I dont understand why subscription services are so popular. I much prefer to buy my music. But then I buy films and don't rent them.
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Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Climb App Revenue Charts as Customers Sign Up Via In-App Subscriptions
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This is correct. It starts with a positive at first, but it'll trickle away.
I have subscriptions to both. Spotify is clearly the superior service in general and I use it more, but Pandora is just so ubiquitous it can often be used on devices Spotify can't and is useful in that regard. I can Chromecast Pandora (Spotify still doesn't support this), use it from my TV, DVR, etc. The Pandora iOS app starts playing whatever station I was last playing very quickly, whereas Spotify iOS app has some startup time and isn't as quick to start playing music (granted I'm on a 4S).
Unfortunately Pandora killed the yearly subscription which was a steal at $36. If I renew my subscription I'll probably buy through the App Store as I buy gift cards at discounts so this would save me money, but with their new pricing it isn't as tempting to renew.
I don't disagree with your assessment; I've just had far better music discovery from Pandora than from Spotify (yes, I know about Spotify's radio - that's what I was referring to). Spotify's music matching algorithms are improving but I think Pandora's are a lot better.
I use Spotify a lot more than Pandora, I just think that music matching is a relative weakness for Spotify (but it's much improved from a couple years ago).
I don't know why these music services just stick to pre-1980's music. Nothing worthwhile or that is pleasant on the ear has happened since around that time. Maybe because the artists are nothing more than 3 chords and you're up and running standard. Sometimes I suspect the use of technology is justifying the low standards of musicianship because there is a quick buck to be made from the kids and then move on to the next.
Beyond slippery slope arguments, I'm pretty curious about what people think about what T-Mobile would end up doing that will go from providing a net positive to its customers and third-party services to something negative. (not that I want to turn this into another net neutrality debate, especially considering how muddled up the meaning has gotten at this point).
With services like Spotify, it's so much more convenient to be able to quickly listen to something to see if you like it. If someone suggests I listen to something, it takes a few seconds for me to bring it up in Spotify (it's usually there, even a lot of supposedly obscure stuff). This is better than the alternative of trying to find it on YouTube, Soundcloud, listening to samples in iTunes, etc.
I still buy music, but it's generally after I've listened it frequently on Spotify and determined it's something I'm going to like to listen to for a long time.
(My emphasis added)
This is the key. As a former musician who now wears "business casual", I suspect this won't be the case. But never underestimate new young generations' ability to innovate. More live music, maybe streaming live shows for cash. Who knows.
PSA: Any students using Spotify in America can now get Spotify Premium for $5 (just like the UK discount). You can even apply the discount to your current account, just have to verify your EDU address when logged into your Spotify account.
Spotify is fabulous. It's pretty good about adding new releases close to their actual release date. I've had it since December 2012, and it's only gotten better.
https://www.spotify.com/us/student/, here's the link to the discount I was referring to.
Spotify is fabulous. It's pretty good about adding new releases close to their actual release date. I've had it since December 2012, and it's only gotten better.
https://www.spotify.com/us/student/, here's the link to the discount I was referring to.
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And thank god for that! Hashtags are the most annoying thing in the Internet, and that's saying something.
It's simple (so called "no-brainer"), it's cheap, the quality is good and u can carry literally everything with you. Plus u are not anymore limited by the capacity of your phone (havent we all been in a situation where u wanted to play some music/video but u coulndt because u didnt loaded it on the phone for storage reasons?), some carriers offers SoD packages that allow u to use these apps without affecting your mobile data.
I switched completely, deleted my whole itunes libary, only using spotify and netflix now.
(iPhone 5s 32GB)
Here are my thoughts on the 6/6 Plus:
The 6 is an amazing size. I don't think it's "too big" at all, and after playing with it in the store I find that I cannot stand by 5s. The screen is just too small, too confining. I can almost describe it as a dooming sense of claustrophobia. I think this is the perfect phone size.
The 6 Plus doesn't feel as big as you would expect it to feel, because of that amazing design and thinness. It is narrower than a typical phablet, but is also significantly taller because of those top/bottom bezels (which probably won't change significantly anytime soon). Other thoughts:
--- I'm 6' 1" and have sizable hands, so it doesn't look crazy huge when I'm using it (even as a phone, holding it against my head).
--- I've spent about 4 hours playing with both models in the Apple Store. At first, I thought the 6 Plus was awkward, that it would fall out of my hands more often, and that it was very awkward to use with one hand. As I continued to get used to it, I realized that for some reason using it left-handed was much easier. This is fine with me; although I'm right-handed I carry it in my left front pocket, so using it left-handed works well. The big problem is navigating forward and back in Safari, but then I realized that you can swipe in from the sides of the screen to navigate forward/back. Since I'm usually going back, and since I'm holding it left-handed, that works beautifully. The screen gives you about 3/4" more viewing height if you compare the same website on both phones, which doesn't seem like a lot but in practical use it does seem to make a big difference.
Yes, I did say front pants pocket. I always wear casual dress pants/shorts, so that really doesn't seem to be the problem I thought it would. Yes, if you stretch your pants tight you can see the outline. And yes, I can see that in some circumstances when bending down or sitting you may need to shift the phone a bit. But, I think you'd have to be wearing tight pants, be overweight, or be sitting in such a way as to inflict significant force on the phone to bend it. It is a very stable device. I will say that after 7 years of carrying iPhones in my pockets, I have never even remotely bent one or scratched a screen.
I do not recommend this phone for people with smaller hands unless you're SURE you won't use it single-handed. Spend 4 hours in an Apple Store and you'll see the 6 Plus dropped on the desk more frequently by those with smaller hands.
The only remaining question I have before I buy is how big the phone feels in the pocket when it's in a case. I always use the Apple cases, so hopefully I can check this out in-store somewhere. Side note: After a year in my pocket, I took my 5S out of its Apple Leather case for the very first time last night and I am amazed to see that it is absolutely flawless. I could put this phone in the original box and sell it for new. I am shocked!
BTW, I would also recommend AppleCare for the 6 Plus.
Yeah, pandoras only advantage is that they do better with variety on the radio. However since radio is all you have and it doesn't work like a real music library. I think pandora is a waste of money. But thats just my .02.
Spotify must have raised it in the App Store to offset Apple's 30% cut. I'm pretty sure that's against the App Store's rules!
Nice review. I own a 6 and have still not seen a 6+ in person, but I hope to check one out soon. Slight buyers remorse, but I will stick with my phone.
I put a case for the first time on a phone (Apple leather black), and I am pleased that it is not too thick, and has a very luxurious feel. It just feels so nice and I am not as paranoid carrying around my phone (the first month or so I act as if my phone is a fragile newborn. Fast forward a few months later and I'll probably be tossing it around more). I was glad to know they have a 14-day return policy, but I won't be taking it back. I bet it feels just as nice on the 6+.
I wanted to ask, why do you specifically recommend AppleCare on the 6+ model specifically. Not so much on the 6?
I am already leaning toward getting the 6s+ next year, and getting rid of my iPad Mini. I think the biggest thing for me is that the 4.7" phone doesn't even feel as big as I thought it would. One handed operation isn't always possible 100% of the time, but the more I think about it, the more I would enjoy the extra real estate of a 5.5" in exchange for 2 handed use. Especially if I get rid of my iPad Mini.(Don't worry Apple, without my iPad, I will likely buy your unicorn 12" fanless Air, so you can keep taking my money!)
Additionally, I think an Apple Watch is going to be a great companion to a 5.5" phone. I won't have to take my phone out often to check on notifications since I'll have the watch. And the quick reply feature in the Messages app can be pretty handy and may make it even less often I take out my phone. Bluetooth headphones will also be nice for it.
EDIT: I know choice is great and all (different iPhone, iPad sizes, etc.), but I am spending a lot of time thinking about what I want to own, lol. I kinda miss the days when there was 1 iPhone, 1 iPad, and 1 MacBook. You bought all 3 and you liked it!
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We have subscribed to Spotify since the beginning and use it regularly, but I recently took advantage of an offer through AT&T to get a free 3 month trial of Beats. I'm glad I did.
My main problems with Spotify are that the UI is generally not intuitive and vastly different across devices. This has been getting better, but it's not great. Also, their recommendation system isn't great - I find their 'radio' to not play all that much I want to hear, and any other recommendations they do are far off base.
Beats on the other hand has a killer recommendation system. In the first week alone they recommended at least 3-4 new albums I wasn't familiar with that I LOVED. It also constantly updates so every time you open it you are offered a selection of new albums to try. I am really liking this because instead of being offered the same old selection over and over (in the Music app with the stuff you own, or with your playlists in Spotify and Pandora) there is always something new to try that might be great.
I do think Spotify does a slightly better job at playlists and individual songs, so I suspect we'll keep that primarily for my wife but for people who like to listen to entire albums, Beats is the way to go.
I find Pandora's recommendation system to be better than Spotify's but they both get pretty stale unless you are really aggressive about adding new artists to a station manually.
You're making this difficult for me, lol. I have an .edu, so $5 Spotify is tempting. But the Apple fanboy in me wants to get Beats. I hope Apple does nice things with it soon. They won't keep it separate forever, and I don't believe it will get shut down.
Beats is $100/year, but a 20% off itunes card sale brings it down to $80 (assuming iTunes gift cards can be used for yearly subscriptions?), or $6.67/mo. That's 'close enough' to the Spotify price that I may get Beats after all. If I can get a 25-30% off deal, even better.
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I hope AT&T is still doing a 3 month trial, because if they are I will definitely check that out! Thanks for the info. When I open the Beats App it does say 14-day trial or maybe longer depending on your phone carrier. But it does not offer details on this page.
I also know that you can subscribe a family plan on AT&T to beats for cheap. All of your lines (up to 5 lines, I think) get Beats for $15 total per month. An awesome deal if you have the family members for it.
How exactly is subscribing to these services aiding in the death of net neutrality? Given who the various players are and what they want, they are the ones with the most to lose if the ISPs are allowed to set up fast and slow lanes. Comcast has already successfully extorted Netflix to pay huge sums in order to deliver their content at anything above a snails pace.
Beats Music yearly option is 8.25 per month ($99 yearly) vs 9.99 monthly option.. Now 
gets 100% of the cash from Beats subs.
gets 100% of the cash from Beats subs. Can you give me a few examples? My purpose was to narrow down your points a bit more.
Some of the counter-arguments I have read so far include:
-Hurting businesses/services that are currently not exempt from the data cap. This is due to T-Mobile providing an incentive for their customers to only shop around for services that doesn't count against their data usage.
-T-Mobile possibly charging services to become exempt from being counted against their customers' data usage - i.e. slippery slope argument.
-T-Mobile must have some sort of network packet inspection to have this process work. This goes against the basic tenet of net neutrality, i.e. data is data and no special treatment or differentiation should be provided.
Disclaimer: For the record, I too use T-Mobile and wholeheartedly support their decisions so far.