Spotify launches Windows Phone 8 music-streaming app in beta
updated 01:04 pm EST, Fri February 8, 2013
App required complete rebuild from Windows Phone 7 version
Streaming music service Spotify is now available to use on Windows Phone 8 devices. Now downloadable from the Windows Phone Store, the new Windows Phone 8-specific app is launching in beta, and offers new users a free trial lasting for 30 days, before requiring the premium service subscription of $10 per month.
Spotify was previously usable on older versions of Windows Phone, but that version could not be used on WP8 due to the app using native Windows Phone 7 code in order to function, according to The Verge. As Windows Phone 8 was a different code base, a new version of the app needed to be built. The new app looks to be the same as the WP7 version, including options to sync over Wi-Fi and the phone network, as well as offering an offline mode. Live Tiles update with details of the current song being played, though currently the app does not support pinning to the front screen.
In recent months, Spotify has launched it's app on Roku, as well as demonstrated it's browser-based app. Oddly, Spotify stopped customers from the UK from downloading songs and making purchases, citing a need to "further simplify the service and pave the way for new features."
Spotify currently reaches 20 million active users globally, and counts 5 million as paying subscribers.
