We reported last month about the official Rhapsody iPhone app possibly adding the ability to download songs for offline listening. Rhapsody, which is a subscription based service, usually only allowed for subscription holders to stream music via Wi-Fi or 3G. This is obviously a feature that is much requested by Rhapsody/iPhone users, but would presumably be something that would make Rhapsody a direct competitor for Apple’s native iPhone iTunes Store. Either way, it seems that Apple has allowed Rhapsody to implement the download feature in the upcoming 2.0 version of the app.

Here is Rhapsody’s product lead Jon Maples describing the new feature on the Rhapsody blog:

“The 2.0 version of the Rhapsody app lets subscribers download their favorite Rhapsody playlists to their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad so they can listen anytime — even when they’re not connected to the Internet. This means you no longer need a WiFi or even 3G connection to enjoy Rhapsody. Your favorite songs will live on your device, and you can listen to them anywhere: on the subway, on an airplane, even on a submarine.”

When it comes to Rhapsody owners that are early iPad adopters, the iPhone app will work on the iPad, although Rhapsody warms the UI might be “fuzzy or pixilated”. Fortuantely they also stated, “Rhapsody is planning to release an iPad-optimized app later this year when Apple releases multitasking capabilities for the iPhone OS later. That will also allow people to play Rhapsody music in the background while they’re doing other tasks, such as email, gaming, etc.”

[via Rhapsody blog]