Napster 2.0

Reviewed on 10/29/03    Updated on: 4/29/04    Release date: 10/29/03    After closing its doors in 2001 following an expensive bout with the RIAA, then being acquired by software company Roxio in 2002, Napster is back--and now it's legit. The new Napster runs in part on technology leveraged from Roxio's other recently acquired property, veteran music-subscription service Pressplay. Although it no longer uses P2P technology for file distribution, Napster 2.0 keeps some of what we liked about the infamous file-swapping service, such as the ability to browse other users' libraries.

Installation and interface of Napster 2.0

Just like iTunes Music Store for Windows, Napster runs on Windows 2000 and XP only; if you don't run either OS, you're out in the cold. During installation, Napster scans your directories for all the MP3s and WMA files on your machine--a process that took much too long by our standards. However, the rest of the setup was a breeze.

Again like iTunes, Napster offers individual songs for 99 cents a pop, while $9.95 gets you a full album. In addition to the à la carte music store, you can opt for Napster's $9.95-per-month subscription. This buys you unlimited downloading and streaming, as well as access to 40 commercial-free music streams. You don't have to subscribe in order to browse, and you don't have give up your credit card info until you find a track you want to buy. You can access the catalog by plugging in terms (artist, album, track, or Napster member) using the search bar at the top or via five tabs: Artists/Albums, Just Added, Now Streaming, Charts (Napster inherited Pressplay's archive of Billboard charts), and Members' Collections. With 500,000 tracks already in its library (many of those inherited through the Pressplay acquisition), Napster is hitting the ground running; in contrast, Musicmatch and BuyMusic debuted with about half that. Apple aims to catalog 400,000 songs by the end of the year--about 100,000 less than Napster's current library.

The Napster interface is fast and easy to use. You can stream and purchase most tracks, but songs marked Buy Only can't be streamed--they're for purchase only. Popular tracks are highlighted in blue.

Industry holdouts--the Beatles come to mind--are notably absent, but you'll find a nice selection in the pop, rock, jazz, classical, and hip-hop genres. Some labels don't make albums available in their entirety, so you'll likely come across a few partial albums. Still, that's better than omitting them completely. But unlike iTunes, Napster doesn't label partial albums, so if you're not careful, you may unwittingly pay for one without knowing that some songs are missing. For example, we wanted to pick up The Very Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees, which is supposed to have 24 tracks on it, but we were disappointed to find only 4. We also found a few mislabeled tracks, such as when we tried to preview a song by The Replacements, but it turned out to be a Meat Puppets song--oops.

Napster's community features are a definite selling point and are a probable remnant of the old P2P version of the app. You can troll other users' playlists--a cool feature currently unique to Napster. However, unlike the Napster of old, which gave you several ways to get at another user's library, the only way to search members' lists is by genre. We'd love to be able to run searches on album and artist, as well. Want to expand your Dave Matthews-lovin' friend's spectrum of music? It costs nothing to e-mail a taste-expanding playlist his way (nonmembers must register to listen to forwarded playlists). Another nifty community-based feature turns the most popular tracks on the service blue in the listings.

One feature we really like about Napster's Premium Service is that you don't have to buy tracks in order to listen to them all the way through. Instead, you can stream (as opposed to downloading) them at 20Kbps, 32Kbps, or 96Kbps, depending on your connection. After all, sometimes you're in the mood to listen to a certain song, but you don't necessarily want it in your permanent collection. Since some copyright owners offer only 30-second previews, you can't stream all tracks in their entirety.

Features of Napster 2.0

Fans nostalgic for the freewheeling Napster of yore will no doubt be disappointed by 2.0's limitations--at least initially. The biggest difference (other than having to pay for downloads) is that like the rest of the à la carte music services, Napster restricts the ways you can use tunes acquired through its interface.

You can burn any number of purchased or imported tracks to CD using Roxio's popular burning engine. In our tests, burning was fast and worked flawlessly. If you're looking for portable hardware to play your purchased tracks, check out the Napster/Samsung YP-910GS, which plays MP3s and WMAs, regardless of their origin. Napster also works with other portable devices that can handle secure WMA files.

Napster comes preloaded on all Media Center PCs, so you can enjoy your tunes with other networked devices in your abode, such as a home stereo or a TV. In addition, Roxio has forged a relationship with Gateway; Napster 2.0 will come preloaded on all Gateway Media Center PCs, such as the 610, shipping this fall. You can transfer your permanent downloads to up to three PCs (iTunes lets you play songs on up to three networked Macs and PCs).

Unlike Apple's iTunes Music Store, which allows you to de-authorize computers so that another machine can gain permission to play purchased songs, Napster permits you to only use the songs you've bought on the same three computers--forever. If you plan on upgrading your computer more than twice for the rest of your life, buying Napster songs is a waste.

Service and support of Napster 2.0

The program offers built-in support and documentation, which consists of well-written FAQs and a detailed user guide. If you have a specific query that's not answered by either, you can fill out and submit an online help form. E-mail support is supposedly available 24 hours, seven days a week. Phone support is available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET but for paid subscribers only.

Rating from 1 user How would you rate this product? Write your own review
• 7/10 Very good

  February 28, 2005

  by MusicPhan (see profile)

  "I had a Promo Card To Use up" Read more >>

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