Preloaded Sony Ericssons to challenge Nokia

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Preloaded Sony Ericssons to challenge Nokia

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By Editorial Team (Wednesday, 24th September 2008)

Nokia's dominance of the music mobile phone market is set to be tested by the release of the Sony Ericsson PlayNow plus music download service.

The Finnish firm currently offers some of its subscribers the opportunity to acquire as much music as they like but Sony Ericsson is now unleashing its first mobile phone to feature its integrated PlayNow plus service, reports Cellular News.

Its new handset, the W902, will come with up to 1,000 preloaded songs which have been popular both locally and globally.

Those who purchase one of the new mobile phones or are signed up to the manufacturers new service will be able to download as many songs as they like.

There will be millions to choose from with the package and subscribers will be able to recommend songs to others who are signed up.

Music labels such as EMI, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music are signed up as well as a number of smaller local labels.

PlayNow has already been running for one month in Scandinavian countries but is set to open in the UK, Netherlands and other European nations in the fourth quarter of this year.

Rikko Sakaguchi, senior vice president and head of creation and development at Sony Ericsson, commented: "Expanding our PlayNow service portfolio by adding PlayNow plus and by launching PlayNow arena in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and the UK during the fourth quarter, are key elements of the Sony Ericsson service strategy."

He added that the deals made with major music labels would allow the firm to offer consumers an "unparalleled user experience" on Sony Ericsson phones.

Those who prefer a Nokia may wish to opt for the 5300 XPressMusic phone, which features a 1GB microSD card and a two-inch screen.