Amazon.com has finally debuted their new iTunes competition: AmazonMP3. Well, okay, it’s not the most creative name, but I am impressed thus far with the product offering:

• MP3′s encoded at 256 kbps – yes, that’s good. We like high-fidelity sound.
• DRM-free – translation: no copy protection, so you are free to put it on whatever device you wish
• 89 cents per song – for more than half of the catalog, and slightly more for other songs. I saw some that were 99 cents. That’s still way cheaper than iTunes’ $1.30 per song for DRM-free MP3′s

I downloaded a couple songs today and it was smooth as butter. The only sticky point for me was that I had mixed emotions about the downloader applet. I like it better than iTunes as far as it’s simplicity, but I can’t help but feel like it is not necessary. Anytime I have to install a program (or applet) on my computer for something as simple as downloading a music file, I feel like there is something wrong with the picture. Less is more!

That aside, I will be using Amazon to download my mp3′s. Thank you, Amazon, for listening to my consumer voice and giving me what I want: DRM free MP3′s at a reasonable price. Apple, please take note. Amen.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 26th, 2007 at 1:44 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous, Music, Web 2.0. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.