Nokia Music has just gone live in the US.
The service allows users of Nokia Windows Phone devices to listen to unlimited music through an Internet connection.
It is a completely free, frictionless service that requires no registration process or any kind of premium upsell.
And when you find yourself without mobile data, there is an offline playback mode with limited access to playlists that users have already saved.
Another neat feature of the service is that it also allows users to see if there are any noteworthy live music concerts happening in their area any time soon.
When the first Lumia device launched, Nokia showed that it wasn’t just about hardware anymore. It had a selection of exclusive apps that were designed to differentiate the product from other Windows Phone offerings.
Nokia was eager to boast about sales of the Lumia 710, which was its very first Windows Phone device and marked Nokia’s return to the US market. However, the company has remained very quiet on the performance of succeeding devices.
An extraordinary TV ad campaign was launched for the Lumia 900, for example, and AT&T retail employees reportedly went through rigorous training about what the phone brings to the market and how to peddle it to customers. There is now some question as to whether or not those efforts led to significant sales.
Nokia quickly vaulted to the status of being the top Windows Phone manufacturer, although that’s kind of like being the best player in Little League – you’ll still have a tough time competing in the MLB. In other words, Android and iOS are still dominating the market, and Nokia has a long way to go if it wants to legitimately compete in that field.
So far, Nokia has made quite an impression, and there is the possibility that it could almost single-handedly help bring Windows Phone within striking distance of the two larger smartphone OS players. It will need to continue innovating if it wants that to happen.
