Nokia unveils Nokia Music Store, its iTunes rivalling digital music store
As predicted, Nokia announced its digital music store this morning, at its Go Play event in London. The new store is called Nokia Music Store, and it will launch by Christmas in Europe.
Nokia claimed that it’s the first music store to be truly online and mobile, although all the mobile operators offering their own dual-download stores might disagree strongly. However, the store will sell DRM-protected tracks, against the industry trend towards selling DRM-free tunes.
You’ll be able to tag songs on your phone, for download via PC when you get home, which will get around data charges. And later on, Nokia plans to launch a new PC music client (i.e. a rival to the actual iTunes app, as opposed to the iTunes Store), although this won’t be available at the launch of the Nokia Music Store.
Pricing? They showed an Amy Winehouse track on screen costing £0.80, but I’m not sure if that’s across the board, or an example of variable pricing.
Check our liveblog for more from this morning’s event, including the new N81 8GB music phone, and Nokia’s partnership with Philips, JBL and Altec Lansing to make music accessories.
