Napster, known mostly as a struggling subscription service, has launched an MP3 download store. According to the press release, the Napster store has 50% more tracks than any other MP3 store and comes in at over six million songs.

First impressions are important, and the web version of the store -- which is available to non-subscribers -- did not make a good first impression during my visit. I am not a Napster subscriber and did not install the Napster software application on my computer to test the better version.

The web version, which one assumes is supposed to poach customers from other download stores, does nothing to indicate MP3 shoppers will leave their current store of choice. It is light years behind iTunes and Amazon.com's MP3 store. The mere existence of MP3 files and a wider breadth of catalog do not make up for the disappointing quality of the actual store.

The layout is plain and sparse. No information is given on the artist or album, and there are no customer reviews. The recommendation function is hit and miss. Results for albums by George Straight and Billy Bragg were solid, but following the "other members like" link at the page for Janet Jackson's new album resulted in a list with two completely unrelated bands (Pinback and the Maxwell Implosion) and over a dozen unknown artists currently residing at the farthest reaches of the long tail. Album prices are visible only if the cursor rolls over the album button and track prices are not listed next to the song titles. Since the press release says "most albums" are priced at $9.95, it would be helpful to have the album's price in clear view. (Single tracks are priced at $0.99.)

The Napster web version is compatible with Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers for Windows and the Firefox browser for Mac computers. Tracks are encoded at a 256Kbps bitrate.