By TODD BISHOP - RealNetworks introduced a new version of its Rhapsody music service Thursday that aims to fend off Microsoft's Zune and loosen Apple Computer's grip on the portable music market by integrating more tightly with devices from other companies.

And in a related deal that could expand the reach of the RealNetworks service, retailer Best Buy said it will use the new version, Rhapsody 4.0, as the basis for its own online music store, scheduled to debut later this month.
RealNetworks also gave new details of the SanDisk Sansa devices to come with underlying technology designed to work automatically with Rhapsody features.

Among other things, users will be able to indicate preferences on the device to influence the songs that get loaded the next time it connects to a PC.

"The point is creating an end-to-end music experience" that can be accessed through a variety of devices, said Ben Rotholtz, general manager of Rhapsody Web services and syndication.

The moves by Seattle-based RealNetworks come amid big changes in the portable music market. The field is dominated by Apple's iPod portable music player, tightly connected with the company's iTunes Music Store.

Microsoft is preparing to launch its Zune portable media player and related music service next month. The Zune initiative, designed to provide an end-to-end solution on its own, diverges from the company's previous strategy of taking on the iPod by making different music devices work with music stores and services from various companies.

The Redmond company says it isn't abandoning that earlier approach, known as PlaysForSure. But industry analysts say Zune's incompatibility with the Microsoft partner services doesn't bode well for the PlaysForSure program in the long run.

RealNetworks has been one of the companies taking part in PlaysForSure, and the Rhapsody service continues to support it. But after Microsoft announced the Zune initiative, RealNetworks Chief Executive Rob Glaser vowed to show that the company could succeed by getting its music service to work on an advanced level with devices from various companies.

Rhapsody already works in a basic way with a variety of devices through the PlaysForSure initiative, but the advanced integration between the service and devices requires underlying technology known as Rhapsody DNA.

SanDisk was the first portable device maker to agree to use the technology, in a deal announced last month. RealNetworks announced no further agreements with device makers Thursday. One key for RealNetworks will be expanding beyond the SanDisk deal, said David Card, a senior analyst with Jupiter Research in New York.

"They'd have to get real support from the device manufacturers" to pull it off, Card said.

In that regard, Microsoft might have made things easier for RealNetworks by going off on its own with Zune, potentially leaving PlaysForSure device makers feeling jilted. However, Card said, there's also the potential for other music services to try to create closed systems of their own.

Last month, for example, Samsung Electronics announced plans for a new line of portable media players and a related Samsung music service in Europe, in partnership with MusicNet. And cell-phone maker Nokia has moved further into digital music with its purchase of Seattle-based Loudeye.

The Rhapsody service differs from Apple's iTunes Music Store by offering a subscription option that gives unlimited access to songs on a computer for $10 a month, or $15 a month with the ability to transfer songs to a portable player. Rhapsody is the market leader in that area. It also sells individual music and album downloads.

Source: seattlepi.nwsource.com