Microsoft has announced today that all Windows Phone 8 devices will come with a one year subscription to Pandora for free. The announcement was made at the Windows Phone 8 keynote in San Francisco.
This is a huge win for Windows Phone as the Pandora app has been missing from the platform since launch. To make its entrance into the Windows Phone ecosystem, Microsoft is going all out and giving everyone who purchases a Windows Phone 8 device a one year subscription to Pandora, for free.
This will be a key differentiator for Microsoft as it adds more value to the out of the box experience. We do wonder how this will work in tandem with Xbox Music as they two platforms do compete.
One possible explanation for this offering is that Pandora may have been holding out on Windows Phone and convinced Microsoft to agree to these terms to bring the app to the platform. No matter what the terms are, the consumer wins.
If you were thinking about purchasing a Windows Phone 8 device, a free subscription to Pandora may push you, and a few others, over the edge.