Not Another Mobile Phone Blog

Music phones have always been Nokia’s forte but this time Nokia Beta Labs has come up with a music application for mobile phones. The Nokia Music PC client, is a music application that sits on your PC/Notebook and lets you play, organize your music on your mobile phone. The application also helps you in browsing music and downloading it so that it can be sent to your mobile phone. You can get soundtrack from Nokia music and burn your CDs apart from that creating and sharing playlists using this application is very easy. This application is compatible with, Nokia N95, N95 8GB, N82, 5610 XpressMusic, N81. More handsets are supposed to be added to this list. This application seems to be simple and more like the iTunes application from Apple. If you don’t know, many people who have an iPod hate to use iTunes as they find it irritating, there are lot of other application available in the market that can do the work what iTunes does, hope Nokia Beta Labs has taken these points into consideration for this Nokia Music PC Client Beta release. Anyways, Nokia Music PC Client can be downloaded here

[Via: Nokia Beta Labs]

Nokia's Comes With Music initiative will be launched this year and as I have told you earlier EMI and Universal Music are the two music labels, who have joined hands with Nokia on this initiative. Recently Sony BMG has also joined hands with Nokia for Come With Music. Now if you are not aware how this works then I will tell you, anyperson who buys a Nokia phone that is compatible with Comes With Music, he or she will get a free subscription of music from the recently launched Nokia Music Store. The subscription will last for one year and can be renewed. The tracks which you have downloaded fro free will not be deactivated you can use them for as long as you want and also share them with anyone. I am waiting for the launch, which is sometime slated to be in the later half of 2008. Many big music labels have already joined this initiative from Nokia, this will give strong foot hold to Nokia when the Comes With Music thing is launched and music lable companies will also make some money as their music will be listened, purchased by people using the world's largets selling handset.

EMI the big music label company has said that they have no problem in joining hands with Nokia’s Comes with Music service. Nokia launched this service, which is also a part of Nokia’s Next Episode in Entertainment. Nokia wants its customers to pay extra money for their mobile phones and these mobile phone will come with unlimited downloads of any songs that are listed in the Comes With Music Library. Consumers can make use of this for 1 year, this really is a crappy initiative by Nokia, why will anybody pay extra money for songs and that also when they can retain them just for one year, instead, people will download hundreds of songs that are available for free on the Internet and can keep them for lifetime.

From last 1 year Nokia is associating itself with Internet and entertainment. I think as a part of its Next Episode in Entertainment, Nokia is planning to start a music TV show on some US channel. The Show is called Nokia Green Room. Exclusive tracks that are available on Nokia mobile handsets and Nokia Music Store will be showcased in this show. The show ill also have some live performances and Nokia is planning to run this show for as long as three months. Now this is really smart on Nokia’s part, they just want to be associated itself with everything that has to do with entertainment and in today’s world TV shows are the best way to entertain people.

Since 2007, Nokia is emphasizing on the Entertainment factor linked with mobile handsets. The company has successfully portrayed itself as a mobile handset player with focus on everything that is related to entertainment i.e. music, Internet, gaming and imaging. Yesterday Nokia sent out a Press Release announcing that it has become the official sponsor of the Grammy Awards, connecting the company once again with the biggest even in the music industry. The wards will be held on Feb 10 in the City of Angels, Los Angeles. Grammy award winning music will be available for download through Nokia Music Stores worldwide. The Grammies are supposed to be Best in entertainment and that is what Nokia wants itself to be looked at, The Best in entertainment!!!

Sony Ericsson is going the Nokia way when it comes to Music. Remember PlayNow Arena, the service started by Sony Ericsson where you can buy music tracks. Now, Sony Ericsson has added one more feather to its Music Cap; they have entered into deals with Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, The Orchard, IODA, The PocketGroup, Hungama, X5 Music, Bonnier Amigo and VidZone. They are also planning to enter into deals with regional record label producers.



Sony Ericsson has added 5 million Tracks to the PlayNow Arena. The company also did some revamping of the PlayNow site and is encouraging amateur and developing artists. Sony Ericsson has launched the PlayNow Uncut for such people, so that the world can hear them and appreciate their talents.
Sony Ericsson is planning to showcase its PlayNow Arena at Midem 2008 in Cannes, France. It seems that Sony Ericsson has realized the importance of functionalities like Music and imaging and is making a serious effort to counter rivals like Nokia who are reigning in the Mobile Music space. I am sure Nokia will be ready with its own strategy to counter Sony Ericsson’s PlayNow Arena, but till then Sony Ericsson’s PlayNow is set to garner hell lot of attention from mobile enthusiasts.

[Original SE Press Release]

Nokia is planning its every move so that people recognize Nokia as the company, which is number one in Entertainment (music, imaging & gaming), Internet services, Navigation and Mobile Multimedia handsets. The company’s new web portal Ovi will be launching soon and Nokia plans to combine all its music, gaming and navigation services. Earlier it was perceived from Nokia’s announcements that, they are ready to take anyone who comes in front of them head-on, but now the company has realized that the world of Mobile technology relies on successful symbiotic relationships. Nokia have “Welcomed” Apple and said that Apple can sell its Music through the Ovi Web portal of Nokia. Nokia’s own music store competes with Apple’s iTunes but top brass at Nokia thinks that Apple’s iTunes will certainly enhance Nokia’s web portal Ovi. Now this is really a sensible move by Nokia, Apple iTunes will certainly help Nokia in making its content available to users of both, Nokia Music Store and Apple iTunes…Very Smart!!!

[Image Via: Creative-Media]

Nokia is already trying to strengthen its presence in the Internet services market and now, Nokia India Pvt. Ltd is all set to come up with services like gaming, music downloads and navigation...Read my full entry @ Fone Arena Blog.

To emphasize on its Music Store initiative, Nokia has partnered with The Cloud, the WiFi Gods as the NokNok people call them. As a result, The Cloud will allow free WiFi access to Nokia Music Store Users; users will be able to download tracks when they are near to one of The Cloud’s hotspots. Nokia has already launched the “Comes with Music” program and now this free WiFi downloads of tracks…Apple are you reading this…you have some serious competition.

Remember Nokia's utopian / not-so-free and crippled "free" Comes with Music offering? We've been in contact with Nokia who'd like to clarify the service. According to Nokia, Comes with Music is, "completely independent from the Universal music store." Nokia further distances themselves by stating that, "Universal was simply the first of these to publicly sign on. The fact that there are some similarities shows how the industry is thinking about the future of digital music - but its not a sign of any direct linkage between the offerings." So, now we know what it isn't, but we still don't know exactly what it is. Regardless, anything can happen between now and the launch in "mid 2008" -- an eternity on a digital music evolution timeline. Perhaps the lack of detail is Nokia's way of farming public opinion before the details are announced. Wouldn't be a first.

[Via: Engadegt Mobile]

At the Nokia World Event, which was held on December 4 and 5, Nokia unveiled new accessories for people to jazz up their music collection. Nokia launched the retro looking two new stereo headsets with superb stereo sound, which are comfortable and stylish- meet the Nokia Stereo Headset WH-700 and Nokia Stereo Headset WH-600. These 2 headsets are ergonomically designed and give high quality music output. With its “Comes with Music Program” and these headsets, Nokia made sure that Music remains one of their priorities.

Nokia is now a days focusing on new devices and services, which define the companies vision of being the only player in the mobile handset industry focusing on entertainment, music, imaging and recently internet. Nokia is keen on taking any one head-on, who comes in their way in accomplishing its objectives. No wonder, Nokia has now taken Apple iTunes head-on by teaming up with Universal Music and allowing mobile phone users unlimited free downloads from the largest music company in the world's catalogue. This will certainly create ripples in the mobile music market where currently Apple is the leader with its iTunes. But as this market is till nascent there will be enough place for everyone in coming years.

Today, in the Nokia World Event, Nokia highlighted their vision for the mobile industry in future. They focused on the convergence of mobile handsets and Internet. Nokia said that they are committing themselves to drive these two trends in the mobile handset industry. Nokia has introduced the Comes with Music program in this event; this revolutionary program enables people to buy Nokia handsets with a year of unlimited access to millions of tracks and after the year’s subscription is over, people can happily keep the tracks with themselves. Nokia also highlighted the Ovi service, which is an Internet service environment.

[Image Via: Nokia Press]

I am sure everybody knows Kylie Minogue, the iconic Australian Pop singer who has given 43 Hit Singles in her career of thirty years. She is coming out with a new album titled “X” and guess what it will be the first album, which will be available on the recently launched Nokia music store. The album will be priced at 8 Pounds.
Nokia is leaving no stone unturned in differentiating itself fr0om others when it comes to music and music phones. All Nokia buffs will say this popular Kylie Song for Nokia, “I just can’t get you out of my head, Boy your loving is all I think about.”

Sony Ericsson wants to give its consumers a complete multimedia experience through its PlayNow Arena service, which is an extension of PlayNow, launched by Sony Ericsson in 2004. Now the company is planning to expand their PlayNow proposition into a music download service with access to five million songs by mid of 2008. People can buy these tracks and Sony Ericsson guys have said that they will sell these tracks at competitive prices. The company is in talks with many Music label companies and majority of content will be free of Digital Rights Management. With Nokia launching their Nokia Music Store and Apple going strong with their iTunes store, Sony Ericsson does not want to be left behind.

[Image Via: Sony Ericsson]

When I got my hand on yesterdays Times of India, a popular newspaper in India, I noticed the full length vertical banner advertisement on Nokia, which said, "Nokia N95 8Gb launched in India". So, finally this little monster, which was some time back called as the best smart-phone in AllAboutSymbian's review, has come to India.

Along with the N95, Nokia also launched the N81 8Gb, all fully loaded to give you a complete music experience. With most of the N Series handsets of Nokia doing extremely well in the Indian market, lets see what is in store for these two multimedia babies.

[Image Via: Tech2]

As Nokia is moving more and more into Internet services, it is postponing some important things.

[Via: Reuters]

Nokia's move into Internet operations faced headwinds on Friday, as the cell phone maker postponed the start of its gaming service due to software testing delays, and Warner pulled its songs from Nokia's music shop.

The gaming service and music shop are among the cornerstones of the world's top cell phone maker's big push into mobile Internet services under its new "Ovi" brand.

Nokia unveiled the long-awaited gaming service at a large media event in August, saying then it would be available globally in November.

"N-gage is coming in December. Software testing is taking a bit more time than what we had expected," Kari Tuutti said. "We are talking about a couple of weeks."

Nokia opened its first music store in Britain earlier this week, but Warner Music Group Corp is withholding its content from the site, partly over concerns about illegal downloads at Nokia's file-sharing site Mosh, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition.

"We think we have done a lot to ensure that content owners' rights are not abused," Tuutti said. "We are hoping to reach agreement with Warner."

Nokia is the first handset maker to move strongly into the content space with services like Mosh, where more than 6 million people have downloaded audio or video files, programs or documents.

Tuutti said Nokia's Mosh uses "fingerprint" technology from U.S. firm Audible Magic, which scans and checks the files before they are downloaded to the site. Similar software is used by many other large Internet service providers.

Nokia plans to launch the music store next in Germany, France and Spain.

"There are still more than 2 million titles in the store," Tuutti said, adding that other major labels -- Universal Music Group, EMI and SonyBMG -- were involved, along with numerous independent labels.