Cliq disappoints with complex download service

A BIG THUMBS down for the new music service launched today by Cliq which offers one of the most tortuous routes known to man for downloading and purchasing music tracks.

The irony is that UBC Media actually bills its instant music-buying service as highly convenient and thus charges a premium of £1.25 per track over rival services like Itunes.

What it does offer, however, is the ability to capture and download a track which is playing live on one of a number of popular radio stations.

UBC claims it has signed up 21 commercial radio stations so far – including London’s two most popular stations, Magic and Heart.

To access the service you must first download the Java app from UBC by texting the word 'Cliq' to 78901, which automatically sends you an SMS containing the WAP URL you need to download the Cliq app. Which is pretty straightforward.

Once you've downloaded Cliq, you also need to input the password sent to you by SMS - which is where it starts to become painful.

The first track you download is free, but before you can listen to it, you have to go online and fill out a long registration form. Theoretically, you can do this from a suitably-equipped handset – such as an X-Series phone from 3 – but the simplest way is to do it online.

Once you've filled out the form and parted with all your credit/debit card details, you can proceed to stage 2. Youngsters who don't possess such a thing are, of course, immediately excluded.

UBC is looking to partner with Carphone Warehouse early next year, so presumably, they will come up with a way of allowing customers to charge their downloads to a mobile phone account, be it pre-paid or contract.

Now comes the real fun. Once you've overcome these hurdles, you now find yourself with a protected Windows DRM (.wma) file.

Presumably there are Windows Mobile phones out there which can play them. However, for the vast majority of people, you will have to convert the file into an MP3 format.

After several tries, we managed to find a file converter which could handle protected .wma files, although it is difficult to know the legality of using such an application.

Finally, with the converted file copied to a MicroSD card, we were able to load it onto a Nokia E65 handset and actually listen to it.

Never again, though – it’s far too complicated.

It’s a real shame because UBC has managed get some major music stations on board. Might we suggest they go back to the drawing board? µ

See also
Handset owners can Cliq for music

L'INQs
UBC Media
Cliq