Difference between Apple Itunes and Amazon MP3
For a number of years now, Apple iTunes was the de facto site to go to for people who wanted to download songs. While the site has in fact provided satisfactory service for the most part throughout that time, a number of users have been looking for an alternative music download site. With the introduction of sites such as Amazon MP3 it appears that iTunes finally has some worthy competition. Does Amazon MP3 have what it takes to measure up to the venerable Apple giant? Let's take a look!
Price And Selection
Both Apple iTunes and Amazon MP3 offer an extensive selection of tunes, with Amazon MP3 offering a catalog comprised of over 2 million songs. Apple iTunes has this beaten out however, with a whopping collection consisting of more than 6 million songs.
That being said, Amazon MP3 has an edge over iTunes in that its songs are available at a lower cost. Songs on Amazon MP3 generally range from 89 cents to 99 cents, with more than half the collection coming in at the lower rate. iTunes on the other hand charges 99 cents to $1.29 for every song, with albums priced at $5.99 to $9.99. Most of the albums at iTunes cost $9.99.
Accessibility
In terms of accessibility, we would have to give the top prize to Amazon MP3, since its songs are available in open MP3 format without DRM. What this means is that everything you download from the site can played on any device or computer. As for iTunes, all songs downloadable from its site use AAC compression and MP4 file format, so you will have to make sure that your device supports these technologies. Alternately, you could also download the necessary codecs from Apple, as long as your device supports them of course.
Unfortunately, Amazon MP3 is let down by the fact that its catalog is available only to consumers from the United States. iTunes on the other hand is available in the United States as well as countries such as France, Germany, UK, Austria, Finland, Greece, Italy, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, Australia and New Zealand among many others.
Service
While it is easy enough to search for songs with both services, both Apple iTunes and Amazon MP3 make it quite difficult to discover other music that you may like based on your choices. iTunes also has the advantage in a much easier to use and more straightforward user interface. the Amazon site can be quite tedious to navigate. And there are far too many options that can be confusing to the new user.
Summary
Apple iTunes
- Has a huge catalog of more than 6 million songs
- Costs $.99 to $1.29 for every song, with albums priced at $5.99 to $9.99 in 2010
- Uses AAC compression and MP4 file format
Amazon MP3
- Has a catalog of over 2 million songs
- Prices range from $.89 to $.99 in 2010
- Songs are available in open MP3 format without DRM
