Firstly, there’s the apple-baiting move to make Spotify iPod-compatible. What this means is that you can now hook up, access and manage your iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle or iPod Classic’s music library within Spotify, just as you would with iTunes. From there, it’s now been made easier to purchase music – individual tracks start at 50p, but it’s all possible to purchase entire playlists at a time. Spotify is the first major software to do this and it represents a big threat for Apple, who thus far have had an iron grip on iPod owners with its iTunes ecosystem.
Alongside Spotify iPod sync and the new Spotify MP3 Store, there’s also been an update to the Spotify iPhone, iPod Touch and Android apps, which allows you to sync and manage your music in a similar way to the iPods, only with the benefit of being wireless. As long as you have a WiFi connection, you’ll be able to fully manage your phone’s music libraries and playlists – Spotify or otherwise – on the desktop version of the app. Wireless syncing in this way is a first for the iPhone, and currently isn’t offered by iTunes.
It’s a huge step forward for Spotify, which is clearly designed to steal some of Apple’s musical thunder. Are you excited, or are you iTunes till the end? Let us know on the Gadget Helpline Twitter feed.