Don’t know what Napster is? Don’t worry – it’s changed a lot since it’s inception and their plans and pricing have also just been revamped for 2011. Here are the quick facts about Napster.

About Napster

Napster is a website which allows users to legally purchase and download music. As of 2011, Napster gives users two different options for purchasing and/or streaming music files.

What is Napster Light?

Napster Light is the name of Napster’s online music store. Napster users do not have to subscribe to the “Light” service, it is simply an online store similar to iTunes or Amazon.

With Napster Light, you simply shop for the tracks you want and download those songs individually, paying a fee on a per-song basis.

Songs downloaded with Napster Light can be played on users’ computers, burned to CD or transferred to an iPod, iPhone, iPad or mp3 player.

What is the Napster Subscription Service?

The Napster subscription service currently takes 3 forms (Napster To Go is now only available with the purchase of a Napster To Go device – see “What happened to Napster To Go?“)

All Napster subscriptions allow users to download music to keep, plus stream unlimited songs from Napster’s impressive 11 Million+ catalogue. Music streamed from Napster can be played on computers, internet-connected TVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, and home network music players.

What is Napster Plus Mobile Access?

This is Napster’s top subscription plan. Users of this plan can do everything that the standard subscription offers plus have the option of streaming music directly through a portable device. This plan is perfect for “on the go” users and provides access to unlimited songs directly through an iPhone^®, iPod Touch^®, iPad^®, Android^™, or BlackBerry^™ device.

To make Napster work with the iPod and iPhone you will need the Napster iPhone application available from the App Store. After you’ve downloaded the Napster App you can stream unlimited tracks from their database of over 11 millions songs directly on your iPod, iPhone or iPad.

You will need to have a subscription to the Napster Plus Mobile Streaming plan and you’ll be good to go.

This text is taken from the Napster Website (2011):

Napster Plus Mobile Streaming

• Enjoy Napster on iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad
• Listen instantly to your choice of over 12 million songs – anytime, anywhere
• No need to purchase, download, or sync your music
• Save songs, albums, and playlists for when you’re not connected

Learn more at the Napster Website.

The Napster To Go subscription is no longer available as an option to new customers. The new package of choice is called Napster Plus Mobile. The Napster To Go service is still available through “in-box” promotional offers bundled with some Napster To Go devices.

This information was correct at time of publishing. To check if anything has changed since the publishing of this question/answer visit the official Napster Website

The new service provides unlimited access to streaming full-length albums and songs on iPhone®, iPod Touch®, iPad®, and Android™ (and soon Blackberry!) devices, and also allows you to save music to your mobile device for offline play back.

Napster’s new subscription service is not compatible with Napster To Go or “Plays For Sure” portable MP3 devices.

If you have subscribed to Napster To Go in the past and would like to re-subscribe, you are able to do so by contacting Napster Customer Support. Napster say…

In your email, please indicate your desire to resubscribe as a Napster To Go member and give your authorization to charge your payment method on file the first month’s subscription fee of $14.95 which will automatically renew every month until you decide to cancel. We’ll process your request as soon as possible and send you a confirmation by email once done.

To find out more about the current subscriptions available, please take a look at our Napster Subscription page or visit the official Napster website.