By now, most of us are familiar with the various places to buy digital music online. Apple’s iTunes remains the most popular, though they’ve certainly seen competition lately. Amazon has set up a viable competitor, and Microsoft has a music store for its Zune MP3 player. But what about your BlackBerry? Sure, you could just purchase DRM-free tracks from any online music store and load them onto your BlackBerry. That’s easy. But what about when you’re on the go? We’re out to compile the major BlackBerry on-device music stores.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many BlackBerry music store applications yet, though as the platform continues to grow we might see some crop up in 2010. For now, though:
Thumbplay
The folks at Thumbplay were excited over the summer when they released the first digital music store in BlackBerry App World. Competition quickly followed, but Thumbplay came back with a punch, introducing an unlimited music service. Users can choose to pay for tracks or albums individually — with tracks starting at 69 cents — or they can sign up for unlimited downloads for $9.99 per month.
The choice is what makes Thumbplay a strong music store. It doesn’t have the most tracks, even among BlackBerry music stores. But they’re always adding new songs. People who enjoy owning their music can buy tracks and albums as they please, while those who want a wider selection but don’t care about ownership can take advantage of the subscription plan. Either way, Thumbplay can satisfy a large range of music lovers.
You can check out the music store at http://musicstore.thumbplay.com/. They list the Bold, Curve 8900, Curve 8300 series, Storm, Pearl, and Tour as compatible devices.
7digital
While Thumbplay got to the show first, 7digital leads the way in BlackBerry music selection. They boast over 7 million tracks, just 3 million fewer than the enormous iTunes library. If you have the 7digital application, you’re essentially carrying around all of these tracks, as they’re ready to download right from your device.
The 7digital Music Store has a number of advantages that go beyond Thumbplay. First, if you’re downloading from a 3G connection, you’ll get a lower quality version of the song. But, when and if you switch to a WiFi hotspot, 7digital will replace that with a higher quality version, 320Kbps. So you can get your tracks instantaneously off 3G, and eventually get them in high quality via WiFi.
The application also allows you to import your existing music. This might not be a big deal, but the native player with 7digitial seems a bit better than the native BlackBerry media app. The ability to import all of your tracks means you can take advantage of all the app’s features without missing any of your favorite music. You can also access your music from your desktop.
You can check out 7digital at App World.
Napster
People of a certain age remember Napster and its total challenge of the music establishment. It has since been through lawsuits and has turned into an actual business, rather than a place where people can freely download music. They’ve taken the jump to mobile, and you can get it for most BlackBerry models on U.S. carriers.
Napster offers a huge selection of 9 million tracks. They do have an unlimited music service, but it appears this is not available on their Music Everywhere application. Users can search Napster’s catalog, listen to clips, and download songs right to their BlackBerry devices. You can also download a backup copy to your PC or Mac once you’re back in front of the computer.
Again, this works with most newer BlackBerry models from the major U.S. carriers. Check here to see if your specific model is compatible. To get started, head to m.napster.com from your BlackBerry browser.
Rhapsody
No, there isn’t yet a Rhapsody application for all BlackBerry devices. It will be a nice day when it does come, though, since it boasts an enormous selection and flexible pricing. Like Thumbplay, you can buy tracks and albums a la carte, or you can sign up for their unlimited music service. That’s a bit more expensive than Thumbplay, but it also includes playback on home audio, MP3 players, and mobile apps.
Right now, you can access Rhapsody on Verizon, using the Curve 8530, Storm, Storm 2, and Tour 9630. The rest will have to wait. Rhapsody does say that they’ll have a BlackBerry application this year, so there is hope.
This post originated at BBGeeks.com – home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.
Where you can buy digital music on your BlackBerry
This post originated at BBGeeks.com – home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.
Where you can buy digital music on your BlackBerry