been very, very helpful.
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