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Former Nokia music service MixRadio is shutting down
When Nokia signed a deal with Microsoft to license Windows Phone, the Finnish smartphone maker built a suite of apps to help lure iOS and Android users to the platform. It launched dedicated navigation and camera apps, but also a music app called MixRadio. The free streaming service, which started life as Nokia Comes With Music in 2007, remained exclusive to Windows Phone until shortly after Microsoft acquired Nokia and the software giant deemed MixRadio surplus to requirements. After little more than a year, its current owner, Japanese messaging firm Line, has also decided enough is enough and announced today that will shut down the streaming service.
MixRadio's music-streaming app heads to iOS and Android
After a long exclusive spell on Windows Phone, MixRadio is finally expanding outside of Redmond's mobile platform. The music-streaming service, which Microsoft sold to messaging company Line last year, announced today that its app will be available on iOS and Android starting today. MixRadio's main feature is serving up personalized playlists to listeners for free, across hundreds of genre- and artist-based channels, slightly similar to what Pandora does. Interestingly enough, the service has also revealed a partnership with HTC; what this means is you'll start seeing MixRadio curate stories for BlinkFeed, the smartphone maker's customizable news stream.
Microsoft sells MixRadio to messaging service Line
When Microsoft completed its multi-billion dollar purchase of Nokia, it also acquired a number of apps and services that were surplus to requirements. One of those was music-streaming app MixRadio, which spun off as a standalone service earlier this year. That independence didn't last long, however, because it's just found itself a new home. Microsoft announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell MixRadio to Japanese messaging firm LINE, a company that has helped connect smart appliances and pioneer the concept of stickers, to extend the music app's reach to new markets. If you're concerned that today's announcement will affect future streaming on your Windows Phone, worry not: MixRadio head Jyrki Rosenberg says the company will continue to "bring a personalised music experience to Lumia smartphones." It might just mean owners of other devices will get the chance to enjoy it too.
Adidas adds Microsoft's MixRadio to its miCoach Smart Run watch
It was supposed to be Spotify. Instead, it looks like Adidas will rely elsewhere to get more music for miCoach Smart Run users to listen to during workout sessions. Thanks to a new partnership with MixRadio, Adidas is bringing Nokia's Microsoft's music-streaming service to its Android-powered watch, giving runners access to more than 34 million songs right from their wrist -- and yes, they work offline. Naturally, miCoach Smart Run owners need a subscription to MixRadio in order to access the hefty catalogue, but Adidas does have a limited time promotion that offers six months of free access when signing up. Before you can do any of that, however, you'll have to download an over-the-air update for the Smart Run, which is available now via the settings menu.
Nokia's MixRadio to be spun off as its own music service
The restructuring plans from Microsoft caused a ripple effect throughout the company, with its recently acquired Nokia Devices and Services business being the most affected one. Now, as part of this, The Guardian reports that Nokia's MixRadio music-streaming app is expected to spin out and live as a standalone service. Essentially, this means MixRadio will no longer be limited to Microsoft's platform, though it's still going to come pre-loaded on Windows Phone handsets made by Nokia. Not that the world needs another streaming service for tunes, but the eventual spin-off would give the MixRadio app the chance its curation features to other platforms such as iOS and Android. At the moment, however, there are still things to work out: "I've been meeting with potential investors around the world in the last few weeks. We have very strong interest from investors in the US, Europe and Asia, and we remain open for further discussions," Nokia's Jyrki Rosenberg, VP of Entertainment, told the British publication.
Nokia rebrands Music service as Mix Radio, updates Windows Phone app to match
Nokia's Music service has been a secret weapon for Lumia owners -- they get ad-free radio streaming on their phones at no extra cost. The company is driving that advantage home today by rebranding the service as Mix Radio (reflecting the service's main feature) and launching an updated music app to match. The new Mix Radio client centers on Play Me, a personalized stream defined by a few favorite artists. There are also Pandora-style thumbs-up and thumbs-down votes to refine the selection, and it's now easy to share mixes through email, Facebook, text messages and Twitter. As before, avid listeners can spend $4 per month to get unlimited downloads, improved quality and web listening. Current Lumia users just need to update their existing Music app to take advantage of Nokia's smarter audio experience.
Mobile Miscellany: week of May 27th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, a new addition to the LG L-Series surfaced in Russia, a Lumia 920 was sighted that'd make Oscar the Grouch flip, and TalkTalk added three new devices from Huawei to its roster. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of May 27th, 2013.
Nokia launches Music with Mix Radio app on Asha, starting in Russia
While the Asha line lacks the glamor of Nokia's WP8 smartphones, it outsells its big-shot siblings by a wide margin. Now, owners of those handsets will be able to grab Nokia's Music with Mix Radio, an app that was previously available only on Windows and Windows Phone 8. Other WP8 hand-me-downs like Transit and Xpress Now have already hit the budget platform, showing it's far from being Nokia's neglected child. While missing some WP8 features, Asha Music users will get 2G/3G and WiFi streaming, 100 channels of curated content and offline storage of up to four mixes. You'll likely have to wait a few weeks to grab it though -- unless you're in the launch country of Russia.
Nokia Music+ now live for US Lumia owners
After launching the service across the pond just a few short days ago, Nokia's now ready to make Music+ available for the US -- confirming to us today its availability on Yankee soil. To recap, the paid subscription service ramps up the free app's offerings with higher quality audio, unlimited offline downloads and Mix Radio skips, multiple device use, as well as lyrics -- all for $4/mo. It's a significantly cheaper alternative to other freemium music streaming services currently available in the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem. So, if you've recently gone Lumia, you might want to check it out.
Nokia intros Music+ subscription service with unlimited downloads, web listening
Most of the bigger streaming music services have both a free tier for casual listeners and a paid level for truly committed music fans. Nokia doesn't want to be the exception to the rule. It's launching Nokia Music+, a paid version of its existing platform. Paying €4 per month ($4 in the US) gives perks that you'd normally expect from a more expensive alternative like Spotify or Slacker's premium tier: the upgrade ratchets up the audio quality, adds lyrics, allows unlimited skips in Mix Radio and enables as many downloads for offline play as the phone can hold. Aren't you suddenly glad that you picked up a 32GB Lumia 920? Not that you'll always need it to tune in -- Music+ adds web streaming for anything with a suitably capable browser. Nokia hasn't said just which countries beyond the US will get the more advanced service, but it should make a formal debut within the next few weeks.
Nokia announces its Drive navigation, Mix Radio, and ESPN Sports Hub cloud services for WP7
Fancy some turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation, cloud based music or sports highlights on your brand new Nokia smartphone? You don't need an app for that: the Lumia 800 is now the only Windows Phone with full navigation built-in. Nokia announced its Drive navigation, which has a look and feel that should be comfortable with users of its former Ovi Maps suite. It also looks to have similar functionality, enabling the download of maps so that you can find your way into offline areas (see gallery, below). %Gallery-137555% There's also exclusive Music and ESPN Sports Hub apps. The former features Mix Radio, a service that streams "locally relevant music" across hundreds of channels. The latter, meanwhile, allows sports fans to check up on stats, scores and news, and to pin their favorite teams or leagues to the start screen. All told, the company is promising a "uniquely Nokia" experience -- guess their slick hardware won't be the only way they break out of the WP7 pack. Check out a video demo of the navigation embedded after the break. Amar Toor and James Trew contributed to this report.
