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« on: October 23, 2003, 06:37:09 AM »
iTunes for windows has finally been released by Apple. I subscribe to lockergnome newsletter. Toady's issue had a few reader reviews for the iTunes service. Apparently everyone seems to be satisfied. So what's the problem you ask? Well there is a tiny problem. Actually it's not so tiny and it's called The New and Improved(and legal)NAPSTER service. Napster has a couple of things going for it.
a) It has the largest collection of music anywhere
b) It has better deals on offer. They will sell individual songs for 99 cents each and albums for 9.95$. They also have monthly"Eat all you can"subscriptions for 9.95$.
Napster was purchased by Roxio Inc. after it had filed for bankruptcy. This is what Roxio's chief executive Chris Gorog had to say about the iTunes service-"If I were Apple, I would hate to compete with Napster. We have a larger catalogue of songs. Our service has more breadth. And there's no brand more powerful than ours in online music".
Other contenders in the market are Dell Inc., AOL Time Warner Inc.'s America Online, RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody service, privately held companies like MusicMatch and BuyMusic.com. Even Amazon Inc. is planning a foray into the market.
Who's gonna snatch away the greater share of the pie? It's too early to comment on that yet. But as of now, if all you want is quality service, try iTunes.
Vikram