AT&T Deal With eMusic Excludes iPhones

ubermiester writes "ArsTechnica reports that AT&T has inked a deal with eMusic, a direct competitor to Apple's iTunes music store. eMusic specializes in independent artists and offers DRM-free content for direct download. For a monthly fee (the number of tracks one can download per month depends on the package) the site's catalog will be available to AT&T customers using Samsung and Nokia handsets, but not the iPhone."

Comments

Re:So?

[iluvcapra]

just another reason why the iPhone sucks

What's the opposite of a fanboy? Just as rabid and uninformed and loud, just a detractor? We need a word...

I imagine Apple DEMANDED that any such deals not include the iPhone, to steer iPhone users at iTMS.

what a choice

[fermion]

So, for a monthly fee I can download low quality music to my phone over a very slow network, which will require me to purchase not only the subscription, but also the data plan, and also pay for any data transfered over the data plan limit, or I can just plug the phone into my computer and transfer a new batch of high quality songs each day, for free.

Hmmm...I wonder what my choice would be.

Now for people without computers, I can see how this is a good deal. I would also say that for kids that into this music, it would be good.

I think the lack of iPhone support is a non issue. I suppose that I can subscribe to emusic myself from my computer, get the music into itunes and then on the iPhone, and not have to waste the phones times downloading music instead of surfing the web. I doubt there is enough bandwidth for both. Next thing you tell me is that I am supposed to be annoyed because I do not have opportunity to spend $3 for ringtones.

How does DRM-free stuff exclude anyone?

[Sloppy]

Is this "DRM-free" stuff, DRM in disguise? Or is it unscrambled but still in a near-useless proprietary format (which is just about as bad as DRM)? I don't give a damn about Apple's products specifically, but any interoperability problems they have, anyone else is going to have too.

Geez, quit fuckin' with us. You just aren't going to get my money if your stuff doesn't work.

It never ceases to amaze me...

[Anonymous Coward]

How Slashdot Apple fanboys can turn every negative piece of iPhone news into a positive.

Yesterday it was about how the soldered in batteries on the iPhone is okay because Apple has always done this with the iPod and it says on their website.

Then there was the remote iPhone exploit which was spun by the spindoctors into allowing for applications to be developed on the iPhone, but Apple not allowing application development when initially announced was also a good thing because it made sure the phone was secure!

Now we have this, it's obviously a good thing for Apple because it means people will use iTunes instead? Well erm no, they'll just buy a phone that actually allows freedom of choice.

It's not as if Apple in general are a particularly good company, we've had the discolouration of MacBooks, the scratched iPod nano screens, the faulty power adapters on MacBooks which are literally a major fire hazard, Safari on Windows - arguably the buggiest piece of software ever released in the history of the universe and many many more. There's of course the abuse of open source software as well, something that if any other company did would cause major uproar here. Shall we also mention the issue of DRM, something which Apple has for many many years been one of the biggest backers of from the MacOS protectionism to iTunes tracks.

What I want to know is, what is it about Apple that makes people constantly defend it, spin every negative into a positive where for any other company they wouldn't do this?

When are people going to wake up and realise that Apple is actually a pretty crap company, that arguably the only thing they get right is the look of their product (as long as you don't take it out it's case and get it scratched/discoloured)? How would you all react if Microsoft released a phone with a non user replaceable battery and that has a remotely exploitable vulnerability, or an MP3 player which has an easily scratched screen?

Are Apple fans really this gullable or is there something else? Is it the whole "I have Armani jeans which were made in the same factory as your Levi's but have Armani written on them so are in some mystical way superior" kind of attitude? If Apple stood for a quality reliable product then it's one thing but when it stands for buggy, feature-locked product why all the fuss?

I have an idea I'll be told it's all about the UI but when there's near a billion Windows users and just about everyone in Europe and Asia aged from 1 to 100 has been operating existing mobile phones happily without trouble for over 5 years now I'd again question what this really matters? Particularly so when Windows is (like it or not - not for me personally) the default meaning you actually have to relearn a fair few things.

Dumb sensationalism

[GarfBond]

Nevermind the fact that even iTunes is excluded from OTA downloads on the iPhone...

This may change in the future, but that's entirely up to Apple. It's their platform, they can do what they want with it. You're free to purchase, or not purchase, from them.

Not to mention that because emusic is entirely DRM free, you're free to download them normally on your desktop and then put it in iTunes. I do it with an iPod every month...

Sheesh, even mediocre announcements are trying to ride iPhone hype.

Easy choice

[Anonymous Coward]

Given the choice between the iPhone+iTunes and some other phone + eMusic, I for one would choose the Apple solution hands down.

Re:Too much for not enough

[Poppler]

Songs bought form iTMS can be played on 5 computers and an unlimited number of iPhones and iPods. That's all well and good until your iPod breaks and you're in the market for another player. Who knows what could be available years from now - there could be some very compelling products on the market that compare quite favorably to the iPod, but you won't have the choice if your music collection is locked with iTunes DRM.

Re:Uh...

[CastrTroy]

In the article it says:

$7.49 a month for access to five songs

Wow, that's expensive. Who would pay that much for music. I currently have the $15 plan, and I get 50 songs. So if I bought the songs on my cell phone, I would pay about $1.50 for a song. With my plan, I pay $0.30 for a song. That means it costs 5 times more to buy it on the phone. I can't seriously see this working, or creating any good press for eMusic or AT&T. eMusic is all about delivering indie music at a fair price. If this is the first exposure people have to eMusic, they will relate it with high prices for not-even-big-name-bands. Why would anybody pay $1.50 a song, just to have it now, instead of downloading it when you got home, or to your office, or a friends house, or to a coffee shop with your laptop...

Re:So?

[Enderandrew]

I can honestly say I wouldn't use an iPhone if it were free. First off, I'd rather have tactile buttons than a touch screen. I'd rather be able to use my phone with one hand. And if we're talking more of a PDA device that requires a stylus, then I'd much rather have one that runs on a common OS that I can install software on. Let's see, common features the iPhone lacks:

- Songs as Ringtones
- Games
- Any flash support
- Instant Messaging
- Picture messages (MMS)
- Video recording
- Voice recognition or voice dialing
- Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Streaming (A2DP)
- One-size-fits-all headset jack (May have to buy an adapter for certain headphones)
- 3G (EV-DO/HSDPA)
- GPS
- keyboard or any real good way to text
- Removable battery
- Expandable Storage
- Direct iTunes Music Store Access (Over Wi-Fi or EDGE)

Most of these features are available on free phones. I have a Samsung I've had for a while that can play full TV episodes, songs, etc. I've got a 2 gig storage card, and the phone is great. It was free, and in most regards trumps the basic phone features of the iPhone.

Honestly, when Nokia puts out a similiar touch-screen PDA equivalent phone, except it is light-years better at HALF the price, you really can't make a single logical argument for the iPhone being worth $600. So don't begin to pretend that detractors are just jealous and want one. If I wanted a PDA phone I'd buy the Nokia. I had a Treo, but frankly it was cumbersome as a phone, and as much as I really love gadgets, I need my phone to work as a phone.

Re:Too much for not enough

[Anonymous Coward]

Your scenario will never play out though.
There are already more flexible and cheaper portable music players available right now. The issue is getting most iPod users to admit it. When pressed, the argument in favor of the iPod always turns to the non measurable non descriptive term of, "but the iPod is slick".

I remeber a few years ago when the big thing was everyone just wanted an iPod because it was simple and played music, that is all anyone needed and just like everyone claimed that is all they wanted. Suddenly now they do video and is intergrated into a cell phone. What happened to the I love it because it just plays music excuse?
You want to see iPod users on /. change opinions again? Watch what happens when Apple starts a subscription service. Suddenly everyone with an iPod will think it was a good idea.

It's not about feature lists

[Infonaut]

Let's see, common features the iPhone lacks:

I'm sure you use all of those features to their full potential. But a feature count is a terrible way to determine whether a product really is any good in actual use. Apple has targeted ease of use and overall user experience with the iPhone. Frankly I don't know if they've hit the mark with the iPhone or not, because I've never used one. But just because it doesn't have 25 features that I may or may not ever use doesn't mean I'm going to dismiss it out of hand.

as much as I really love gadgets

The iPhone isn't a device for you. It's for people who are tired of smartphones that aren't smart, and of devices that are jammed full of features yet still aren't satisfying to use. Again, I don't know if it fulfills its promise, but it doesn't make sense to judge it a success or failure on a feature count. It is much more useful to judge it against its promise, which is to provide a smartphone-type device that non-techies will enjoy using.

This reminds me of the iPod rollout, and all the comments about how pathetic it was in comparison to the Nomad, et al.