Sony's Music Unlimited streaming service coming to Apple's iOS

Sony Entertainment Network will expand its Music Unlimited streaming service to Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and iPad, the company's president Tim Schaaff announced Wednesday during a small media event at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Priced at $9.99 per month, Music Unlimited offers users access to more than 15 million songs and is currently optimized for a variety of Sony devices including the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3, as well as PCs and smartphones running Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android mobile operating system. In addition to unlimited track skipping and ad-free listening, Music Unlimited touts radio channels spanning multiple genres, moods and eras, syncing with subscribers' personal libraries and automatic recommendations based on listening habits. The service now boasts more than a million active users.

Sony will roll out its free iOS application sometime during the current quarter, Schaaff said. The app will support offline caching, allowing users to listen to their playlists even when their iPhone or iPad is not connected to a wireless network. Rival services like Spotify and Rdio already offer caching functionality.

Asked how the Music Unlimited app will differ from the competition, Schaaff and Sony Network Entertainment vice president and general manager of global digital video and music services Michael Aragon said the company will leverage its international presence and retail foothold, VentureBeat reports. Sony also plans to target consumers who've not yet adopted a cloud music service instead of seeking to lure existing subscribers away from other platforms.

For more:
- read this VentureBeat article

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