Nokia Comes With Music DRM can be beaten

There are reports that Tunebite, a €19.90 software package, is able to circumvent the Digital Rights Management used by Nokia's 'unlimited' Comes With Music service. Tunebite plays music at high speed and then copies them to a non-encrypted file, so it doesn't actually 'crack' the DRM encryption. [Source: ElectricPig.co.uk]

Nokia considering unlimited game and video services?

There are suggestions that Nokia's "Comes With Music" unlimited music service could be expanded to offer unlimited games or movie downloads in the near future. [Sources: NMA.co.uk; NokNok.tv]

Nokia Comes With Music to launch on 16th October

The Carphone Warehouse has announced that it'll be offering Nokia's Comes With Music service from 16th October. The service will initially be available with a version of the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone for £129.95. This includes a year of unlimited music downloads from Nokia's online music store, which will offer tracks from all four of the biggest music labels: EMI, Sony BMG, Universal and Warner. Nokia also announced its first-ever touch-screen phone, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, an a new version of the S60 operating system to support it. [Comes With Music press release; S60 press release, 5800 press release]

Sony Ericsson to launch unlimited music service

No sooner has Nokia planned its Comes With Music for the UK - thank you, Rupert Englander, for talking to us on this week's Mobile News podcast - than Sony Ericsson previews a similar service. It's called PlayNow plus and it'll be available in Sweden later this year, with other countries added in 2009. Unlike the Nokia service, music can be downloaded directly to the phone - first will be a special version of the Sony Ericsson W902 Walkman - as well as 'sideloaded' via PC. [Press release]

New Mobile News podcast now available to download

In this week's edition of the Mobile News podcast, Iain Graham talks to Nokia's Rupert Englander about his company's new Comes With Music service. Mark Bridge previews the forthcoming HTC Touch HD and James Rosewell joins in for the team's usual irreverent look at the week's industry headlines and rumours. As always, you can download or listen free at TheFonecast.com and on the Mobile News website... and you'll find us on iTunes and via RSS too.

Unlimited mobile music has strong appeal

With Nokia's Comes With Music preparing for launch - and Sony Ericsson rumoured to be announcing their own rival service this week - a new report from Strategy Analytics suggests that customers will definitely be interested. 83% of respondents used their mobile phones to play music, with 84% of respondents willing to pay for a service such as "Comes with Music". However, at the moment, just 6% of music tracks on devices are bought from online mobile music shops. The company says price and selection are the most important factors in a customer's choice of music store, and that brand loyalty is extremely low. We'll be talking to someone from Nokia about the Comes With Music service in Wednesday's Mobile News podcast. [Press release]

New Mobile News podcast now online

Iain Graham, Mark Bridge and James Rosewell discuss the latest mobile industry news in this week's edition of the Mobile News podcast. There's also a feature about the new Nokia 'Comes With Music' service and a preview of the 8-megapixel LG KC910 camera phone. You can download or listen at TheFonecast.com and on the Mobile News website... and you'll find us on iTunes and via RSS too.

Nokia unlimited music deal to launch in UK

Nokia's 'Comes With Music' unlimited music download service is being launched in the UK through The Carphone Warehouse. Customers who choose the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic 'Comes With Music' edition will receive a year of unlimited access to any tracks from the Nokia Music Store, with the ability to keep all downloaded tracks even when their subscription ends. More information will be available next month. [Press release]

'Comes With Music' could be expensive for Nokia

It's been rumoured that Nokia is paying $35 (around £18) per handset to allow its 'Comes With Music' service to include music from the Universal Music Group. [Source: HollywoodReporter.com]

Nokia hits the headlines twice

A couple of interesting stories from Nokia today. Firstly, the company is buying Avvenu - an online service that lets you use your mobile phone to look at files that are on your PC... even if the PC is switched off. It's also announced "Comes With Music", which will include the option of a year's downloadable music on new Nokia phones. The music will still be available when the year ends - even if the customer doesn't buy a new subscription.