Napster, one of the first popular file-sharing programs on the internet that has now turned into a legal, paid downloading service has now moved into the mobile scene.
Napster, purchased by American retail chain Best Buy last year, allows users to purchase and stream tracks to a PC for a $US5 fee per month. Now the service is allowing mobile users to access any songs for download and streaming.
Users visit m.napster.com to buy credits for downloading songs over a mobile network. When a song is purchased, an MP3 is sent to the user’s computer with a preview available on the mobile device.
Users can also create Napster accounts through the mobile site. Napster president Brad Duea said in a statement the new service will help Napster expand to a new market.
“Napster subscribers can now discover and download music at anytime on more phones from just about any carrier,” he said. “This is one of the strongest steps we’ve made to date towards our goal of making Napster and music accessible anytime, anywhere.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
