Nokia Comes With Music: Everything you need to know

Nokia’s served up a smorgasbord of musical delights in the shape of Comes With Music, letting users gorge their phones (and PCs) ’till they burst with musical gluttony, all inclusive with the price of your XpressMusic handset. Sound too good to be true? Step right up and we’ll tell you everything you need to know right here.

Which studios are involved?
Nokia’s pulled out all the stops to get the cream of musical talent onto its phones, setting up deals with Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, EMI and Warner to bring top tuneage to the Come With Music service. And as if signing up the four big labels wasn’t enough, there’ll be musical offerings from Indies too. That’s The Orchard, Beggars Group, Ioda, Ministry of Sound and PIAS, should you be too trendy to listen to ‘popular’ artists.

What music is on offer?
Comes With Music will offer access to all tracks found in the Nokia Music Store. What’s more, with all those labels on board, Nokia’s boasting 100% chart coverage. That means if it’s new, popular or just on the radio, it’ll be available absolutely Free! But that’s not all. Back catalogues are covered too, and with over 2 million tunes on the Nokia Music Store, you’ll be spolt for choice.

Do you really get to keep it?
Yes, says Nokia. You can download as much as you like during your 12 or 18 month contract, and keep the tracks after it’s expired. There is one snag though. And it’s a pretty big one. Tracks can only be transferred to and from your PC or Comes With Music handset. What’s more, while you can change the registered mobile device or PC every three months for two years after the end of your contract, you’ll have to keep them on the last devices they were on after those two years are over. That means if you upgrade your PC, or buy a new phone, there’s no way to get all your songs onto it

Which devices will it work on?
Many Nok fans will be waiting until early next year for the 5800, but from October 16 impatient music fans can grab a Nokia 5310 XpressMusic or N95 8GB Comes With Music Edition handset. It’ll also work on PCs using Nokia’s software. The Big N’s promising more than the initial three blowers too, so expect more choice in future.

How much will it cost?
Like all mobile services how much you part with depends on your favoured musical weapon of choice. As of now you can pre-order a Nokia Comes With Music Edition 5310 XpressMusic phone from £129.95 from The Carphone Warehouse. Pricing for the Comes With Music equipped 5800 and N95 8GB hasn’t been announced, but expect it to be considerably more.

Is it any good?
Despite its quirks, including those annoying limits on transferring songs, we think it is. Think about it. £130 and you get as much music as you can fit in your ears, and you can do (pretty much) what you like with it for three years. You can even transfer it to an MP3 player, as long as it’s compatible. Even assuming you only buy bargain basement £6 albums, as soon as you’ve downloaded 21 discs’ worth, you’ve made your money back. Sure, it’s far from perfect, but considering what’s on offer, we reckon it’s a good deal!

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