O2’s Irish network has been selected as the European launch pad for the forthcoming Napster Mobile launch later this month. The service will be hosted by Ericsson and will feature Napster’s back catalogue of three million songs, ringtones and images.
Napster Mobile will be available to O2 Ireland’s 1.6 million subscribers through NTT DoCoMo i-Mode mobile internet service. The i-Mode service is currently used by 46 million mobile subscribers in Europe and Asia.
The Napster Mobile service has already been launched in the US and Japan.
Through Napster Mobile, O2 Ireland customers will be able to search, browse, preview and purchase full-length songs from the Napster music catalogue and to enjoy Ericsson-aggregated personalisation content via their i-mode wireless handsets.
Beginning early next year, customers will also be able to enjoy these features through WAP- and Java-enabled handsets.
The Napster Mobile handset application, which will be pre-loaded on select i-mode handsets from O2, gives customers access to Napster programming, including featured artists and top tracks of the day, and contains a recommendation engine which makes content recommendations based upon each user’s personal musical taste.
In February of next year, O2’s Napster Mobile service will begin featuring dual-delivery functionality, meaning all content purchased through Napster Mobile will be simultaneously delivered to both the customer’s handset and to their PC.
“The European launch of Napster Mobile on O2 Ireland is a significant achievement for Napster as it will mark the introduction of a comprehensive Napster mobile experience in a country where Napster does not currently offer a PC-based service,” said Brad Duea, Napster’s president.
“We’re very pleased to be partnering with O2 on the European launch of Napster Mobile and are excited to give music fans in Ireland the ability to enjoy the Napster music experience.”
By John Kennedy
