Spotify launches new app for Apple's iPad

Spotify has released its long-anticipated iPad app, allowing users to access the hit Swedish digital music service via an interface tailored to Apple's popular tablet computer.

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"We've put a lot of time into building this app. The iPad is special and we wanted to make sure we built something special," Gustav Söderström, Chief Product Officer at Spotify, told the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper in conjunction with a press conference in Stockholm announcing the new app's release.

Ever since the iPad was first released two years ago, Spotify users have inquired as to when the company would develop an app specifically designed for the iPad.

While iPad-toting Spotify users have been able to access the service on Apple's popular tablet computer through an app designed for the iPhone, the experience left users wanting something developed specifically for utilizing the iPad's larger screen.

According to Söderström, Spotify developers have also taken into account how people use the iPad in different ways than their iPhones.

"We see a different user scenario than for the iPhone and we've adapted the user interface to that. It's more about sitting in the sofa with a wireless connection and discovering new music from the large music catalogue," he told SvD.

The new Spotify iPad app will be available for download from the iTunes store on Wednesday and features a new browsing interface as well as the ability to search for playlists, users and music all from the same view.

The app also allows Spotify to integrate with AirPlay, Apple's own wireless audio and video streaming service.

"Spotify and your iPad are perfect for each other, both as your pumped-up living room stereo and your lean, green music machine when you’re on the move," the Swedish digital music service said in a statement.

As with the iPhone app, users will need to subscribe Spotify's premium service in order to use their iPad to access the nearly 18 million song titles in Spotify's catalogue.

However, Spotify is also offering a 30-day free trial of Spotify Premium in order test the new iPad app.

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