Anyone who reads this blog knows that Dave and I are huge Slacker fans. However, I’m starting to yearn for direct Internet connectivity on my Slacker G2 device. And as for the Slacker app on my Droid Eris, it just doesn’t compare to the experience on the G2. Enter Muve Music from Cricket.
I got a demo of Muve Music tonight, and came away impressed with the service features. First the bad news: the service is only offered on the Samsung Suede right now, which isn’t even a smartphone. That’s right, it’s only available on one phone. Fortunately, more phones are coming, and they will all run with Cricket’s trademark unlimited plans. In this case, plans that include Muve Music run $55 per month. For that money, you get:
- Unlimited music downloads off all four major music labels
- Curated playlists across different music genres
- Music recommendations
- The ability to send songs to other Muve Music subscribers
Downloads take about 30 seconds per song, which means an extended playlist could take a while to download. But the service performed as advertised in the demo I saw tonight. Thirty seconds, and a new song was available. As long as you pay for the service, all the music you download stays with you. When you stop paying, you lose access. That’s likely a problem for some people, but in these days of access over ownership, I think it’s a viable model. The service also gives you unlimited ringtones and ringbacks.
Muve Music isn’t Slacker, but it’s an interesting alternative. Now we just have to wait for it to roll out to more phones.
Nice if you’re a Cricket subscriber, but would be even better if any of Big Four carriers picked this up. Although, I’d still prefer to rely on Slacker, Pandora, or my iPod Touch.
I’m beyond esctatic for this launch…I’m tired of the slow V Cast from Verizon and whatever attempt Windows Phone tried to make at it as well…While for years Cricket would have been embarrassing to hold in your hand, with this in addition to currently covering 90% of the nation, I’m far more impressed than ever. While the Suede is not a smart phone, I find it irrelevant when I think about never paying for another itunes song. Kudos Cricket.
does the muve music phone comes with a navigation.