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Spotify releases iPad app. Was it worth the wait?

Spotify, the popular music streaming service, releases its highly-anticipated iPad app. Does it live up to the hype?

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Screenshot/Spotify
IPad users can use the Spotify app for 30 days without charge, followed by a $9.99 monthly premium subscription.
  • By Megan Riesz

Spotify has finally released a made-for-iPad app – and the multi-billion dollar music streaming service doesn’t disappoint.
 
IPad users have expressed frustration over Spotify’s previous iPad app, a twice-enlarged version of the iPhone edition. But the company says that the wait has been worth it.
 
“We spent a bunch of time building this app,” says chief product officer Gustav Söderström. “We think the iPad is a unique device, and we want to build a unique experience for it.”

The app features an easily navigable interface that allows users to swipe between friends’ songs, trending playlists based on location, and top tracks. Through the “People” tab, you can scroll through friends and view their entire libraries, including top artists and songs. Like iTunes, you can form playlists and also share them on Facebook and Twitter, or just with Spotify People.
 
These features are also available on the iPhone app. But some of the iPad’s settings are unique. Users can turn on Crossfade, which blends songs together for continuous listening. You can also switch between three sound quality options – the recommended normal, high, and extreme.
 
“Unfussy casual users won’t notice much difference – there isn’t really that much in it,” TechRadar  wrote in its review. “Although the music does get a little warmer with each hop up the quality scale.”
 
Its aesthetics are nothing to sneeze at, either. Album artwork is modeled in lovely Retina-display resolution.
 
The app is also compatible with AirPlay, Apple’s wireless technology that connects devices like the iPad to speakers and stereo systems.
 
Like the iPhone app, the iPad version is free for 30 days, at which point a premium subscription of $9.99 per month is required.
 
No word yet on whether Spotify will release an Android app.

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