Vodafone challenges Apple's iPhone dominance

The battle to undermine Apple's dominance of the download market has stepped up a gear with Vodafone's launch of a new music service.

Apple'e iPhone: Vodafone has launched a service aimed at challenging Apple's dominance of the download market
Many providers have created rival versions to Apple's iPhone

UK subscribers to MusicStation will have access to more than one million songs from major record labels, which they will be able to download directly to their phones for a flat fee of £1.99 a week.

Unlike Apple's much-trumpeted iPhone, the service will be compatible with 3G handsets, which means that users will be able to download songs within 10 seconds.

But there is a catch. Mobile phone analysts have been were quick to point out that MusicStation, which will be launched in November, allowed subscribers to rent rather than own the downloaded tracks. When customers stop paying the weekly flat fee, their music becomes unplayable.

Vodafone's launch came as Apple announced it had sold a million iPhones in the United States, just 74 days after the device went on sale.

Source:
Read more...