Nokia has extended its Mix Radio music streaming service to its Nokia Asha feature phones.
Following the move, Nokia Asha users will be able to discover new music by browsing across 150 exclusive playlists and also create and listen to their own personalised mixes on their phones by choosing an artist whose songs they like. Users can also download and listen to up to four mixes offline. According to Nokia, mixes from more than 15 million tracks are already available in the Nokia Music Store.
The Mix Radio service will be available on
Nokia Asha 305,
Nokia Asha 308,
Nokia Asha 310 and
Nokia Asha 311. Nokia Music with Mix Radio will come pre-loaded with all these phones, shipping in India. The service is free to use, however users will incur data charges. Also, the service in its present form, allows users to skip tracks 6 times in an hour.
"Music holds a special place in the lives of Indians who like to listen to their choice of music while on the go. Nokia has an impeccable music legacy with Nokia Music, with the largest repository of legal and digital music in the country and we as a brand are always looking to offer premium and exclusive content to more audience across the country at the press of a button. Introduction of Mix Radio free streaming service, is another step in democratising our services at newer price points and enhancing the smartphone experience of our Nokia Asha consumers" said Viral Oza, Director Marketing, Nokia India.
Nokia had earlier extended the Nokia Music Store to Nokia Asha devices in November 2011. As per the company, users can enjoy unlimited access to more than 8 million songs on the Nokia Music Store, across a number of musical genres.
Nokia Music with Mixed Radio comes bundled with Nokia's Lumia devices, and with some Symbian devices such as the Pureview 808 (via software update).
With the service being extended to Asha phones, Nokia wants to leverage music as one of its USP at a time when more and more users are choosing budget Android phones over Nokia's feature phones in India. This also allows Nokia to establish and position the Asha series as a smartphone.
Nokia had
recently introduced Here maps for the Nokia Asha platform allowing users to search for places and addresses in nearly 200 countries, offering driving, public transit and walking directions as list or map view without requiring a GPS signal.