O2 UK's customers will be able to search, browse, preview and purchase full-length tracks from Napster's immense catalog of over 5 million tracks and play them on their mobile handsets and PCs.
The Napster Mobile service contains several sophisticated features, including a recommendation engine that makes content recommendations based upon each consumer's musical taste, and dual delivery, a feature that sends a copy of the content purchased on the handset to the customer's PC.
Under the hosting agreement Ericsson's responsibilities include systems integration, operations, maintenance and content management of the Napster Mobile service for O2 UK. Hosting is a part of Ericsson's Managed Services offering. It is a business model that ensures easy and cost-efficient launches of end user appealing services.
"This is another great example of our strategy of creating deep level partnerships with the best companies in the world to deliver compelling services to our customers," says Sally Cowdry, Marketing Director, O2 UK. "Working with the right partners at O2 UK is crucial to our success and we have joined forces with a leader in this space to bring our customers a high quality, great value service with the widest choice of songs available on mobile."
"We're extremely excited to be partnering with O2 UK on the launch of Napster Mobile," says Brad Duea, president of Napster. "We look forward to delivering a superior mobile music experience to O2 UK's customers, along with the largest mobile music catalog available. It's the perfect extension of Napster's online service in the UK."
Ged Doherty, Chairman, Sony BMG Music Entertainment UK and Ireland says: "Napster pioneered subscription services in the online world. We are delighted to support them as they move into the mobile space with O2 - another brand making a considerable impact on the music landscape."
"We're happy to see this second launch of Napster Mobile in the O2 group, following that of O2 Ireland in 2006. Music is an important area for telecom operators and we believe that O2 UK's subscribers will find this a very attractive service. Napster Mobile combines the strength of Ericsson's multimedia offering and hosted services capabilities. Combining the two enables us to provide a very attractive offering for operators to launch to their end-users." said Jacqueline Hey, Managing Director, Ericsson UK.
Notes to editors:
Recent announcements about Napster Mobile service:
Ericsson sign first contract for Napster Mobile service in Latin America with Entel PCS in Chile
www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/releases/20080204-1187769.shtml
Ericsson brings Napster Mobile service to Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM)
www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/releases/20080128-1185659.shtml
Press backgrounder:Mobile Music
www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/facts_figures/doc/music.pdf
Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. The market leader in 2G and 3G mobile technologies, Ericsson supplies communications services and manages networks that serve more than 185 million subscribers. The company's portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, and broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and developers. The Sony Ericsson joint venture provides consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.
Ericsson is advancing its vision of 'communication for all' through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 70,000 employees generated revenue of USD 27.9 billion (SEK 188 billion) in 2007. Founded in 1876 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on the Stockholm, London and NASDAQ stock exchanges.
For more information, visit www.ericsson.com or www.ericsson.mobi.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Ericsson Media Relations
Phone: +46 8 719 69 92
E-mail: press.relations@ericsson.com
About O2
O2 is a leading provider of mobile and broadband services to consumers and businesses in the UK. These services include voice, text, media messaging, games, music and video, as well as always on data connections via GPRS, 3G and WLAN. Every month, O2's 18.4 million customers send well over a billion text messages. O2 UK is part of Telefnica O2 Europe which comprises mobile network operators in the UK, Ireland and Slovakia along with integrated fixed / mobile businesses in Germany and the Czech Republic. Telefnica O2 Europe also owns 50% of the Tesco Mobile and Tchibo Mobilfunk joint venture businesses in the UK and Germany respectively as well as having 100% ownership of Be, a leading UK fixed broadband provider. O2 was ranked as 6th best place to work in the Best Companies to Work for 2008 List and has been awarded a three-star accreditation denoting an 'extraordinary' company.
(For b-roll footage of O2, please visit www.thenewshub.co.uk)
About Napster
Napster, the pioneer of digital music, offers the ultimate in interactive music experiences, creating better ways to discover, share, acquire and enjoy music - anytime, anywhere. The company's offerings include "Napster" (www.Napster.com) - the most popular, on-demand music subscription service in the world; "Freenapster" (www.freenapster.com), a unique Web experience offering free, on-demand music legally in the U.S.; and "Napster Mobile," one of the industry's fastest growing mobile music platforms, providing the premier mobile music experience for customers in ten global markets. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Napster's services are available in markets across North America, Europe and Japan.
About Ericsson's Managed Services offering
Ericsson has the telecom industry's most comprehensive managed services offering. It ranges from designing, building, operating and managing day-to-day operations of a customer's network, including end-user services and business support systems, to hosting service applications and content, as well as providing network coverage and capacity on demand. As the undisputed leader in managed services, Ericsson has officially announced more than 100 contracts for managed services with operators worldwide since 2002. In all current managed services contracts, excluding hosting, Ericsson is managing networks that together serve more than 185 million subscribers worldwide.
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[Source: Just Another Mobile Phone Blog]
