HTC to take on Spotify with music streaming service?

HTC to take on Spotify with music streaming service?
Music streaming on the HTC/Beats to do list

HTC could be about to enter the music streaming fray at MWC 2012 with a branded Spotify-competitor created as part of its partnership with Beats Audio.

Rumour has it that HTC is working closely with music industry mogul and Beats' head honcho Jimmy Iovine to create the streaming service after talks with existing companies, including Spotify, failed to go anywhere.

The as-yet unconfirmed music service would come as the default player on HTC phones and tablets. GigaOm's source couldn't provide any pricing details so we don't yet know if the service would be bundled with devices or if you'll have to cough up a monthly fee to use it.

HTCify

But why would HTC, a handset manufacturer, bother sticking its oar into the previously unrelated music streaming market? Same reason it gave movie rental a whirl in the not-massively-successful-thus-far HTC Watch: differentiation.

All the phone manufacturers work within the parameters of the OSes their products run, so any move they can make to differentiate their products from the milieu and create some kind of user loyalty is going to be worth a punt.

Particularly as the bloom seems to have come off the HTC rose in recent months, with the company's meteoric rise to top Android maker tempered by falling sales and dipping profits.

From GigaOm

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.