omnifone

Omnifone rolls out music service for broadband

U.K. music provider Omnifone, which offers unlimited music downloads to cell phone users, on Monday extended its reach to the broadband arena.

A new service called MusicStation Next Generation will let European consumers stream songs and music videos to their computers and television set-top boxes.

Omnifone is teaming with Internet service providers and cable companies to provide the service, but it did not yet name those partners. It did say it is in talks with satellite provider British Sky Broadcasting.

At a time when ISPs and cable providers are under increasing pressure to eradicate piracy over their networks, Omnifone … Read more

Sony Ericsson ready to challenge Nokia's 'Comes with Music'

Mobile phone company Sony Ericsson is expected to launch a music service within the next week designed to compete with Nokia's "Comes with Music" offering, according to recording-industry sources.

The Sony Ericsson service is being launched in partnership with British firm Omnifone, which provides unlimited music downloads to mobile service providers, according to the sources, who added that all four major recording companies have signed on.

The sources said Omnifone's MusicStation is expected to power the service, which may include a music-subscription model. A representative from Omnifone was not immediately available. And a spokesman for Sony … Read more

Unlimited music iPods: Acknowledging reality

Just like Apple launched a video iPod after Steve Jobs dismissed the idea of a portable video device, the company is now reportedly considering new business models for selling music, including subscriptions, despite Jobs' assertion that downloads make more sense.

According to a report in the Financial Times, Apple is talking with the major labels about letting consumers pay a premium for new iPods, then receive the right to download and listen to as much music as they want for a certain time period, along with the right to keep 40 to 50 songs permanently. Negotiations are apparently underway to … Read more

Unlimited free downloads on new phones

Yesterday, U.K. music download provider Omnifone announced a forthcoming program, MusicStation Max, that will offer cell phone buyers unlimited free music downloads. Of course, "free" is never free, and in this case, Omnifone is enlisting handset makers to subsidize the estimated cost of the downloads and pass that cost along to you in the form of a higher up-front price for the phone. So far, LG Electronics is the first cell phone maker to sign up for participation in the program. No confirmation yet on carrier partners, but the service builds on Omnifone's existing MusicStation subscription-based … Read more