“Microsoft Corp on Monday announced that Xbox Music, a digital music service to vie with Apple Inc’s iTunes and Amazon.com Inc’s Cloud Player, will be available for its Xbox game consoles on Tuesday,” Malathi Nayak reports for Reuters.
“The service will be expanded to Windows software-based computers and tablets, including the upcoming Surface tablet, from October 26, when Microsoft launches Windows 8,” Nayak reports. “It will be expanded to phones shortly after that. The world’s largest software maker has been trying for years to make the household living room an entertainment hub with its Xbox. More than 67 million units have been sold since 2005.”
MacDailyNews Take: Reuters, by what measure exactly is Microsoft “the world’s largest software company?”
Apple Inc. produces a copious amount of award-winning software, not to mention the world’s most advanced operating systems, desktop and mobile, and, as the world’s most valuable company, is worth 2.5 times Microsoft.
Nayak reports, “Xbox Music replaces Microsoft’s digital media brand Zune that struggled to compete with iTunes.”
MacDailyNews Take: Well, there’s a prime candidate for the understatement of the young century so far.
Nayak reports, “Microsoft will offer a free ad-supported music streaming service, and a premium $9.99 subscription service for unlimited, ad-free streaming… The service includes a download-to-own music store with over 30 million songs in its global catalog, more than iTunes’ library of over 26 million songs. It has cloud-storage features similar to iTunes and Amazon Cloud Player and an artist-based radio function like music streaming services Pandora and Spotify. Xbox Music will be available in 22 countries. Microsoft hopes to take the service to Apple iOS and Google Inc Android devices next year.”
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