Sony Releases Qriocity Android App

Now that the PlayStation Network is back online, Sony is ready to launch the next phase of its Music Unlimited Powered by Qriocity service, an Android app.
Sony introduced its Music Unlimited streaming service to parts of Europe in December 2010. In February, the company expanded its reach to the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.
The service, which competes with similar offerings from Rhapsody, MOG, Rdio and Spotify, allows users to stream music albums on Sony devices such as TVs, Blu-ray players, the PlayStation3 and the PSP.
Because Qriocity is part of the PlayStation Network, the Music Unlimited offering was shuttered along with the the rest of the online game network after hackers broke into the servers and gained access to millions of user accounts and passwords.
The new Android app works on Sony Ericsson Android devices, including the Xperia Play, as well as third-party Android devices running Android 2.1, 2.2 or 2.3.
We decided to try out the new app on our HTC Sensation 4G review unit.
As with Rdio and Spotify, Sony is using software that will scan a user’s computer and automatically add those songs and albums to his or her online library. Apple will do something similar with iCloud, except iCloud will offer unencrypted versions of those files.
Music Unlimited’s distinguishing feature is its use of Channels. These are pre-programmed and personalized radio stations. This is, in effect, Pandora meets Rhapsody. We like the Channels approach, but most users will probably be more interested in on-demand track and album access.
The app performed well, though we did find it could be slow to load. The user interface is a solid experience, but it’s incredibly easy to accidentally start playing a song when all we really want to do is get a track listing for an album. This can get frustrating — fast.
Sony’s library of 7 million songs is impressive, but it doesn’t match the broader libraries of some of the other streaming services. Moreover, at this time, there is no offline listening support, at least not one that we could find.
Like most other mobile subscription apps, Music Unlimited does not allow users to edit or create their own playlists from within the app itself. Instead, playlist control has to take place on the web. This is disappointing. We hope Sony takes a cue from Spotify and offers playlist management on your mobile device.
Music Unlimited isn’t a bad offering, and the Android app is well designed. Still, we can’t help but wonder how many users will be willing to trust Sony with their credit card information. Premium service costs $9.99 per month, while the basic version costs $3.99.
Post Source: http://mashable.com/