AT&T launches 'must buy music NOW' service

AT&T Wireless in the US is launching a mobile phone-based digital music store, hoping to catch any members of the iPod generation who might be eager to buy music while they're away from their computer on the spur of the moment.

The company is offering what amounts to the 'iTunes' experience recast for the mobile phone. Customers will be able to search a catalogue of music and buy individual songs for 99 cents each. The songs are actually downloaded to a computer later.

The company is looking at a core market of people who hear a song on the radio or on a jukebox and can't wait to get home to buy it, a company executive said.

Sam Hall, vice president of mMode services for AT&T Wireless, said in a statement: "Now consumers no longer have to scribble down the names of songs they've discovered and wait until they get home to download them onto their computers. The convenience and immediacy of our mobile digital music store lets users remotely explore and buy digital music while on the move."

Technology companies including Apple, Microsoft and RealNetworks have been quickly trying to sign up mobile phone manufacturers and operators to support their audio software in order to prepare for a day when phones handle more multimedia content.

Like most Apple rivals, the service will sell songs in the Windows Media format. Browsers can listen to 30-second samples on their phones before buying, as long as the phones support either Windows Media or RealNetworks' audio format.

AT&T Wireless also offers a service in which customers can identify a song on the radio by holding the phone close to a speaker. That service, called Music ID, will be a key part of the new mobile music store's appeal, the company said.

John Borland writes for News.com