Digital music players are freeing themselves, and consumers, from the shackles of the personal computer, thanks to devices that access music from what is called "the cloud."
With existing models such as Apple Inc's iPhone and Haier Group Co Ltd's Ibiza Rhapsody to Palm Inc's highly anticipated Pre phone, due in coming weeks, more and more audiophiles are able to find, download and play music wirelessly, without having to hook up to laptops or desktop computers.
Both of the first two devices can connect to online music services - iTunes for the iPhone (and iTouch), RealNetworks Inc's Rhapsody for the Ibiza - that allows access to a large catalogue of songs and podcasts.
When the Pre hits stores, users will be able to listen to web music discovery service Pandora, or spontaneously buy songs via Amazon.com Inc's MP3 Music store.
Service providers and device manufacturers are betting that people will be willing to pay a premium for the ability to stream or download music on the spur of the moment, wherever they are. They are part of a growing industry of "cloud computing," whereby data - music and other digital information - exists on remote systems, instantly accessible.
The iPhone debuted nearly two years ago, but one of the key elements of its launch was the inclusion of a portable version of iTunes, which gave users the ability to find and purchase songs on the devices. Rhapsody, which still has less than a million users, has been around longer as a PC-based music subscription service, which gives those who pay a fixed monthly fee of $10 ($15 for the ability to download music to digital players) unlimited access to a catalogue of more than six million songs.
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