The wireless industry is finally offering a long list of phones with the music features some pundits have long predicted would diminish Apple's control of the market for digital music.
"... "I think 2007 will be a huge year for mobile music," said John Burris, vice president of data services at Sprint. "There won't be anyone who doesn't know that a mobile phone will be able to play music."
But will they want it if it's not made by Apple? There are still lots of issues that need to be worked out before mobile music can really live up to the hype, say experts. From their difficulties with incompatible digital rights management technology to their struggles with short battery lives and poor user interfaces, mobile operators and handset makers have a long way to go before the experience of purchasing and listening to music on mobile phones--even the ones made by Apple--lives up to consumer expectations.
According to monsters and critics, country music seems to finally be ready to make a run in the ringtone market.
"For the first time ever, a country music song received a platinum ringtone certification by the RIAA - Waylon Jenning`s theme from the Dukes of Hazzard. And mobile usage tracking firm M:Metrics says the country genre for ringtones is on the rise while other genres are either leveling off or declining. "
