Nokia, Omnifone to rock the UK

Finnish handset manufacturer Nokia will continue its push into the services space with the launch of its UK-based Nokia Music Store on Thursday.

The company will make millions of tracks from major artists and independent labels available alongside interactive features such as personal track recommendations and a favourite artists search and discovery function.

Users will be able to access the Nokia Music Store via their desktop computer or directly from Nokia devices beginning with the Nokia N81 and Nokia N95 8GB, both of which launch alongside the music shop.

Individual tracks will cost 80p per track and albums start at £8.00. The store will also offer a monthly subscription for PC streaming for £8.00.

The move is in direct competition with Apple’s iTunes store and precedes the launch of the European iPhone by days.

But music software firm Omnifone is keen to crash Nokia’s party and is also having a launch bash in London on Thursday for its MusicStation platform. MusicStation has already been picked by Vodafone to offer unlimited track downloads, straight to the mobile, for £1.99 per week. But we’re also promised that there will be more: “It will also have a very aggressive pricing model, which has yet to be announced and will be very threatening to O2 and iPhone,” the company said.