Todays big news in the tech world is the launch of the streaming music service Spotify in the US. The service allows people to stream 15 million songs to their PC, Mac or smartphone device. While you can try Spotify immediately if you pay either $5 or $10 a month for one of the company"s premium subscriptions, you have to be invited to try out the free version that"s supported by ads.
The good news is that if you get an invite for the free service, Spotify is going to have a chance to shine. As Venture Beat reports, there will be no limit to the amount of music you can listen to for six months. In Europe, where Spotify first launched back in 2008, the free version gives its customers a 20 hour per month limit on music streaming. The obvious goal of this temporary switch of the free tier of service is to get as many people in the US to try Spotify. After the first six months are over, Cnet.com says that the free service will be reduced to just playing one given track five times a month with a maximum of 10 hours a month to use the service. The free users can also only access Spotify via your PC or Mac.
In related news hardware maker Logitech has announced today that its Squeezebox Touch and Squeezebox Radio media devices now also support Spotify. Users will have to purchase a $10 premium subscription to Spotify in order to access the service via the Logitech devices.