My recent Top 10 Cell Phone Applications post may be in line for some re-ordering. It seems there’s a new app that’s in beta right now called NuTsie which allows you to stream your iTunes music over your phone. NuTsie (which is an anagram of iTunes) allows you to listen to your iTunes collection by adding a small java based application onto your phone and completing a registration process which includes uploading your iTunes library to your phone. No, you don’t have to upload your songs, that’s a lot of data, instead iTunes has the ability to export your library list (in XML format) that you can then upload to NuTsie. They have most songs already on their servers and this process allows you to access the songs you already “own”, based upon the library list, through a stream over your phone. Its actually a lot easier to get started than it sounds and I found myself listening to music on my Sony Ericsson w810i in about 5 minutes. Be sure you have an unlimited data plan though or this could get expensive.
So how do they get away with this without the RIAA coming after them? My guess, is in the way they distribute the music. Similar to streaming internet radio companies like Pandora or last.fm, they don’t give total control over the music to the users. You can upload your iTunes playlists and songs but the order is determined by NuTsie. If you’re used to streaming internet radio, this is no big deal.
I gotta say, I was really impressed and so far I love it but there are a few downsides to consider before you rush over to the website and sign up. First, it’s still in beta, which means there are occasional bugs and while it’s free for now, there may be a charge once it goes “live.” Also, at the time of writing this post, I wasn’t able to access the site, or run the application on my phone. Seems the secret is out. Finally, I believe they have a pretty large library of music but don’t expect that every song you own will be part of their library. That means if you have it on iTunes and they don’t, you still won’t be able to listen to it.
Now, for those geeks out there I ask, what happens if I add to my XML library file before uploading it….interesting? 