TORONTO-Bell Canada launched a full-track music download service powered by Groove Mobile, which also enables a similar service recently launched by Sprint Nextel Corp.
Bell Canada said consumers are charged $2.58 per song and that the service is available using the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. A920 device. A Bell Canada spokesman said the carrier plans to launch additional devices during the first quarter of next year.
Groove noted the Bell Canada service allows users to simultaneously download songs to both mobile phones and personal computers, transfer songs from their PC back to their mobile phone and share music with others by sending a 30-second preview of the song. Users can also make up to seven copies of a song and export them to a mobile phone or device as well as three unique computers.
In a separate announcement, Groove Mobile said it is partnering with Telecom New Zealand to power that carrier’s nationwide music service, the Telecom Music Store.
Subscribers will be able to download songs from the mobile store via the Sanyo Electronics Co. Ltd. 9000 handset, which comes with a 1 gigabyte memory card that can store up to 900 tracks from the Telecom Music Store. Album art will display while tracks are playing and customers can build personal play lists.
Massachusetts-based Groove Mobile also recently announced that it would power Sprint Nextel’s downloadable music service on the carrier’s CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network. Groove provides full-length download services for companies in Asia and Europe as well, including the Orange music service in the United Kingdom.
“This New Zealand launch further solidifies our leadership in helping consumers around the globe discover new music on their mobile handsets,” said Adam Sexton, Groove Mobile’s vice president of marketing and product management.
