Breaking: Spotify App Goes Live on iPhone and Android

Streaming music service Spotify has launched on the iPhone and Android devices for its premium subscribers only. You can download it from Apple’s App Store here and the Android Market. Though plans to launch there are in play, the service is not yet live in the US, and it has already taken several European markets by storm. This iPhone app is basically identical to the leaked beta we reviewed in detail.

The mobile apps will allow you to play the entire Spotify catalogue and the ‘offline mode’ caches playlists so they can be played… when you are offline, like on a plane. Spotify has set up a special mobile section with more details.

The launch of this mobile version now fires the starting gun on their US launch plans. A large number of record labels have actually invested in the Swedish-born, London-based startup, which is now valued at €170 million, or about $242 million, with a post money valuation of around €200 million.

This is the first time Spotify has gone mobile with its service and it’s sure to cause a lot of interest. Spotify really is unlike pretty much any streaming service you’ve tried before, mainly because tracks start to play almost instantly due to the P2P technology employed. On a mobile the effect is impressive. See the video below.

Though on the face of it Spotify appears to compete with iTunes,in reality, as we predicted, Apple appears to be relaxed about the service, presumably so long as the mobile app remains tied to premium subscribers. Oh, and Mark Zuckerburg loves it.