Beatnik Announces New Music Download Technology For Slow Cell Networks
Beatnik has announced a new music download system for mobile phone operators that compresses songs up to 10 times more than the MP3 format, allowing for faster downloads on lower-end mobile phones equipped with the company’s software.
Mobile music download services are typically only usable by consumers using 3G networks, which have higher download speeds than GPRS (General Packet Radio Service). Now Beatnik is offering software that compresses songs by taking common elements or repeated sounds and only replicating them once in the compressed file. The music player, on the client handset, can recreate those sounds in the right place during playback.
Beatnik hopes the system will make music download services more appealing in developing markets such as India and Latin America that haven’t upgraded to 3G. For the system to work, operators must convert their existing songs to the file format Beatnik uses, Mobile XMS. Beatnik’s software also has to be installed on handsets by the phone manufacturers.
The Future: This is going nowhere…
