Nokia signs Sony BMG to Comes with Music

I trotted down to London's Covent Garden to hear Nokia announce that it has definitely done the deal with Sony BMG to participate in its 'Comes with Music' offering. I also discovered 'Say and Play'.

Only snag with Comes with Music? There's neither a definite launch date nor guide as to which specific markets it will launch inside. It might be entry level right up to high end.

Which is crucial since Nokia sees the all-you-can-eat subscription that will be built into the handset as expiring after 12 months. That's a big problem in the UK where most contracts are for 18 or even 24 months these

It also came out that Comes with Music will utilise Windows DRM meaning that you can have your music on one handset and one PC. There will be a capability to transfer your tracks to a new device. But Bluetooth transfers are right out. Incidentally, Sony BMG is the second big label to sign up after Universal.

While I was here, I saw a demo of the new HSDPA compatible Nokia 5320 handset which forms part of its XpressMusic range. It boasts an interesting built in facility called 'Say and Play'.

This facility does what it says on the tin – you speak the name of a band and the Nokia finds associated tracks stored on the phone. I was informed that this software can be downloaded for certain phones.

However, this is the first time that a Nokia has provided Say and Play with a dedicated button on the device.