AT&T Finally Offers OTA Music Downloads

AT&T is now able to offer OTA (Over the Air) music downloads to certain handsets. The service is provided via eMusic
, the world's largest retailer of independent music with over 2.7 million songs in its catalog. When a song is purchased using eMusic
, it is automatically downloaded to a users handset. eMusic
will also make a duplicate copy of the song in .mp3 format available online for download to a PC.

AT&T is charging customers $7.49 a month to be able to download 5 songs per month. Additional song downloads are available in packs of 5 for an additional $7.49. It ends up being $1.50 per song. Currently, the service is only available on four AT&T handsets - Samsung A717, Samsung A727, Samsung Sync, and the Nokia N75.

AT&T is late to the game here. OTA music downloads have been available for a while now from Sprint and Verizon. Both carriers charge only 99 cents per song and the service is available on several of their handsets.

With the limited phones available and high per track costs, it's easier to just go directly to eMusic
, where you can get downloads as low as 22 cents per track. eMusic
is currently running a trial for 25 free downloads. Click below to sign up.

Get a Free Ringtone from Sprint

For all the customers who own a Sprint PowerVision or PowerSource phone, Sprint is giving away a free ringtone. Just go the the Sprint Digital Lounge website. The free offer is available for a limited time only: July 30th to August 6th, so hurry up as Monday is the last day. Just go to the website, choose the ringtone you want, and enter the special promotion code listed on the website.

The offering is not for use with Sprint Nextel handsets, Windows-based, or PDA phones. For users with Sprint Nextel handsets, look for a separate promotion coming out soon. Also, if you do not have a data plan, usage rates may apply for the download.

Did You Know: Consumers Not Dowloading Music

According to a new report by Jupiter Research, “Only about 5 percent of US consumers transfer music from PCs to their phones (side-loading), and only 2 percent download songs over the air, according to Jupiter Research’s “Mobile Music: Target Impulse Purchases and Purchasers for Over-the-Air Downloads” report. It is estimated that 28 million US consumers will have music capable phones by the end of 2007.

With newer devices hitting the market with more and more memory capacity, i.e. the iPhone and Sprint's MUZIQ, music use on handsets is poised to continue to grow.

Source: www.moconews.net

AT&T Gets Another Music Phone - LG Trax

AT&T is about to add another music phone to its lineup. But unlike the iPhone, the LG Trax supports high speed mobile broadband speeds by operating on AT&T's 3G HSDPA network. The clamshell device has external music controls and has an internal dedicated music key that will take you directly to the media player no matter what screen you are on.

The microSD slot supports up to 4 GB, giving it the same capacity as the iPhone. I also has a 1.3 megapixels camera. Since this is a 3G phone, it will also work with AT&T's Video Share service, which allows one-way live video streaming to other 3G phones. The phone is expected to be available sometime this summer.

Verizon Ready for iPhone

Verizon is looking to combat the launch of the iPhone by keeping it's retail stores open late on Friday, June 29th - the launch date of the iPhone. Verizon is also looking to lure music phone buyers by offering a free "Music Essentials Kit" to those who purchase the LG VX9400. The kit includes stereo headsets, a cable for transferring songs from a PC, and a 2 GB memory card capable of holding up to 1,000 songs.

Sprint's Announces Another iPhone Killer

Sprint will add another device to it's music lineup on July 15th. The MUZIQ by LG will be the successor to the Fusic by LG. The MUZIQ by LG will be one of the first Sprint devices to support 4 GB microSD cards, giving it the same capacity as the iPhone 4 GB model. As is the trend with successor phones, the MUZIQ will be thinner than the Fusic and will not have the external antenna.

The phone will still support EV-DO, Sprint's high speed mobile broadband network, giving you access to Power Vision services, including over-the-air music downloads. It will also still have a 1.3 megapixels camera, FM transmitter, external music controls, and stereo Bluetooth. The MUZIQ measures 3.8"x1.94"x.61" and weighs 3.14 ounces.

The phone will be available for only $99 with service agreement and rebates, which is a lot less than the $499 price tag of the iPhone. You can register to become one of the first to purchase the MUZIQ by LG by going to www.sprint.com/music

Rate Plans for the iPhone Announced

Apple and AT&T finally released the much anticipated information about rate plans available for the iPhone when it launches this Friday. All the plans will include the following features: unlimited data, Visual Voicemail, 200 text messages, roll-over minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. Visual Voicemail is a cool application that allows users to view their voicemail messages in the same way they view email messages, allowing you to go directly to a message without having to listen to all of them.

The plans start at $59.99 for 450 minutes, and include options for 900 minutes ($79.99) and 1350 minutes ($99.99). All charges are monthly rates and do not include any discounts on the cost of the iPhone - $499 for the 4 GB model and $599 for the 8 GB model. There is also a one-time activation fee of $36.

The iPhone will be available this Friday at 6:00 PM (local time) at AT&T and Apple stores. At launch, the phone will not be available through distribution channels such as Best Buy and Radio Shack.

Sprint to Launch the UpStage in Red

The popular music phone from Samsung and Sprint is expected to be available in RED sometime around June 18th. The combination phone is a phone on one side and an MP3 player on the other. The current model (available in Black) is on sale for $99.99.

Even with two sides with separate displays, the UpStage is still only 0.3 inches thick. It has a 1.3 megapixels camera/camcorder, Bluetooth, and a MicroSD slot. One thing that separates this music phone from the much anticipated iPhone is the ability to download music directly to the phone over-the-air (OTA) from Sprint's music store. To put music on the iPhone, you will have to download it to your PC and then sync the phone to the computer.

Pros: OTA music downloads, thin, and EV-DO
Cons: The phone does not have much internal memory, but it does have a MicroSD slot to store music and comes with a 64 MB card.

iPhone Coming June 29th

After months of speculation, the launch date for the much anticipated iPhone from Apple has finally been announced. June 29th is the date shown in new web and TV ads from Apple and AT&T.

Get Prince's New Song for FREE

Prince is releasing "Guitar", his new single off of his upcoming album "Planet Earth". The single is available for download free via Verizon's Vcast Song ID offering. With the Song ID offering, Vcast subscribers can use certain Verizon phones to recognize a song by playing the song near a handset. Once Song ID recognizes the song, it will display the song for full track download along with other options such as downloading ringtones and ringback tones. You will also have the option to click to view similar music.