As far as the music player interface goes, it differs from phone to phone. At the time of this review, the V Cast Music with Rhapsody service works on as many as 88 phones in Verizon's stable.
As we mentioned, the real impact of the Rhapsody partnership shows up with the desktop PC software. For two years, the V Cast Music software for the PC was a Windows Media Player-based application that was really more like a blown-out version of the cell phone's music store interface. Now, that software is completely taken over by the Rhapsody application. You can find out about the Rhapsody service and get a more in-depth look at the software in our full review of Rhapsody 4. The V Cast Music with Rhapsody edition is identical to it, aside from the logo and the branding.
The clear upside of this arrangement is that for $14.99 a month, you get the V Cast Music plan as well as the Rhapsody To Go plan, which lets you transfer subscription tracks directly to your compatible music phone. (Do note that the Rhapsody To Go plan only lets you authorize up to three devices.) So, not only can you stream unlimited music for a flat monthly fee, you also get to carry those tunes around with you. Plus, you have the advantage of purchasing songs over the air. The one downside is that you can't stream the Rhapsody music directly to your phone, even if the phone has a good EV-DO connection. Aside from that, the V Cast Music with Rhapsody service is certainly ahead of the curve when compared with the other mobile music stores out there.
What You'll Pay
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