Nokia 5800 users ‘want more music options’

A number of mobile phone operators and manufacturers have announced deals and partnerships designed to bring more to devices like the Nokia 5800, but one expert has suggested these firms should be doing more.

In an article for the CCS Insight Blog this week, Paolo Pescatore highlighted a number of recent moves by groups like Vodafone that have attempted to engage with consumers by boosting the availability of audio downloads.

However, he added networks should be pushing unlimited access to such facilities if they truly want to give mobile users the options they want, noting there is already an undeniable demand for this.

Citing a recent survey conducted by CCS Insight looking at mobile web usage, Mr Pescatore pointed out that one in five of the young adults questioned said the ability to have limitless track downloads is something they would welcome.

He went on to say the fact the report revealed around 12 per cent of respondents actually pay for the music on their phone was indicative of a growing need to re-evaluate the way such services are set up.

"I think operators will have to offer more than just music. They need to emphasise the social aspect of music and provide an integrated social experience of music across the Web and the mobile phone," Mr Pescatore concluded.

The comments follow Vodafone’s partnership with Warner Music, which means the former will be able to distribute the latter’s back catalogue of tracks in a format free from digital rights management technology – so that it can be more freely transferred between devices.

Nokia’s 5800 model is an XpressMusic branded model and was recently followed up with the more affordable 5530.