<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Spotify stole the tech headlines this week with the announcement that its streaming service is now available for free across all mobile devices. Tablet and smartphone users have been granted free access to limited features and ad-supported playback, resulting in the creation of a new tier of Spotify membership. With free tunes now available to stream direct to your mobile phone, is there now less of an incentive to shell out \u00A39.99 a month on that premium account? We have weighed up the pros and cons of all three subscription options to help you decide.   Mobile Free Spotify&amp;#039;s new Mobile Free package is available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry handsets via its latest downloadable app. Playlists have a central role at this membership tier, with subscribers able to &amp;quot;shuffle play&amp;quot; an artist&amp;#039;s back catalogue or a randomised radio station with adverts interspersed between the tracks. Users who create playlist based on a song or album will be served that content in the shuffled format along with related suggestions from Spotify, but the option to listen to specific tracks on-demand is not included at this level. The option to download songs for offline listening has also been omitted, rendering the app virtually useless unless you are connected to a WiFi or cellular data network.   Desktop and Tablet Free Alongside the announcement of free streaming for smartphone users, Spotify also announced that its tablet-based service is now identical to its desktop offering. This means that users have the option to play any song they want on-demand, as well as create playlists and Pandora-esque radio stations with ad-supported playback. Offline support is also omitted at this tier, but shuffled streaming is entirely optional.  Spotify Premium Spotify premium is available for \u00A39.99 a month in the UK or $9.99 in the US, and is one for the real music fanatics. Paying customers are granted access to uninterrupted playback on any device, have the option to download tracks for offline listening, and will be served tunes at a higher audio quality. Optional shuffled playback, playlist creation and access to randomised radio stations also comes as standard, so if music is your primary passion or you&amp;#039;re the kind of person who can&amp;#039;t stand adverts, Spotify premium may be the logical option. Moreover, those who use Spotify through Sonos and Now TV will still need to be paying premium users as the new freemium service does not cover these devices.      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/internet/news/a537784/spotify-free-vs-spotify-premium-which-one-is-for-you/>