Nokia, Samsung Are Hearing Demand for Mobile Music

Nokia and Samsung each released new consumer-focused smartphones this week, all of which are headed for non-U.S. markets, and all of which emphasize the idea of the phone doubling as a personal music player.

On March 10, Samsung introduced the S5600 and S5230, which will ship to European markets in May and April, respectively. Each is centered around a smooth touch-screen that puts the Apple iPhone in mind and contains the expected phone, e-mail, browsing, Bluetooth and chatting capabilities—along with music browsing, buying and listening features.

On March 11, Nokia announced the expansion of its Comes With Music service, as well as new Nokia Music Stores and three new consumer music phones—the “edgy” 5730 and 5330 XpressMusic phones and the less edgy Nokia 5030, which is intended as a phone and FM radio for emerging markets.

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