Oxy Systems Announces Phling – Cellular Media Server Software
Oxy Systems Inc. a software concern from a Cambridge, MA, has announced a new software technology, dubbed Phling, that transforms cellphones into personal music servers. The technology allows users to stream song collections and other media from home computers to their mobiles.
Unlike other services, which already allow users to download music files onto their phones, the new Phling software allows cellphone users to play songs stored on their home computers, using their wireless network. Because a copy of the song never sits on the phone, people can also legally browse and listen to their friends’ music collections, too.
Oxy Systems has launched a pilot program in Europe, and hopes to offer its service in partnership with a major cellphone carrier in the United States by early next year. Pricing plans may offer phling for about 99 cents a day, with a cheaper monthly fee.
Current cellphones can only play as much music as fits on their memory card, but phling users would be able to access any song stored on their home computer. So far, with a pilot program running on Swisscomm in Europe, the largest collection available numbers about 18,000 songs, Smith said.
But beyond that, phling opens up the solitary experience of listening to music on headphones, by allowing users to rate songs, find out what other people with similar tastes like to listen to, and listen to their friends’ music. Users are able to open their music libraries to six friends. The obvious drawback is the speed of the sloppy cellular networks.
