Napster is officially on the prowl – their prey: iTunes.
The once rebel cat turned corporate announced recently that a new MP3 feature will be added to their site. What’s this mean? It means that songs downloaded via Napster can now be played on your iPod.
“We expect a massive migration of iTunes users to Napster,” said Christopher Allen, Napster’s chief operating officer.
It’s nice that Napster has finally realized the magnitude, and staying power of the iPod, but in all honesty, is anyone going to convert?
Compare:

Look and feel:
Napster:
The site looks clean, and is easy to use. You won’t be able to see how much a song/album costs without subscribing first. But you will be able to preview songs, much in the same way iTunes does.

iTunes:
It’s on par with Napster, as far as function goes. In order to even view the iTunes store (music, movies, podcasts, television show, etc) you’ll need to download the iTunes program.

Cost:
Napster:
Song: $0.99
Album: $9.95
*Site doesn’t tell you individual sales without subscribing first.

iTunes:
Song: $0.99
Album: $9.99
*Variance within sales: I’ve seen albums go for as little as $3.49 (Fergie), or as much as $11.99 (Usher).

Compatibility:
Napster:
Website can’t run on Safari.

ITunes:
Available on all computers

Size:
ITunes:
Currently the number one music retailer (as of January 2008). It currently holds dominance over 19% of the music retail market.

Napster
Not ranked in the top ten. Hold less than 1% of music sales.

As far as I can tell there is really no benefit to using Napster over iTunes. To be fair, there’s really no disadvantage to using Napster over iTunes. Still for those that have gotten used to using iTunes (which is most people) there simply is no reason to switch. So good luck Napster, but I don’t think got a chance. Don’t let the kitty-cat door hit you on the way out.