Reality finally caught up with PR (lol) and Rhapsody is now shown prominently on the Tableteer page.

Installation directly from Tableteer was flawless (I am still running 51-6 OS) using .install. Once launched, the app asked if I wanted to try the 30 trial or use an existing account-- I have no current account and naturally chose the former to see if I even like the service.

The interface is simple and effective. In seconds I was searching for and streaming songs. Streaming was smooth and hiccup-free unless I was using the Search feature while playing songs, and even those interruptions were brief. Sound is very clear, and the volume is adequate for my needs (I prefer not using headphones if I can).

I found tons of my favorites from artists like Poco, .38 Special and Dan Fogelberg. However, the pickings from Bob Seger were disappointedly lean, and there was nothing (!!!) at all in the Eagles folders. So content appears to be a mixed bag. Hopefully, Nokia's own music acquisitions will rectify this in the future-- perhaps cross-licensing with RealNetworks can be arranged.

Playback tools are hidden at first, and presented the only puzzle to me vis-a-vis the interface. However, an experimental click on the vertical "Now Playing" bar (ha! button) slid the screen over to reveal the usual player controls-- including a voting feature and song details similar to that found on iTunes (which I currently use on the PC).

I have to admit I'm excited by this advent, something I know a lot of others here were waiting for. The main drawback for many N800 owners is that this is US only-- however, I'm sure that other regions will eventually be represented.

One poster mentioned (in News forum here) the fact that cost was not mentioned in the PR. This is true, but I went into this assuming, based on ad hoc info and experience with iTunes, that there would be fees involved with a full account. I intend to look into this of course to see if it's worth it to me to continue this service after the 30-day trial expires.

All in all: nice work, Nokia and Real! 9 stars out of 10.