Iphone beater now available

IN A PRE-EMPTIVE strike against the much anticipated launch of the Apple Iphone within two weeks, mobile music specialist, Omnifone says that its Musicstation compatible handsets are now available for the first time - in Sweden.

From a mobile network operator's perspective, Musicstation is the ideal way of combating the threat from the much vaunted Iphone. Scandinavia's Telenor will have compliant handsets on sale in its stores as from today [Thursday 14th].

The Iphone is generally bad news for operators since Ipod owners will transfer their personal music catalogues onto the handset via a connecting cable or Wifi. By contrast, with Musicstore, the tracks can be downloaded over the air via a 2.5G or 3G connexion.

Perhaps the most intriguing claim made by Omnifone is that the company has a target of reaching 100 million MusicStation phones the within the next 12 months. That figure compares to Apple's own target of a mere10 million Iphones.

Given that Musicstation runs under Symbian or as a Java app, it's possible that Omnifone might reach its goal.

Omnifone has also announced licensing deals with the big names in the music industry such as Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, EMI Music and Warner Music International. So the range will be good.

To buy into the Musicstation scene, subscribers will pay a weekly fee of €2.99 to access a comprehensive catalogue of music. The entry price point in Sweden will be 25 Swedish Krona (or $3.50) per week.

The Musicstation proposition is attractive. The trick will be in getting the all important youth sector to buy into the concept. µ

See also … Omnifone launches Itunes killer

L'INQ
Omnifone