If you've been looking for a way to get lots of music, and aren't a fan of iTunes, or don't have an iPhone, then Nokia is about to come to the rescue.
For over a year now, buzz has been building about Comes With Music - Nokia's plan to include music downloads with its handsets. Now it's arriving, with details to be announced in Australia on February 25, and it's looking tasty.
The big deal is unlimited downloads - Nokia's Comes with Music phones (the first being the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic) will come with unlimited downloads for a year from the Nokia Music Store. The cost is factored into the purchase price of the phone, and there's no monthly fees.
The other big news is that the first Comes With Music device for Australia will be Nokia's first mass market touchscreen phone - the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. More on the phone below.
There's no official pricing yet (that comes on the 25th), but Nokia told PC Authority today that the 5800 XpressMusic will be under $1,000, including Comes With Music.
Some important things to know:
Keep the Music
Nokia has offered unlimited downloads before via the Nokia Music Store, but that was streaming only and cost $10 a month. Obviously, those costs are simply now being factored into the phone handset price, but the ability to download and keep songs is a much better option.
Unlike iTunes, there's DRM
While Nokia would obviously like to offer music DRM-free, for now the music on Nokia Music Store is DRMed - unlike Apple, which recently announced it is moving towards removing anti-copying technology on the iTunes catalogue. While we're not fans of DRM, it's probably a bit harsh to criticise Nokia too heavily for now - the Music Store probably wouldn't be here without something to placate record labels.
One phone, one account
We're yet to see the full details, but Nokia tells us Comes With Music users get an account and PIN code. The account is registered to a specific phone, so supposedly you can't go copying the music across to MP3 players and the like (although you can buy "additional rights" to burn tracks to CD or sync to other devices, though frankly this doesn't sounds convenient).
After the 12-month subscription expires you can nominate a new phone once every three months, but unlike regular Nokia Music Store users, this phone must be Comes with Music (ie. a Nokia).
You'll also have to nominate a dedicated PC you'll be using when downloading music at home. This machine can be changed once every 3 months.
12 months downloads per phone
Also, after the 12 month subscription ends, you'll apparently need to purchase a new phone if you want another 12 months unlimited downloads - hopefully by that time you'll have grabbed most of the stuff you want. Extra downloads can be purchased by paying per track, as you can currently do on the Nokia Music Store.
The other big news is Nokia's first mass market touchscreen phone - the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. We have a preview model, and as you can see form the photos, it's rather N96ish in it size - relatively compact and not too chunky, though definitely not super skinny like the iPhone.
We've had a quick play, and our first impressions are positive. The phone is not laggy, and the interface and onscreen buttons are nice and chunky - good for finger navigation.
Importantly, we haven't had to use the stylus yet, though there is one. Nokia has also beefed up the speakers, and there's a 3.5mm jack for headphones.
Nokia has also come up with something a bit different as stylus for the XpressMusic 5800 - a guitar plectrum.
Stay tuned for our in-depth review
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| Nokia's new touchscreen model, the 5800 XpressMusic |
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| Back view of the 5800 XpressMusic. Not as slim as the E71 or the iPhone, but then this is an all-singing, all-dancing multimedia job |