Ben Reid
19 Sep 2006 15:36
Cellphone manufacturer Sony Ericsson on Tuesday became the latest in a long line of companies to enter the digital music download market by announcing its new offering, M-BUZZ. The main goal of the new service is to promote fresh and up-and-coming artists.
Two phones will initially offer the service, the W850 and W950 Walkman handsets which were announced earlier this year. Both phones will debut European, Asian and Latin American markets later this year, however, the the new service will not be available to North American consumers - at least not to begin with.
"Today's announcement is another great example of the cooperative spirit that exists between Sony Ericsson and other Sony Group companies, which gives us a unique opportunity to bring appealing, innovative content to our mobile phones," said Miles Flint, president of Sony Ericsson.
The offering is a development of the company's PlayNow service, which previously allowed customers to sample and purchase ringtones using their handsets.
Material available through the new service is set to include music videos, songs, biographies, tour schedules, as well as other content.
M-BUZZ, which is expected to go live October 2, may eventually expand to offer a more commercialized library, however, it is not in Sony Ericsson's immediate plans.
Source:
Betanews