Qriosity details

GIMME A “Q”: Here are the nuts and bolts on Sony’s new sub service (see 2/17 tech story), which launched Thursday in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity," as it’s been problematically dubbed, is a cloud-based service offering around 6 million tracks from all of the Big Four, plus numerous indies. U.S. consumers will pay $3.99 per month for a basic service that includes an ad-free radio station and the ability to listen to dozens of personalized channels. The $9.99 per month premium tier opens up the entire catalog on demand, enabling the subscriber to create personal playlists and access premium-tier radio channels updated regularly "with the latest hits." Users can synchronize Qriocity with existing music files and playlists from iTunes and other media players. The service also studies users' listening habits, incorporating like/dislike song ratings to tailor what songs are played on their streaming music channels. Qriosity is compatible with Internet-connected Sony devices, and will be made available for Android-based mobile devices as well. Hate the spelling, but this concept is clearly better thought-out than Sony Connect. (2/18a)