MUMBAI: With music streaming getting popular to fight off piracy, there are many streaming apps making headway into the market. The latest entrant is Bharti Airtel's Wynk which is making news for being downloaded by more than 1 lakh users within four days of its launch.

After using it for a few days, I realised why it is better than any other music streaming app available in the Indian market right now. With over 1.7 million Indian and international songs, Wynk's catalogue is very impressive. It contains music of different regional languages as well, like, Bengali, Tamil, Punjabi, Kannada and Telugu. Its English music library includes latest popular tracks like 'Anaconda' and 'Bang Bang' by Nicki Minaj, 'Stay With Me' by Sam Smith, 'Summer' by Calvin Harris, 'Fancy' by Iggy Azalea, 'All of Me' by John Legend and many more.

The navigation in the app is extremely fluid and even though it lacks appeal and vibrancy in its overall look, it makes up with its easy to use interface. The UI is simple and not at all cluttered. The app takes up only over five megabites of space and does not lag or crash, unlike other apps. Plus, its UI can also be switched to Hindi. Although it is not available in the web version, it is accessible through Android and iOS systems, which is more than enough for most people.

Undoubtedly, the most attractive feature of the application Wynk is its low subscription costs and no advertisements popping up on the screen. It has two types of subscription plans – Wynk Plus and Wynk Freedom. With Wynk Plus subscription, the user is expected to pay only a sum of Rs. 99 per month (Android) and Rs. 60 (for iOS) for unlimited download. Wynk Freedom, which is only for Airtel network users, allows them to subscribe for a Rs. 129 for unlimited download without any data charges. Currently, as an introductory offer, the Airtel users can subscribe it for a measly sum of Rs. 29. In both the options, the first month is absolutely free. If the user does not wish to subscribe, they can stream 100 songs every month for free.

It also has curated playlists which are categorised according to genres, as well as, popularity. Its 'Radio' feature allows users to select the kind of music they would like to listen to. It offers a range of options like Bollywood, pop, rock, classic rock, classical, metal, and others. Besides, on its home page, it has a list of the latest releases and most popular tracks arranged in a systematic order. It also shows the most popular tracks on YouTube and has customised recommendations. In addition, the app also allows users to select songs and set them as their caller-tunes.

Besides, Wynk has one more option of 'My Journey', where users can track all the music that they have streamed, liked or downloaded. It makes it easier for the users to go back and pin down songs and playlists.

The major downside of the app is that it only allows download of songs at 128kbps unlike other apps that offer 320kbps. But, an ad free and easy to use app with a vast catalogue definitely wins over the others that the market currently has to offer.