Real has now released Rhapsody 4.0. Rhapsody is an online music store similar to iTunes store, but doesn’t have a specific player bound to it. Although, SanDisk has implemented support for Rhapsody in its latest series of players and the idea is that more and more will join to make the service compatible with as many players as possible. With the new version Real introduces its own DRM protection Helix. Earlier it has used Microsoft’s DRM, which means that yet another kind of protected media has found its way onto the market, something we’re not quite as happy about as the service itself.
The new version makes it possible to download music directly onto the players, without the use of a PC. Real has also teamed up with electronics chain Best Buy to be able to compete better with Apple and its iTunes. We welcome the increased competion on this heavily dominated iTunes market, but would be glad if they could decide for a single united format and not a format each.
