Android users: Rhapsody beta starts next week, signups start now

If you're an Android phone owner who loves music you're about to enjoy a second Christmas! Rhapsody, the streaming music service from RealNetworks, will have a beta version of its Android app out next week. The catch is that it's a closed beta, so you'll need to head over to Rhapsody's Facebook page to get your spot. You don't have to be a current Rhapsody subscriber to sign up: the app comes with a 7-day trial.

For $15 a month -- that's unlimited plays on your PC and mobile device -- Rhapsody's library of over 8 million songs should tide Americans and Canadians over until its trendy international competitor, Spotify, hits their side of the Atlantic. Rhapsody's subscriber base was growing fast at the end of 2008, but the service actually lost 50,000 subscribers in the latter half of '09. Maybe new Android business -- and the Nexus One! -- will pick that number back up. Rhapsody has already been on the iPhone for some time, but streaming music is an even more important proposition for Android users, with less storage space and no iTunes Music Store.

[via AppScout]

Tags: android, mobile, music, real, rhapsody, streaming, subscription