http://www.spotify.com/en/mobile/overview/install-for-android/

Clearly this is aimed at the Finish owners of Android handsets where there is no Android Market.

The downsides of this ad hoc distribution is that an application could potentially be malicious and just alter the users dialler to re route calls through a premium number, (similar things happened back in the days of dialup with peoples machines getting compromised by malware)

However the pros for the consumer and third party developer are much like the internet and that seems to manage quite well despite the threat off malicious software getting installed on an end users device

iPhone Video

Android Video

One thing that strikes me as a little odd though is the amount of coverage this application is getting, if I want a DRM music solution for a mobile phone there is another option, Nokia comes with Music which wont cost £120 a year…..

Maybe the catalogue is much better on Spotify this is obviously enough of a draw, I have been pleased with Spotify and even paid for a few day passes, so would be tempted to purchase a subscription to utilize this on my G1 if it had a standard headphone socket (I seem to consume ear buds in my sleep) or if the iPhone if it could play in the background, as the times I am listening to music on my iPhone is usually on the train when I like to clear email etc.
Maybe this has all come down to clever marketing on the part of Spotify compared to a seemingly more complex solution even though it is easier Comes With Music solution

Sonys Walkman phones would be a seemingly obvious addition as well going back to one of my earlier posts!