HELSINKI, Finland:
Nokia Corp. said Tuesday that Warner Music Group has joined the mobile
phone maker's music service, enabling customers to download and listen
to tracks on Nokia handsets.
Nokia users will be able to access millions of tracks from major
artists worldwide at Nokia's music stores or through the company's
Comes With Music program, expected to be launched later this year.
In April, Nokia announced that Sony BMG had joined the music service, and in 2007 it signed up Universal Music Group.
The world's top handset maker is increasingly turning to providing
Internet services for its mobile customers. It estimates the global
online market will reach €100 billion (US$160 billion) by 2010.
Last year, the Finland-based company unveiled new Web-based services
and gadgets to help customers download music and play games on handsets
— part of a strong push to challenge rivals, including Apple's iTunes
and iPod.
Warner Music Group's Chief Executive Edgar Bronfman Jr.
described Nokia's music service as "a significant step forward in the
evolution of digital music."
"It's the first global initiative to fundamentally align the
interests of music companies with telecommunications companies,"
Bronfman said.
In 2007, Nokia sold nearly 440 million handsets, accounting for 40
percent of all global cell phone sales. It is based in Espoo near the
Finnish capital and employs 116,000 people worldwide.
From : http://www.iht.com/
