AT&T Launches First Napster Cell Phone

Napster may be floundering with their subscription-based music model, but it turns out they have other plans. As we previously reported, the company is now focusing on mobile music, and WirelessInfo.com reports that the first Napster-based handset, the Samsung SLM, is arriving in stores on November 23.

The article points out that sales of music directly to phones is seen as a strong growth opportunity by carriers and handset makers. “Until now, AT&T has offered customers the opportunity to purchase music via their computer using services like Napster and then side-load the music onto their phones,” Alfredo Padilla wrote. “Getting into the direct to handset music market means AT&T can better compete with Verizon Wireless and Sprint, both of whom have offered such services for quite awhile.”

AT&T’s pricing for this new Napster service isn’t going to help matters. AT&T is offering a choice of models: either $1.99 per song or $7.49 a month for five songs. The first price is double what Sprint charges for individual wireless music downloads, while the second price is closer but also requires a subscription.

Samsung & AT&T announce first Napster Mobile capable phone [WirelessInfo.com]

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