Spotify vs rdio

Discussion in 'iPad Apps' started by Thade, Nov 26, 2012.

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  1. Thade, Nov 26, 2012

    Thade macrumors newbie

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    #1
    Hi all. I found a couple similar threads but they were several months old...

    I'm in trial mode with spotify and Rdio using on a mix of devices: iPad, iPhone, Mac and pc. Trying to decide between the 2. I guess I'm just tired of collecting music and I really like the idea of having access to whatever I want anytime.

    Both have really nice ipad apps, display album art on Apple TV, cost the same, etc.

    Spotify tends to organize songs only in playlists with no universal library similar to iTunes, at least not in the mobile apps. Rdio has the "collection" that organizes musing by artist, then album & song which is a bit more familiar

    Rdio offers a lot more suggested music in the "activity" area that keeps updating what others are listening to despite the fact that I'm not signed in to any social network.

    I think I may be leaning toward rdio mostly because I can't wrap my head around a library strictly built out of playlists but I'm hanging with it to see if it grows on me....

    Spotify also continues to grow in ipad storage space even though I am "steaming". This is a known issue and to date the only fix is to occasionally delete and reinstall the app

    Anyhoo, I may be rambling but looking for any opinions before I she'll out 10.00/month for either service

    I'd recommend either for for a test spin. Both beautiful ipad apps and very cool to be able to pull up just about any song or full album at will.

    Tia

    Jeff
     
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  2. NickPerk, Nov 26, 2012

    NickPerk macrumors member

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    #2
    Honestly i love the rdio mac app, online, but their iPad and iPhone apps are really slacking. Tends to take a much longer time to begin streaming music then spotify and also has some weird habits of not playing synced songs right away. Those small things really set me to really debating switching back to spotify, but gotta wait till next month
     
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  3. Jare, Nov 26, 2012

    Jare macrumors 65816

    Jare

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    #3
    I quite like Rdio, and we don't have Spotify in Canada. We do have Maple Syrup though and hot damn is it delicious.
     
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  4. thatguyjeff, Nov 27, 2012

    thatguyjeff macrumors newbie

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    #4
    Been using Spotify since the US launch. Love it. Never used Rdio, so not familiar.

    Know what you mean about the mobile spotify apps and the library. You pretty much have to use the desktop app to get things sorted. I have made some playlists, but I've found the starred feature to be much more useful for some of the more bulk actions.

    You can star individual songs and/or entire albums, then set your mobile device to make everything starred available off line. Still no sorting though, at least on the iphone version. I haven't tried on the ipad version. Not sure if you can star an artist - haven't tried.

    Think of spotify as a desktop application, with the mobile versions as extensions of that app with limited capabilities.

    I'm not aware of the ipad memory issue you point out. I've never noticed a problem. 1st gen 64gb ipad with lots of room on it, so maybe it is eating some of my memory and I just never noticed because it's never been a problem.
     
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  5. djshack, Nov 27, 2012

    djshack macrumors regular

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    #5
    With the new v2.0 of Rdio's iOS app, I recommend it even more than before.

    Rdio as a service is miles ahead of Spotify in almost every way (with the exceptions of computer offline playback and gapless playback).

    The new app for iOS is also significantly improved upon the old one (which was already better than Spotify).
     
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  6. Thade, Nov 27, 2012
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2012

    Thade thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #6
    Thanks all

    The new mobile apps are nice & kinds resemble the android app. So far I don't see a full screen view of "now playing"which I kinda miss already. The spotify ipad app has swipe for skipping tracks

    I also started playing around with add on apps for spotify for easy access to playlists and song lyrics in real time

    Yeah... This is a tough choice :)
     
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  7. Thade, Nov 28, 2012

    Thade thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #7
    Rdio update adds remote control which is pretty awesome.
     
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  8. jhsfosho, Nov 28, 2012

    jhsfosho macrumors 6502

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    #8
    Can the new Rdio app remote control the desktop application?

    Also, does the desktop application allow sending audio to multiple airplay speakers?
     
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  9. djshack, Nov 28, 2012

    djshack macrumors regular

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    #9
    Yes, and yes I think (I don't have an Airplay setup, but I'm 90% sure it's part of the app).
     
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  10. Thade, Nov 28, 2012

    Thade thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #10
    FWIW, the remote also controls the android app :)
     
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  11. okrelayer, Nov 29, 2012

    okrelayer macrumors 6502a

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    #11
    I have not extensively used RDIO, however I love MOG, it blows away Spotify. Mog has the best streaming quality, and their recommendations are awesome.
     
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  12. davideotape, Nov 29, 2012

    davideotape macrumors 6502

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    #12
    Just throwing this out there too: Sony's Music Unlimited is $60/year OR $12/year for playstation plus members. They have a solid library, especially if you like more mainstream stuff. The app for iOS is pretty wonky and it doesn't have Facebook integration or the robust social aspect of spotify (if you care about that) but it definitely does the job if you just want a lot of music at you fingertips, and you can create playlists, etc.

    If you're a play station plus member it seems like a no-brainer, $1/month vs. $10.

    ----------

    Also, they don't have an ipad app, just an iPhone app that you can use on the ipad
     
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