Ah, the modern age…  Who would have believed, even through most of the last century, that the same device we use to contact friends or business associates could also be used to provide us with our favorite music.  Of course, almost all new mobile phones can do that and much more.

Imagine trying to explain the Internet to someone as recently as the 1970′s.  I tried…unsuccessfully.  Furthermore, as late as the early part of the last decade of the twentieth century, our current Internet speed would have seemed more of a distant hope than a short term reality.  Wrong!  Ten years later the majority of us are connect to broadband services.  Streaming music to our desktops is no longer interrupted by frequent pauses to resupply the buffer of our memory.

Napster, started as a free trading music set, but it has now become the owner of the largest music catalog on the Internet, with over seven million titles.  It is still a terrific bargain, even though it is no longer free in the days when it was in hot water with the music industry.  The site provides what is widely regarded as the greatest bargain for music fans with a three month introductory subscription, with renewals at the same low rates.  I suspect you’ll renew, but the three months will give you a good taste of the service.

For the widely recommended three month plan you get five download credits per month plus bonus credits.  Included in the plan is the reason that most people subscribe in the first place–unlimited (!) streaming music.  You can listen to entire albums or even the entire catalog of their various artists of your favorites.  They have over a thousand pre-made mix lists, and those are interactive.  There are streaming radio stations, too.

The music that you select to download as part of your subscription can be played on any MP3 device, including Ipod, Zune and many others.  A lot of newer cell phones have built in MP3 players and sufficient memory to hold a number of your favorite selections, as well.

You have unrestricted rights to these recordings, so you can move them around to different devices that you own.  You can even use your software to create your own CD.

There is a huge list of musical genres.  If you are similar to me, you choose from a lot of different genres, but if your tastes are more specific, you will certainly find your favorite genre.  Among those genres are rock, pop, classical, R&B, musical soundtracks, Christian, jazz, comedy, and the list goes on.

All of this is just $15 for the three months of delightful musical saturation at Napster.com.  Face it, that’s cheaper than a fast food lunch for three.

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Mobile & Cell Phones