BT Offers Weak Mobile Radio Offering
Seems like everyone wants to be in the mobile music these days, but why do they have to do it without any creativity whatsoever? Or any concern at all about what people want. While the Guardian gives BT way too much credit by calling this an attempt to take on Apple’s iTunes, BT’s mobile music offering is hardly an iTunes competitor. Instead, it just streams 50 radio stations to Virgin Mobile handsets. First off, it’s become pretty clear that we’re getting past an age when just straight radio broadcast programming makes sense. People want a bit more ability to customize what they listen to. Second, the service requires people to pay an extra fee just to access the offerings, and then users will also have to pay hefty data fees just to listen. Why do that when you can pick up a cheap regular radio probably for a fraction of the cost of this offering? There are some interesting ideas being worked on concerning mobile music — but this one needs a lot more time in the oven.
