Let’s be frank here: Rhapsody has some seriously big shoes to fill. Even though it hasn’t yet come stateside, Spotify has set a new standard for mobile music, and let’s face it: Rhapsody Mobile’s first few steps out of the gate haven’t exactly been well-received.
So what can they do to pick up some steam (and hopefully a few new subscribers)? According to one of Rhapsody’s iPhone UX designers, their sights are set on “stability, audio quality, and offline playback”. For now, let’s just gloss over the fact that stability and audio quality are generally things that should be locked down prior to launch. Offline playback has been a staple of Spotify’s success – as connected as we try to be, there are times when streaming LCD Soundsystem’s new album just isn’t possible. The sooner Rhapsody finishes it up and pushes out an update, the sooner they have a chance of drawing in a few new listeners who now find them worth the monthly pricetag.
Not to be a downer or anything, but even though we’re glad to see that the folks at Real are trying to stay as competitive as possible, they really need to pick up the pace. For now, Real is very fortunate that Spotify is Europe-only as they don’t directly compete with each other, but being the presumptive underdog only can only take them so far, and it doesn’t help that there are countless other streaming music apps fighting for pole position.
Via Zatz Not Funny