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In Japan, Mobile Phones Threaten Apple's iTunes Business8, 01. 2005
Apple Computer, Inc. of the US has launched its iTunes Music Store (iTMS), the world's leading paid online music service, in Japan. But some observers think it will face its greatest rival in the mobile phone, as the habit of buying music online may not yet be established among the Japanese. With iTMS, you can download a song to a PC from a dedicated website, and then transfer it to an iPod player. So far, things have gone well for this service. In Europe and America, 500 million tunes have been downloaded using iTMS, and in Japan, the company has sold over 1 million iPod players. 1 Million Songs Downloaded in Four Days![]() iPod mini, capable of saving up to 1,500 tunes
Since the launch of the service in Japan on August 4, 2005, over 1 million tunes have been downloaded over four days. Similar services are also offered by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. (SMEJ) and 17 music companies under the name Mora, but this has not yet taken off partly because of the high usage charge of 210 yen per song. Bypassing the PC
Chaku-uta Full is KDDI Corporation's new service launched in November enabling a mobile telephone terminal to receive an entire song. This feature has proved very popular. ![]() Can mobile phones compete with Apple? Mobile phone carriers are developing various new services
The cost of downloads varies for different tunes, but averages out at a high 300 yen. A key factor in its success is the fact that you don't have to mess around with a PC to make it work. Related Stories in J-CAST News
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