New technology enables expressive ringtones

The Swedish company Notesenses has developed a unique technology, which enhances the musical quality and eliminates the typical machine-like sound of computer-played music, reports Esato.

"By applying this method to the MIDI files used for polyphonic ringtones customers can now choose their favourite ringtone and personalize it to go with their mood. Variations to choose from include a musical version and the emotionally coloured Moodies Happy, Aggressive and Romantic."

Related article posted last week:

-- Video Tones - Spanish MoviStar offers video clips with it's original music in lieu of ringtones, with a new service called Videotono.

Vodafone Live.fr offers "Hypersounds"

French operator SFR through their Vodafone live! porrtal is now offering a catalogue of 3'500 ringtones, 800 of which are hypersounds, or actual extracts of real music from a song, with the voice of the artist.

SFR was the first operator to offer hypersounds as of October 2003, according to Netéconomie.

Feeling the Sound of Music

This Korean camera phone from LG Electronics (the LG-SD860) has a vibration speaker, devised to vibrate so that users not only listen to but also feel the sound of music.

The new model is also equipped with the 65,000-color LCD screen, 310,000 pixel CMOS camera and internal antenna.

[ via Telecoms Korea ]

Cool Ringtones Blog - a business blog

Cool Ringtones Blog which I've mentioned in Ringtonia before, is not like a initially thought, the blog of a teenager age who loves ringtones, but the business blog of Ringingphone.com, a provider of ringtones, wallpapers, online games...

Though the blog introduces Cindy Schmelky, 15, from Wayne, Penn with a picture and a quote "I love ringtones more than life", she's really just a figurehead for those articles as various members of the company's team write them, according to Ringingphone co-owner Bob Bentz.

This is the first time (to the best of my knowledge) that a ringtone company has created a blog and though it does somewhat bring to mind Dr. Pepper / 7 Up's infamous Raging Cow blog campaign - in that who's really blogging is misleading - the content is not all self-serving, but is mixed the with some interesting articles from this industry.

That a ringtone company has a blog is a great idea. But there is no need to mislead readers into thinking the blog is written by a 15 year-old, when it's not.

Japanese Music Companies Are Raided

Japan's anti-monopoly agency raided several top record companies Thursday on suspicion they illegally blocked other firms from offering music ringtone services to mobile phone users, according to the Associated Press.

"Fair Trade Commission official Toshihiko Oizumi said investigators suspect more than 10 companies violated Japan's fair trade laws by preventing the Japanese mobile phone operators from offering the service.

Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music, EMI-Toshiba Ltd., Avex Inc., Victor Entertainment Inc. and Label Mobile Inc. were among those raided, said Oizumi. He refused to disclose all the record companies' names.

Experts estimate that Japanese download some 300,000 songs a day to their mobile phones".

Hip and hopeful

Neil McIntosh, in an article for The Guardian, reports on how the mobile phone world does not just want to support the music business, but wants to become a part of it.

"The mobile business is as keen on ringtones as its customers, because we are willing to pay comparatively large amounts for them. On our PCs, we can download a full track from an online music store for around £1 - often less. Walking down the high street we can buy a physical CD single for £1.99.

Yet, on mobiles, customers are willing to pay £2.50 for an often unconvincing ringtone arrangement of a tiny portion of a song, just to project a little bit of personality every time someone calls us."

The only people unhappy with this arrangement are the record labels - they are more keen on full song downloads, and for excerpts to be used for ringtones and ringbacks, because they collect royalties.

Combine this with mobile phone makers, who make money from us upgrading our handsets, and networks, who want us to download more over their networks, and suddenly there are a lot of people eager to see music downloads start happening. "

Siemens launches mobile music division

German electronics conglomerate Siemens has set up a new mobile music division, Music2You, which will provide end-to-end, white-label music download services to mobile operators, according to DMEurope.

"The aim, according to a report from UK media trade journal New Media Age, is to be the mobile equivalent of white-label digital music service provider OD2."

Startup music publisher gets $72M

London-based music publisher Stage Three Music has raised £40 million ($72 million) in venture capital to buy song rights amid a swelling of interest in licensing agreements to hawk popular music online and to cellular telephone users, according to Yahoo News.

"With the advent of legal song downloading over the Internet and through mobile telephone networks in the past year, song rights are increasingly hot property. Cell phone users download music as ringtones and as full songs. A growing number of digital radio, Internet radio and digital audio broadcasters further offer royalty opportunities for music copyright owners.

How Ring Tones Work

Gareth Marples for SalesMastersWorld has written up a simple explanation of how ring tones work.

Monophonic tones vs. polyphonic tones

Let's look at a couple of the major manufacturers of cellphones, Nokia and Samsung. They both carry a variety of monophonic and polyphonic phones. We'll explain the difference using these phones as an example.

Nokia developed SMS (Short Messaging Service) technology so they could send short text messages between cellphones. The system went on to be the carrier for non-text information like ring tones and logos.

Nokia and Samsung monophonic ring tones are short tunes played with simple tones – the tones we've been used to hearing when a cellphone rings. These tones are made up of single notes.

Nokia polyphonic ring tones are the same as regular, or monophonic tones, but they can play several notes and sounds together, sounding like harmonized tunes, or normal music. Polyphonic tones differ in levels of quality, and the better ones can sound like a small orchestra.

Samsung polyphonic ring tones use MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) technology. This format creates polyphonic musical compositions with different sounds, which come out sounding more like music. Polyphonic means that multiple tones can be played at the same time, using actual instrument sounds like guitars, drums and electronic pianos. The result is much more harmonized tunes.

Samsung also has what they call a Poly 16 that can play 16 notes at once – definitely a superior sound. And if you think that's good, check out their V200 model, a Poly 40. This phone can play the most natural sounds – human voices, jazz rhythms, and classical music – perfectly, because it actually reproduces the instrumental sounds.

Some Samsung phones have a built-in composer, so you can “write your own music”, directly from the keyboard, and create your own unique ring tones.

Polyphonic tones have other uses, too. Besides being used for ring tones, they're also used in message alert tones and as sound effects in cellphone games.

You can personalize your cellphone with unique ring tones

With all these options available to you, there's no doubt you can make your cellphone exclusively different, especially if you make up your own ring tones. There'll be no more wondering when you hear a cellphone ring – you'll know for sure if it's yours or not.

You can make your ring play Beethoven, or you can make it play 50 Cent. You can program your phone to play classical, rap, jazz or pop. You can give your phone a personality of its own – which of course, reflects your personality. “It becomes a fashion accessory at that point,” says James Ryan, vice-president of data product management at Cingular Wireless.

For the younger set, hip-hop music is the popular choice. Seven out of ten ring tones downloaded in 2003 on the Cingular Wireless network were hip-hop songs. The most popular ring tone downloaded in 2003 was taken from the song “In Da Club,” by 50 Cent. This year's rapper of choice is OutKast. One reason why this type of music is so popular, besides the music itself, is the strong beat, which translates well to the high-pitched tones of cellphones. Michael Gallelli, director of content acquisition at T-Mobile, puts it like this: “Because of the very rhythmic nature of the music, it just serves itself very well in the form of ring tones.”

And personalizing your ring tones doesn't stop there. You can identify your caller by setting a certain song to play when they call. For example, if your loved one calls you, you'll hear their favorite song when your phone rings. And if it's your boss calling, you can program your phone to play the theme from “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”…or maybe not. And if it's your teenager calling, you can identify them by rap music. The possibilities are endless.

Ring tones boost the recording industry

The latest innovation in downloadable ring tones is available in a variety of brands – super tones, TruTones, Real Tones, and many others. These advanced tones are actually MP-3 files that can only be played on newer-model phones. By the end of the year, probably all the major cellphone providers will carry these advanced models. Right now, about 40 million phones in the U.S. are capable of accepting ring tones.

Of course, when you're dealing with artists, royalties come into play. Legal permission is required to sell these new tones. Therefore, the music industry has a new, much needed source of income. The major carriers have agreements with vendors that license, format and support ring tones to sell to their wireless customers. Moviso, a division of InfoSpace, sells downloading services to AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile, Cingular Wireless and Virgin Mobile, as well as handset makers Nokia, Motorola and Samsung.

Once the rights to a song are secured from the music publisher (and the artist, if it has any vocals), Moviso's developers format the song into 24 digital formats, allowing the ring tone to be played on one of 300 handsets that accept ring tone downloads. The price of the ring tone is split between the carrier, the ring tone vendor and the owner of the music copyright, with the carrier getting half.

So ring tones are a bright spot for the music industry, especially with declining CD sales, and the ongoing mountain of lawsuits over file-sharing. According to the Arc Group, a London-based telecommunications consulting firm, ring-tone sales accounted for more than 10% of the $32.2 billion in music sales around the world last year. And that's the most refreshing news they've had for a long time!

Ring tones are available in many places

There are a variety of sources for downloadable ring tones. Cellphone users can buy them from their provider's website, or go to various other websites that offer a variety of downloads, including ring tones, games, screen savers and wallpaper.

If you have Internet access on your cellphone, you can download ring tones directly and put them to use in about a minute. If you have an older phone, without Internet access, you can still use ring tones – they're sent to you as a text message.

Ring tones haven't finished yet

So you thought cellular phones were advanced? Well, there's much more to come. Cellular long distance has been available for quite some time. And phone cards have been around for a while, too. And now we have ring tones. And just when you thought they'd reached their peak, more advances are in store. Somewhere on the horizon, you'll see “ringbacks” – bits of melody you can program your phone to play, instead of the ordinary ringing signal, when you call family members, friends or business contacts. The engineers of cellphone technology are sitting back, thinking, “The world is our oyster!”

And you'll probably feel the same way when you program your cellphone with your exclusive ring tone. And then you'll know, when everyone's phone is ringing at the same time, which one is yours. And perhaps, soon, you'll be using your cellphone as an alarm clock. Then you'll indeed have “a musical awakening”!

About The Author - Gareth Marples is an experienced freelance copywriter providing tips and advice for consumers about purchasing cell phone comparison, prepaid cell phone and free cell phones. His numerous articles offer moneysaving tips and valuable insight on typically confusing topics.

Ringback tones coming to European mobiles

The growth of ringback tones in Europe is set to mean hundreds of millions of euros in extra revenues for mobile phone operators - but that growth is below some previous estimates and held back by certain factors, not least confusion over what the service is, reports Silicon.com.

"Ovum today said will be worth $721m in Western Europe in 2008, up from around $16m this year.

However, in only February this year, mobile entertainment company Netsize put a figure of $1.5bn across Europe by the end of 2005.

Such forecasts were somewhat understandable. In South Korea, a spin-off from SK Telecom called widerthan.com has done well, enabling SKT's ColoRing service. It costs consumers around $2 per month, which now translates into $8m in monthly revenue and 30 per cent user-base penetration.

Ovum points out that in the Philippines, the launch of a service from Global Telecom led to 100,000 eager users in its first week.

But all is not well. Ovum and others say ringback tones are difficult to explain and therefore market and managing the service can be complicated at a network level for operators, at device level and in terms of securing rights with content companies such as music labels.

T-Mobile has had some success in Europe since its ringback launch across the Czech Republic, Germany and the UK at the end of last year, with other operators such as Tele2 Sweden, Telefonica Spain and Vodafone Germany now following.

But all may want to note the performance of operators such as M1 in Singapore and NTT DoCoMo who haven't done well - and that's in Asia where such services are generally thought to catch on faster.

Ovum said Western Europe is set to account for around 30 per cent of ringback tone sales".

Goldenbytes launches mobile music division

Goldenbytes, a Dutch provider of SMS-related mobile services, has started a new venture aimed at developing music services for mobile phones: Goldenbytes Mobile Music, according to DMeurope.

"The division will specialise in the distribution and payment of music and music-related services via mobile telephony. For this, Goldenbytes is to work together with digital licensing solutions providerLyzia.

Madonna Launches Ringtones Store

Madonna has launched her own mobile content store, featuring ringtones and wallpapers, in association with M-Qube, reports Rafat Ali for Moco News.

"Madonna fans will be able to easily browse and purchase the artists content on Madonna.com or through their mobile device simply by providing their mobile number and handset type with charges going directly to their wireless bill."

Virgin Mobile USA Sponsors 2004 MTV Video Music Awards

As part of its month-long "For the Love of Music" celebration, Virgin Mobile USA today announced that it is sponsoring one of the hottest music-focused events of the year -- the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), according to a company press release.

In partnership with MTV, the rehab van will be equipped with Virgin Mobile phones so "overindulgers" can connect with lost friends, call for a ride home in the wee hours of the morning or -- gasp -- get their "drunk dial" fix. The van, which will be parked outside clubs in South Beach Thursday through Saturday, will also be stocked with hangover remedies to help make the nights' events ... well, unforgettable.

To further share the love, Virgin Mobile will provide its customers with access to exclusive wireless voting for the Viewer's Choice Award.

Music industry abruptly changes tune on ringtones

Professor Geist's regular Toronto Star column focuses on a recent application for a new Canadian copyright tariff on ringtones, known as Tariff 24.

The application by copyright collective SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) has generated some surprising opposition, with the Canadian Recording Industry Association actively opposing the request for ten cents per ringtone. CRIA (The Canadian Recording Industry Association), which questions whether composers are entitled to any compensation for ringtones, argues that the proposed tariff is "excessive, unwarranted and unreasonable” and that the royalties are “neither fair nor equitable.”

"SOCAN recently asked the Canadian Copyright Board to award an escalating royalty rate, requesting that the 2004 royalty be set at 10 per cent of a ringtone supplier's revenue with a minimum royalty of 10 Canadian cents per ringtone.

Using language that it might otherwise reserve for alleged file sharers, CRIA claims that the proposed tariff is "excessive, unwarranted and unreasonable" and that the royalties are "neither fair nor equitable." In fact, CRIA, whose members represent only a fraction of Canadian recording artists, even raises doubts about whether the composers are entitled to any compensation at all, questioning whether the ringtone constitutes a communication to the public that would merit a new tarif." [ via Unwired.cc ]

Michael Geist is a law professor at the University of Ottawa specializing in Internet and e-commerce law. He is online at http://www.michaelgeist.ca.

Hip-Hop Music Tops Ringtone Charts

For the third week in a row, Petey Pablo's "Freek-A-Leek" tops the Top 20 Ringtone Charts, according to Ringingphone.com, per a company press release.

"There's no question that hip-hop music is consistently our biggest seller," said Bob Bentz, co-owner of Ringingphone.com, and an admitted 40-something hip-hop convert. "Hip-hop is the greatest music since the 60's."

Rap and hip-hop continue to dominate the Ringingphone Ringtone Top 20 with 13 of the Top 20 hits.

RINGINGPHONE RINGTONE TOP 20

1. Freek-A-Leek (Petey Pablo)
2. Halloween (Movie Theme)
3. Damn (YoungBloodz)
4. Lean Back (Terror Squad)
5. Yeah (Usher)
6. Baby Boy (Beyonce)
7. Pacman (Video Game)
8. Nuthin' but a G Thang (Dr. Dre)
9. Milkshake (Kelis)
10. Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
11. Another Brick in the Wall (Pink Floyd)
12. My Band (D12)
13. Dirt Off Your Shoulder (Jay-Z)
14. I Like That (Houston)
15. Overnight Celebrity (Twista)
16. Jesus Walks (Kanye West)
17. Redneck Woman (Gretchen Wilson)
18. Tipsy (J-Kwon)
19. Cocaine (Eric Clapton)
20. Naughty Girl (Beyonce)

by Cindy Schmelky. Editor Coll Ringtones Blog

Let the music play

An interesting article from telecomasia.net thanks to Moco News.

"It's not hard to see why cellcos want in on the music download scene. We've known mucould be mobile since Sony invented the Walkman. And for all the hype over video being the big play for 3G, it doesn't translate nearly as well into a portable handheld format as music. We also know now that mobile users will pay for music-based content like ringtones, music video clips and even karaoke.

However, mobile's suitability for music content doesn't automatically guarantee success. DoCoMo has already learned this the hard way - its mobile download service will reportedly be discontinued later this year. The reason: it's just too expensive, especially in a market like Japan.

That's a market-specific business model issue, perhaps, but it illustrates the point that mobile music, like rock'n'roll, ain't easy - and not just because of the business side. Mobile music still faces a number of technical issues as well that are going to have to be dealt with before it reaches its potential.

Another issue is the device itself. Sorry, but as music players go, today's mobile phones can't hold a candle to the iPod. They don't have the storage capability or the battery life.

Storage and battery issues, for example, could be solved via removable flash memory and fuel cells. Until then, however, cellcos hoping to cash in on mobile music should think outside the box, because there's likely going to be more to mobile music than just download services.

Orange invests in television programming with Endemol

Update FT Article Ringtone chartshow to air on British TV. A new weekly music television show that will showcase charts for mobile phone ringtones and music downloads is to be aired on ITV1 in a sign of the growing influence of both the mobile phone and the internet on music sales.

Orange and Endemol are teaming up to produce a network ITV series called Orange Playlist, according to MediaBulletin

"The show will air in a late-night slot from 23 September and is scheduled to run for six months. Each episode will feature an interview with a celebrity on five songs they have chosen in five predefined categories: the past, the present, the future, a dedication and the celebrity's all-time favourite track.

The relevant music videos will be played around their choices and the format will also include a run-down of the top fives in the singles, download and ringtones charts."

Ringtones are music to record labels' ears

The IHT has a great article on ringtones.

"Ringtones have proved to be such a lucrative side business for cellular phone companies that record labels in the United States have decided they want a piece of that revenue.

In the past few days, Warner Brothers Records began showing commercials on the music cable television channels MTV and MTV2 for a set of voice-greeting ringtones recorded by members of the punk band Green Day.

Music and cellular industry executives said this was the first time a record label had paid to run its own ads for the digital snippets in the U.S. market.

The commercials, which are part of an advertising campaign to promote the release on Sept. 21 of "American Idiot," the band's first album in four years, are a milestone for an industry in which many are looking to products other than compact discs to steady the shaky revenue of the music market.

To some artists and music executives, the marketing of ringtones suggests the subversion of music by marketing ploys. "There is a sense among some that it bastardizes the music, takes away the sincerity and the original intent of the artist," said the artist manager Tony Dimitriades, who represents performers like Tom Petty. "With where we are today, there seems to be a notion that anything goes and who cares."

But Tom Whalley, the chairman of the Warner Brothers label, part of Warner Music Group, said that advertising the phone tones was just one part of his label's shift from mere disc factory to marketer of artists' lifestyle products. "We're in the culture with each and every one of our artists," Whalley said. "The ringtone can help connect that fan to the artist. If it's done with taste, I don't think it crosses that line where its commerce over art."

Ringback tones: what European operators can really expect

From Ovum via Moco News.

"Michele Mackenzie, senior analyst at Ovum, has another good note on ringbacks: forecasts for Europe and difficulties in marketing them, including:

– it is difficult to explain and market the service. It is not immediately obvious to users how the ringback tones service works, and it is often confused with functionality on the handset to assign different ringtones to different callers for the benefit of the called party

– complexity in managing the service. In addition to the complexity of implementing the solution in the network, service providers still need to manage their content providers, negotiate and manage licensing terms and conditions for the content, and ensure that there is a constant flow of new dynamic content.

– tastes and preferences. There may be cultural differences to take into account across markets. For example, a service that appeals to the Korean market might not necessarily appeal to the UK market.

Also read her earlier note: “A positive outlook for phone personalisation”.

Vibration Speakers into Handsets  

Vibration speakers, which deliver the dynamics of sound, are increasingly adopted in mobile phones. According to a local newspaper Digital Times Tuesday, reports Telecoms Korea.

"Samsung Electronics reportedly put vibration speaker in its megapixel slide phone(SCH-V540), which are scheduled to be supplied to SKT.

Samsung said, “We made vibration motor, instead of diaphragm, respond to the dynamics of sound in order to create cubic effect for music listeners.

However, the biggest problem of the speaker is that it increases electricity use shortening battery life."

Jay Sean answers questions on ringtones and MP3

Jay Sean is the rising star of Asian urban music. His recent single Eyes on You was a Top 10 hit. In an interview with The Guardian, he's asked:

Is it essential to have ringtones of your music now? [...] It's not as essential as the CD, as the song is what we put all our time and effort into making - I think the ringtone just helps people identify with the track.

Will the ringtones or MP3s replace the CD? In all honesty, I'm thinking that what will happen in the next five to 10 years is that our national charts will become based on downloaded music. It's far easier to download a track now than it is to go and buy a CD.

European Download Services Go Mobile

The ability to download complete tracks directly over cell-phone networks to mobile phones is becoming a reality in Europe, according to Reuters via Moco News.

"O2 Music, the music arm of U.K.-based international telecom operator mmO2, has started offering songs for download in Germany and the United Kingdom.

The emerging trend of selling full-length songs directly to mobile phones in Europe has been triggered by better understanding and cooperation between mobile phone operators, handset manufacturers and record labels.

"This is a very important development," says Beth Appleton, new media and business development manager at independent label V2 Music in London. "Call-back tones have been successful in South Korea (news - web sites); real tones are popular in Japan and are about to take off in the United States. But the offering of full downloads and videos has been driven by European companies."

TeliaSonera launches Ericsson's M-USE mobile music service

Ericsson's mobile music service M-USE has been chosen and launched by TeliaSonera Sweden, reports DMeurope.

"This enables TeliaSonera Sweden to offer its customers a mobile music service of international and local mobile music content.

TeliaSonera's M-USE service features music content from both Sony Music and Warner Music International. All music content found in M-USE is from original music recordings. "

Search "Olympic Ringtones"

Search Olympic Ringtones, to see what's out there! Ringtones, games, wallpaper and more...

And the perfect excuse to check out Google's wonderful Olympic logo.

Tele2Comviq's (Sweden) new ring back tone service

Tele2Comviq is the first mobile carrier in Scandinavia to offer it's customers ring back tones, according to a company press release.

With the Ring Back Tone service by European Computer Telecoms (ECT), mobile customers can choose various songs, jokes or other sounds played to the person who calls them at the same time as they hear the familiar ring back tone. The service works regardless of who calls. Anyone who is a Tele2/Comviq mobile subscriber or has a mobile calling card can use the service.

The new service can be seen at comviq.se

Mobile Music and Ringtones Report

Australian ResearchAndMarkets provides an assessment of where they believe the music and ringtones sector is headed, what the key issues are, and how they are being resolved.

The Data and Forecasts found in this report cover the period of 2003 to 2008 and are categorised as follows:

Key Regions
- North America
- South America
- Europe
- Asia Pacific
- Rest of World.

Mobile Market:2.5G
- 3G users

Mobile Music and Ringtones Market
Music and ringtones users and revenues by region

Music:
Total mobile users who download music content Total number of music downloads by mobile users per year Revenues
from mobile music content Average number of music downloads per user Average price paid per music mobile download Average Revenue Per User (Arpu)

Ringtones:
Total mobile users who download ringtone content Total number of ringtone downloads by mobile users per year Revenues from mobile ringtone content Average number of ringtone downloads per user Average price paid per ringtone download Average Revenue Per User (Arpu)

Price Australia Dollars 1'450.- or US $ 1,033.-.

Nyucking it up on cell phones

Sound effects and one-liners from the Three Stooges have been turned into ring tones, reports News.com.

"Aside from the brothers' famous exclamations--such as "Woob Woob" and "Nyuck Nyuck"--2Thumbz Entertainment is making available such gems as chief Stooge Moe Howard screaming, "You idiot, I ought to kill you" to replace the pre-packaged ring on cell phones."

"AT&T Wireless, Sprint, Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile USA subscribers who own certain Hitachi, Samsung, LG and Sanyo cell phones can download the ring tones. They cost $2 each."

Ringtone Market Now Worth US$2.5 billion

Research groups are estimating that the worldwide ringtone market is now worth at least US$2.5 billion, with some groups claiming that it's nearer US$3.5 billion, reports Digital-Lifestyles.info

The US market makes up just a tiny proportion of the US$2.5 billion figure, accounting for just US$140 million (€114 million) of ringtone sales – the bulk of the market is in Europe and Asia.

WAP, however, was an unexpected failure – adoption of the difficult to use, worse to implement internet browsing protocol has been extremely slow. Like teletext but slower and less interesting, figures from the Mobile Data Association indicate that 1.11 billion WAP pages were viewed during June 2004, up from 784 million in June 2003. The MDA estimate that the year total will be 13 billion for the year."

Nokia Chooses Loudeye as Music-Platform Partner

Nokia is jumping onto the digital-music bandwagon by collaborating with Loudeye to develop a wireless-music platform for cell phones. Motorola recently struck a similar deal with digital-music powerhouse Apple, reports NewsFactor Network.

"The multi-year agreement includes a substantial investment by Nokia in a global collaboration framework developed by Loudeye, which claims the world's largest music archive and offers a digital-media infrastructure for networks launching customized digital-media outlets and services.

Nokia's move follows closely on the heels of a partnership established between Motorola -- the No. 2 handset-maker -- and Apple , which lets iTunes customers store and play songs from the popular music store on mobile phones."

Olympic Ringtones

AT&T Wireless has teamed with NBC and other content providers to deliver Olympic content to its customers, according to a company press release.

Included, popular Olympic ring tones - such as the Olympic Games theme music and national anthems from over 30 countries.