PlayNow
Encyclopedia
PlayNow is Sony Ericsson
's download service for media including music, games, ringtones, wallpapers and themes. It was introduced in February 2004 as a way for owners of SE phones to listen to and directly purchase ringtones. It was rolled out into 32 countries.
PlayNow was expanded in mid 2008 into the browser-based portal, PlayNow arena. This first went live in the Nordic countries
in August 2008 and offered additional types of free and preminum content, including 1 million DRM
-free tracks from record companies such as Sony Music, Warner Music, and EMI
. It also enabled the dual download of MP3
music tracks, with one higher quality MP3 track downloaded direct to PC, and one lower quality track to the phone.
PlayNow arena is organised on a per country basis, and is compatible with a wide range of Sony Ericsson phones. It also supports various thirdparty Windows Media DRM-enabled devices.
Part of the PlayNow service is the TrackID mobile music recognition service. Using this system, you record several seconds of music on your phone to find out the artist and track. Where available, you can also purchase the identified track direct from PlayNow. TrackID works via the Sony-owned Gracenote
identification system.
In September 2008, Sony Ericsson announced PlayNow plus; a paid for subscription service. It was launched in Sweden at the cost of 99 Swedish crowns (around $15) per month on the W902
Walkman phone through operator Telenor
.
PlayNow plus is bundled and billed via a mobile operator and enables unlimited downloads of DRM-controlled music, as well as PC playback via Omnifone
�s music player. Pre-loaded music offers are also planned for subsequent PlayNow plus-enabled phones.
In May 2009, Sony Ericsson announced PlayNow arena with movies. This is a bundled out-of-the-box services that enables users to download up to 60 specially formatted movies per year. Organised on a per country basis, a total of 15 movies (new and classics) will be available at any one time with four replacement titles added every month. The movies are access via PC and side loaded on the phone via USB. They can be watched as many time as possible for up to 90 days. They cannot be played on any other device. PlayNow arena with movies will launch in June 2009 with the W995 Walkman phone in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK.
Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones....
's download service for media including music, games, ringtones, wallpapers and themes. It was introduced in February 2004 as a way for owners of SE phones to listen to and directly purchase ringtones. It was rolled out into 32 countries.
PlayNow was expanded in mid 2008 into the browser-based portal, PlayNow arena. This first went live in the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
in August 2008 and offered additional types of free and preminum content, including 1 million DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
-free tracks from record companies such as Sony Music, Warner Music, and EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. It also enabled the dual download of MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
music tracks, with one higher quality MP3 track downloaded direct to PC, and one lower quality track to the phone.
PlayNow arena is organised on a per country basis, and is compatible with a wide range of Sony Ericsson phones. It also supports various thirdparty Windows Media DRM-enabled devices.
Part of the PlayNow service is the TrackID mobile music recognition service. Using this system, you record several seconds of music on your phone to find out the artist and track. Where available, you can also purchase the identified track direct from PlayNow. TrackID works via the Sony-owned Gracenote
Gracenote
Gracenote, Inc., formerly called CDDB , is a company that maintains and licenses an Internet-accessible database containing information about the contents of audio compact discs and vinyl records. It provides software and metadata to businesses that enable their customers to manage and search...
identification system.
In September 2008, Sony Ericsson announced PlayNow plus; a paid for subscription service. It was launched in Sweden at the cost of 99 Swedish crowns (around $15) per month on the W902
Sony Ericsson W902
The Sony Ericsson W902 is a mobile phone and part of the Walkman series of phones. It was announced in July 2008 and released in October 2008. The W902 is a higher end Walkman phone, featuring not only the latest state of the art Walkman 3.0 player, but also a 5.0 mega pixel camera with autofocus...
Walkman phone through operator Telenor
Telenor
Telenor Group is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand...
.
PlayNow plus is bundled and billed via a mobile operator and enables unlimited downloads of DRM-controlled music, as well as PC playback via Omnifone
Omnifone
Omnifone is an independent provider of cloud based unlimited music services to consumer electronics vendors, mobile carriers and internet service providers including RIM,Sony,HP, Sony Ericsson, Vodafone, Telenor, Hutchison Telecom and Vodacom....
�s music player. Pre-loaded music offers are also planned for subsequent PlayNow plus-enabled phones.
In May 2009, Sony Ericsson announced PlayNow arena with movies. This is a bundled out-of-the-box services that enables users to download up to 60 specially formatted movies per year. Organised on a per country basis, a total of 15 movies (new and classics) will be available at any one time with four replacement titles added every month. The movies are access via PC and side loaded on the phone via USB. They can be watched as many time as possible for up to 90 days. They cannot be played on any other device. PlayNow arena with movies will launch in June 2009 with the W995 Walkman phone in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK.