Verizon switches off MP3 support
Microsoft deal results in Microsoft-only player
Posted in Mobile, 10th January 2006 10:30 GMT
Free webcast: Service level monitoring and management
Last week, US mobile firm Verizon announced a deal with Microsoft to allow subscribers to listen to music on their phones. But it has now emerged that people signing up to the new service are losing the ability to play MP3s on their phones.
The company said the decision was made to keep things simpler for users - one media player rather than two.
If you transfer music from your PC to your phone the software will automatically convert the MP3s to Microsoft's WMA format. Unless you are trying to move music from a Linux or Mac machine, in which case the process may be more complicated.
The VCast Music Service goes live 16 January and will offer half a million songs for $1.99 each. Punters will get a version for their phone and one for their computer.
A Microsoft spokesman said there was nothing in the deal with Verizon or in the company's technology to prevent phones working with other formats.
Verizon is joining the rush of mobile firms trying to extract revenues from music and video while satisfying content companies' desire for solid digital rights management. ®

The Register Agile Data Center Summit
Checklist: signs you need to upgrade your business phone system
Analyst Keynote: The Register Agile Data Center Summit

Dirty, dirty PCs: The X-rated picture guide
Top 500 supers - rise of the Linux quad-cores
Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala
Sign up, sign up for The Register IT security newsletter