For heavy music listeners and explorers of new tunes, subscription-based music services make a lot sense on a mobile device. Instead of being bound to your phone's limited storage, you have access to millions of songs for a single monthly fee.

That's why I picked RealNetworks' Rhapsody (and its competitor Spotify, which isn't yet available in the United States) on the Apple iPhone as one of my five most welcome products of 2009.

Now owners of a Motorola Droid, an HTC Nexus One, or any other phone running Google's mobile operating system will be able to get the same experience, as Rhapsody is coming to Android.

Announced on Rhapsody's blog Tuesday, Rhapsody for Android is in beta testing right now, and it will work the same way as the iPhone version--$14.99 a month for unlimited streams from the company's library of 8 million songs.

Nonsubscribers can try the service free of charge for seven days. To sign up to participate in the beta test, visit Rhapsody's Facebook page and shoot it a message.

Originally posted at Digital Noise: Music and Tech

Skype is embedding its service on a bevy of HDTVs, the company said Tuesday, adding that it is supporting high-definition video calls in the 720p HD format on PCs.

With the moves, the free online phone service is aiming to make video conferencing something that can be conducted from the living room while making high-definition connections mainstream.

Skype said its latest Windows version can deliver HD calls as long as people have an HD Webcam and a chip running at least 1.8GHz. The HD Webcams are expected to be unveiled at CES for early 2010 arrival.

More interesting is Skype's distribution move to embed its service on Internet-connected HDTVs from Panasonic and LG Electronics.

Read more of Skype goes living room, embeds on LG, Panasonic HDTVs at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

Originally posted at 2010 CES