Celestial Jukebox Arrives, But Is It Any Good?

British cellphone carriers are starting to let users enjoy unlimited over-the-air music downloads, and similar services could hit the United States this year. To find out what it will be like when such a service finally rolls out stateside, Wired.com nabbed the only Omnifone MusicStation-equipped review unit given to a U.S. publication. We tested the British version of the service in an expensive roaming configuration -- still the only way to experience it in the states -- to get a taste of the all-you-can-eat music phone. (Wired)

Rob Lewis, CEO, Omnifone: Freeing Mobile Music

Omnifone’s MusicStation, a subscription mobile music service giving all-you-can-eat music for £1.99 a week, clocked up over 500,000 track downloads within 10 days of debuting on Vodafone late last year. Right now, there’s only Universal repertoire and no carriers have yet committed to the idea - but more labels are “only a matter of time”, and network discussions are “ongoing”. Lewis gave me a sneak preview of the prototype LG handset that demonstrates the idea… (PaidContent)

Managing the cost of digital tunes

Alot of mobile phones can play music today, but downloading digital tunes over the cellular networks is pricey. This week, two companies unveiled new ways to manage the cost of getting music on the go : Shazam, whose core technology is normally used to identify song clips over a cellphone and And Omnifone who has built the price of the music into the cost of the phones, for 12 to 18 months. (International Herald Tribune)

Omnifone, LG In Deal For Unlimited Music Phone

As expected, U.K.-based music download company Omnifone has signed LG Electronics on to make the first mobile phones that will feature its MusicStation Max unlimited mobile music service. Omnifone has music licensing deals with the four major record labels and many independents for its MusicStation service. Consumers who buy the handsets will have to sign up for a music, voice and data phone plan that will allow them to download music. Phone plans run for 12 to 18 months. After that period, users can either buy a new MusicStation Max device and continue the service or keep their current phone and music library at no additional charge. (Billboard, Mark Mulligan's Blog)