Nokia announces music store launch

Nokia announced the launch of its much-rumored music store this week, saying it plans to launch a wireless download store along with a new line of music phones. The new music store "will offer millions of tracks and is due to be launched worldwide in the coming months, starting in Europe," Nokia Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in a presentation to media and analysts in London. "Nokia will offer downloads directly to cell phones via wireless connections, as well as to personal computers, with the ability to transfer between the two."

Each song in the Nokia store will cost approximately $1.35 and be available in 192Kbps Windows Media Audio (WMA) format either onto a PC or straight to a mobile phone. Nokia's launch of a music store has been expected since its October 2006 acquisition of Seattle, Wash.-based music download service Loudeye for $60 million.

Nokia also announced yesterday four new cell phones optimized for music and games with expanded memory, large screens, and enhanced battery performance. They are due to begin shipping this year. The N81, which features an iPod-like scroll wheel to navigate tracklists, will retail for $475, while the Nokia 5610 XpressMusic will sell for $410.

VW, Apple in talks for iCar

Apple and Volkswagen are in talks to build an iCar, an auto that incorporates iPod technology, a VW spokesman told German magazine Capital this week. Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Volkswagen's chief Martin Winterkorn met several days ago in California and plan to meet for further discussions, VW's Hans-Gerd Bode told the AP.

There are "scores of ideas," but few concrete plans at this point, Bode said. Apple already works with VW and other automakers, particularly fellow German car maker BMW, to offer an integrated in-car hookup for iPods. Jobs and Winterkorn got together in California a few days ago to "plan an intensive co-operation with the building of vehicles."

Sony finally drops Connect store

Over the past two years, Sony has repeatedly quashed reports that its Connect Music Store was on its last breath and been forced to reorganize its Connect division.

But now those denials have ceased, as Sony said this week at the IFA Electronics show in Germany that its Connect store will be phased out. In announcing a new line of Sony Walkman digital media players, the company said Connect will be phased out in North America and Europe. Specific timing will vary by region depending on market demand, but will not be before March 2008, the company said.

The two new Walkman players will support video for the first time. The new NWZ-A810 and NWZ-S610 series will have a QVGA screen for video playback and support Windows Media Audio (WMA), as well as the more open AAC and MP3 music formats, plus JPEG files for photos.

AllofMP3.com vows comeback

Following a favorable Russian court ruling that acquitted the company's former head of copyright infringement, the company behind AllofMP3.com has vowed to revive the controversial service, which charges for digital downloads but does so at a fraction of the market rate of 99 cents per song. In a post on its blog, AllofMP3 wrote, "The service will be resumed in the foreseeable future. We are doing our best at the moment to ensure that all our users can use their accounts, top up balance, and order music."

AllofMP3 has had a wild ride in the past year, with an outcry from the international music industry leading to heavy US pressure on the Russian government to shut down the site or risk its entry into the World Trade Organization. Once credit card companies decided to remove payment support, the service suffered a fatal blow. The site was closed in early July ahead of a summit between the Russian and American presidents, though Internet visitors were directed to a similar Web site where AllofMP3 credit could be used to purchase music.

Earlier this month, the Cheryomushki Court in Moscow ruled that Denis Kvasov, AllofMP3's former head, was not guilty of intellectual property theft and had not violated Russian copyright laws. AllofMP3 has not yet set a date for a revival of its service.