News
Sony Ericsson offers unlimited music downloads
Stuart O'Brien Sep 24 2008, 9:52am
Omnifone-powered PlayNow plus service will roll out with Telenor in Q4 and elsewhere in early-2009.
Sony Ericsson has unveiled the latest evolution of its mobile content store in the form of PlayNow plus, an unlimited music download service launching with Swedish operator Telenor in Q4.
A special edition of the W902 Walkman phone will be the first product released with integrated PlayNow plus software, which has been built for Sony Ericsson by mobile music specialist Omnifone.
Pricing details for the all you can eat offer are not yet known, but Sony Ericsson says customers "will keep a number of tracks-DRM-free-from their most played favourites".
It's certainly a busy time for mobile music right now, with Nokia set to confirm more details of its Comes With Music initiative next week.
Meanwhile, Sony Ericsson has confirmed it is expanding its 'vanilla' PlayNow Arena music and content store will be launched in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland in the fourth quarter this year.
It originally opened in the Nordic region only on August 25th, offering over a million DRM-free tracks on a pay-per-download basis. Significantly, Universal Music Group has jumped on board for the expansion, meaning PlayNow Arena offers music from all the major labels.
Rikko Sakaguchi, SVP and head of creation & development at Sony Ericsson, said: "Expanding our PlayNow service portfolio by adding PlayNow Plus and by launching PlayNow Arena are key elements of the Sony Ericsson service strategy. These steps and the addition of Universal's catalogue to the music offering in both services gives us every possibility to provide customers and consumers with what we feel is important and requested - an unparalleled user experience on Sony Ericsson devices."
