Nokia launched Thursday in India an online music service called Ovi Music Unlimited (OMU), which offers free and unlimited music downloads for one year to buyers of certain models of Nokia phones.
Users get to keep the music, which is protected under DRM (digital rights management), after the free download period.
The service, with some variations, is about the same as the Nokia “Comes With Music” service that the company offers buyers of certain models of phones in other countries.
The company decided on a new name for the service in India because the service has been localized for the country, a spokeswoman for Nokia India said. The service has, for example, reduced the size of the Ovi client from 60 MB to 3MB to make it easier to download in India, where broadband service isn’t widespread.
Users can also search for music by the names of actors, actresses, and movies because many Indian users are fans of music from local films. “We have tailored the search for the way people in India search for music,” the spokeswoman said.
However, the spokeswoman would not comment on whether Nokia may be thinking of re-branding “Comes With Music” as “Ovi Music Unlimited” in other countries as well.
In India, Nokia is offering music from international labels as well as from over 150 Indian labels and publishers. The service offers more than four million tracks from across 19 genres, the company said.
Nokia does not as yet sell music in India, and has no immediate plans to start offering music for sale online at its store, the spokeswoman said.