AmazonMP3 a serious competitor to Apple iTunes

Rave reviews of the newly launched AmazonMP3 music store abound in the last couple of days. The big win here is obviously the over 2 million DRM-free songs it offered at launch day, something Apple is still struggling to do for years.

Here’s a quick comparison of the two services so far:

Apple iTunes Music Store
Songs available in Store: over 6,000,000
Song Prices: USD $0.99PHP 58INR 84EUR 0.94CNY 7 each DRM, $1.29PHP 76INR 109EUR 1CNY 9 for DRM-free
Album Prices: USD $9.99PHP 586INR 847EUR 10CNY 73
Quality: 128 Kbps
File Format: AAC (.m4p extension)
Software: iTunes Music Player
Player Compatibility: iPod, iPhone

AmazonMP3 Music Store
Songs available in Store: over 2,000,000
Song Prices: USD $0.89PHP 52INR 75EUR 0.85CNY 6 to $0.99PHP 58INR 84EUR 0.94CNY 7 each 100% DRM-free
Album Prices: USD $4.99PHP 293INR 423EUR 5CNY 36 to $9.99PHP 586INR 847EUR 10CNY 73
Quality: 256 Kbps
File Format: MP3
Software: iTunes Music Player, Windows Media Player
Player Compatibility: iPod, iPhone, Zune, Creative Zen, GigaBeat, Sandisk Sansa, Sony Network Walkman, and many more…

MP3 Payers

Aside from the variable and cheaper prices, I believe the best selling point for AmazonMP3 is that it’s completely DRM-free which allows you to use on on iTunes and Windows Media Player alike as well as sync it to any portable music player you have. There will be a smooth transition for iPod owners to switch to AmazonMP3.

Why buy protected and expensive songs on iTunes when you can get at AmazonMP3 for less and use it on any mp3 payer you have? Surely, Apple will have some serious competition here.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

16 Comments

gumstickstomyteeth says:

17 years ago

Yuga,

Why do you always brag about the gadgets that you have? Dont you have a family to feed? I thought your blog is about Philippin technology then why not blog about that?
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Abe Olandres says:

17 years ago

Dude, you’ve been coming to this blog for over a year now, leaving comments with over a dozen different nicks. Don’t you even want to acknowledge yourself by putting in your real name and email? C’mon, gimme a break. It’s too obvious you’re just trolling.

Unless you put in your real name and email, nobody will take you seriously. Besides, don’t you have better things to do than waste your time and money in this blog? Peace bro. Don’t let jealousy take-over your heart. ;)
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issai says:

17 years ago

hahaha… well said yuga… maybe he already made a bot just to put comments on your blog. i had a share of people who want to ruin me because i think they’re jealous that my dad loves me muchos and sort of spoiled me.
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envyus says:

17 years ago

Yuga

Why would we be jealous of you? All that gumstickstomyteeth was asking if why do you always have to brag all that you have? Can you at least answer that question?
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Eugene says:

17 years ago

Yuga, you forgot to mention that AmazonMP3 requires a valid U.S. billing address. So if you’re in Europe or Japan, you’re still stuck with iTunes.
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envyus says:

17 years ago

Eugene… your right.. so what is Yuga’s point? This blog is suppose to be about Philippino technology news…
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Eugene says:

17 years ago

Anonymous coward, why do you always comment inappropriately? Don’t you have a family to feed? Sheesh.
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Jeffrey says:

17 years ago

Practical that i am, i won’t buy an iPod, but if somebody generous will give me one, i’ll take it wholeheartedly.

Envious one,
Yuga has the right to put anything on HIS blog.
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Jon says:

17 years ago

Let’s go back to regular programming. :)
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andre says:

17 years ago

funny comment at that, yuga wasn’t blogging about any gadget in this particular entry. he was blogging about the entry of AmazonMP3 in the online music store biz.
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Berlin says:

17 years ago

..hate to say this but there isn’t much to blog about Philippine technology. Kung meron, I doubt that it’ll excite the geek in us. I dare that tool to come up with something to blog about each day about Globe, Smart, Pex, and ….?

Neways, Amazon is challenging Apple’s upcoming iTV. Also I’m excited about using their S3 and EC2 hosting and media storage for my upcoming website.
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jelly says:

17 years ago

y buy! when u can download? practicall
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SongBoxx says:

17 years ago

There is a website that searches over 6,000,000 Non-DRM tracks (not including AmazonMP3, which it says its adding soon) all at once – http://www.songboxx.com. With the addition of AmazonMP3, it’ll be a pretty incredible search engine, and THE place to figure out where to purchase non-DRM music on the internet.
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FlamingJin%9 says:

15 years ago

Good stuff, wish I read more about this !
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