Spotify (Kindle Tablet Edition)

by Spotify

Product Details

• ASIN: B008RBZA4A
• Original Release Date: August 3, 2012
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 16, 2012
Rated: Guidance Suggested This app may include dynamic content. What's this?

All Ages

Based on information provided by the developer, the content of this application is appropriate for all users and contains no objectionable content or advertisements.




Guidance Suggested

Based on information provided by the developer, the content of this application is appropriate for most users. The app may include account creation, location detection, user generated content, advertisements, infrequent or mild references to violence, profanity, or crude themes, or other content not suitable for all ages.







Mature

Based on information provided by the developer, the content of this application is only appropriate for mature users. The app may include account creation, location detection, user generated content, advertisements, explicit references to or images of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, graphic violence, profanity, or crude humor, mild sexual and suggestive themes, nudity within medical, informational, or artistic contexts, simulated gambling, or other content only suitable for mature audiences.







Adult

Based on information provided by the developer, the content of this application is only appropriate for adults. The app may include account creation, location detection, user generated content, advertisements, explicit references to or images of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, graphic violence, profanity, or crude humor, sexual and suggestive themes, nudity, simulated gambling, or other content only suitable for adult audiences.



This application contains content that is downloading real-time, based on inputs from the user or developer. The maturity rating associated with this application pertains only to the static elements of the application and does not cover any dynamic information (e.g. websites, friend postings, tweets). Dynamic content is defined as any content that may change within the application. Content can include animations, video or audio.
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (481 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154 Free in Appstore for Android (See Top 100 Free in Appstore for Android)
  • #2 in Appstore for Android > Music > Artists

Product Features

• Access to millions of songs
• Free Radio - after creating a Spotify account, you can discover music on the go (US users only)
• Listen offline - no Internet connection required (Spotify Premium members only)
• Create and sync playlists across your Spotify devices
• Easily share and discover music with your friends

Technical Details

• Size: 3.5MB
• Version: 0.5.8.27
• Developed By: Spotify (Privacy Policy )
• Application Permissions: (Help me understand what permissions mean)
  • Directly communicate over NFC
  • Read only access to phone state
  • Open network sockets
  • Write to external storage
  • Access information about Wi-Fi networks
  • Access the vibration feature
  • Access information about networks
  • PowerManager WakeLocks to keep processor from sleeping or screen from dimming
  • Modify global audio settings
• Minimum Operating System: Android 2.1
• Approximate Download Time: Less than 30 seconds

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

386 of 458 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars It has (lots of) problems August 9, 2012

By NathanFranke

Amazon Verified Purchase

Issue 1: I'm currently in day two of using Spotify for Kindle. The biggest problem is that while it's playing, the wireless goes out, and I have to keep waking up the kindle's screen to keep everything playing. I don't have this problem with Pandora, on the same wireless network. Fix that, and it's worth two stars. It should just keep playing, without interruption.
--Edit: so this is what everyone else was talking about. Shut down your kindle, and turn it back on and it works fine. The app gets one star back for that, because it's a workaround and not an actual fix. Software should work, period.

Issue 2: Reading the other reviews, it looks like for non-premium users, the only thing available on Kindle is the radio. As has been said, I have Pandora for that. I use Spotify so I can listen to complete albums, or one artist's entire oeuvre. Fix that, and it's worth the other star. Update: Now that the two day premium trial is up, this is a huge problem. It loses two stars for this. I reiterate: for non-premium members, Spotify on Kindle is identical to Pandora, and Pandora has a friendlier interface. It's not worth $120 per year. I can stream Netflix for less.

Issue 3: Last complaint, so far: the Kindle menu button (bottom, center) is app-sensitive for most other apps--it controls various settings in each app. For Spotify, it does nothing. I have to navigate through several screens in Spotify to change the settings. Throw all that in the same place that it is for all other apps, and it'll make me happy.

Updates as further usage requires.

Until they address Issue 2, I'll be using Pandora instead.

Update:
Or so I thought. Now that Pandora has instituted a mobile listening cap (40 hrs per month, are you kidding?!), Spotify gets another try.

My findings re: Spotify Radio:

Issue 1: Editing radio stations: If you can change the name of your radio stations, I haven't figured out how. Also, per the Spotify message boards, there is currently no ability to delete stations. I've already created three stations by mistake (in the mobile app and the desktop client), and there's no way for me to get rid of them. They're "considering giving users that option." Also, Spotify only lets me thumb-down 5 tracks per as-yet-undetermined time period (hour? session? I don't know!). It's hard to fine-tune a radio station when you can't downvote songs you don't want to hear.

Issue 2: Usability: The track and artist names are really hard to read as well (Zone III gray over Zone 0 black), and the music still cuts out after every song. For as long as this app has been available, the fact that that still happens is absolutely terrible. There is no smooth playback--I have to keep waking up my kindle to get the tunes rolling. It loses another star just for that. It's beyond frustrating.

On the plus side, Spotify's radio offers more variation in songs by the same artist--as in, it played more stuff off the CDs than just the singles. That's a really good thing--Pandora can be very repetitive. I noticed far fewer ads as compared to Pandora, as well. But neither of those are worth the other frustrations.

All in all, using the spotify app has me seriously considering paying $3.99 per month to get Pandora One. I'll still use the desktop version of Spotify for its ability to listen to whole albums, but I'm going to try and forget the kindle app exists.

219 of 267 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Works Perfect After Restart August 5, 2012

By SNewman

Amazon Verified Purchase

Try restarting your Kindle Fire if not opening. Initially the app would not open on my Kindle Fire. I installed the app and attempted to launch several times with only a blank screen popping up that eventually I had to use the Home icon to navigate away from. I restarted my Kindle and it works great.

I can use the app in the background while reading, checking the news, or surfing the web. Very cool.

167 of 212 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Needs an Update .... August 10, 2012

By therealjasonb

Amazon Verified Purchase

As others have said, until this gets an update, it's not much use. (Just so we're clear, I'm talking about the premium version, not the free radio one. If you only want radio, Pandora is much better.)

Two problems:

- Again, as others have said, it cuts out a lot to the point of being completely unusable. Not sure why, but if it plays 4 or 5 songs in a row without turning off, I feel like I got lucky. I have Pandora and that never happens, so I'm assuming it's something with the app or the Kindle going to sleep or something. (Although on the settings it does say Spotify is supposed to keep it from sleeping, but who knows if that actually works.)

- Not a technical complaint, but it only displays one way: portrait, not landscape, with the audio plug and power button on the bottom. (Nice design Amazon, FYI.)This means there's no way to set it down and have it display normally. I'd prefer to turn it on it's side and use the cover flap to hold it up, but the screen won't rotate so you have to turn your head sideways to read what songs you want to play. Every 10 minutes or so, since that's about how often it cuts out.

Besides that, it works great!