News Archive for 05/08/31

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Verizon delays debut of mobile music service

08/31, 4:00pm

Verizon delays debut

The Verizon Wireless mobile music service -- slated to launch prior to the holiday season -- will be delayed until the first quarter of 2006. A spokesman from Verizon told Forbes.com that the carrier doesn't plan to introduce the new service, which would let users download music to their phones over the air, until the first quarter of next year. The new iTunes phone from Motorola, expected to debut September 7 using Cingular Wireless as its carrier will have less competition this fierce holiday season as a result. Several phones already exist which allow "sideloading" digital music from computers; however this feature isn't expected to be widely adopted until carriers and their partners ramp up marketing efforts, according to the report.

HMV, Virgin set to enter music download market

08/31, 2:05pm

HMV, Virgin music market

HMV and Virgin both are preparing to launch music download services that will compete with each other and Apple's iTunes music store. Virgin's online store is set to debut on September 2, while HMV looks to September 9 for a release date, according to the report from Pocket-lint.co.uk. Both firms aim to offer the choice between pay-for-play and subscription services, while the iTunes music store currently only offers pay-for-play services. HMV is also planning to offer a flexible pricing structure which varies the cost of songs based on the popularity of artists, and is investing £10 million to create HMV Digital sections for all of its 200 stores in the UK. Virgin plans to offer an "ask the expert" service that will provide answers to questions about music by Virgin's music experts.

Apple forces accessory maker to change name

08/31, 9:45am

iStyles name change

ObjectsFusion today announced that iPodStyles has been reborn as istyles. The name change follows a trademark dispute over the use of the word "iPod" in "iPodStyles." According to the accessory maker, Apple prohibits use of "iPod" for any marketing purposes by other companies. "We at ObjectsFusion are very disappointed that we have to give up the iPodStyles branding, but we fully respect Apple's decision. This episode resulted in the acquisition of iStyles, a name that is not only consistent with the original iPodStyles theme, but also one that is more in line with the company's direction and focus on iPod fashion accessories, a new wave of which will be launched very soon." Apple recently forced a number of businesses to drop "iPod" from their names. Apple even forced Though Out Co. to change the name of its "iPed" accessory line for iPods and other devices.