Mobile movie downloads coming from Sony Ericsson
Content will be offered as part of PlayNow service
By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 2/17/2009
FEB. 17 | Sony Ericsson plans to launch a subscription movie download service for its mobile phones later this year aimed at repositioning them as entertainment communication devices, the company announced on the eve of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, this week.
Without giving many details, the company, a joint venture between Sony Corp. and Ericsson, said the movies would be offered as part of its PlayNow service, which already offers users music and game downloads. The company didn’t say what movie content would be available through PlayNow. The movie and music offerings will all fall under its new Entertainment Unlimited service, which will allow users to share that content with other devices, such as the TV and PC.
It’s not clear if the service will be offered in the U.S.—PlayNow is available in eight countries, but not here—but SE said it plans to expand where the service is offered.
“Everything that we have done to date has brought us to this point—we created the music phone category in 2005, selling over 100 million Walkman phones, and we are now ready to unveil the next chapter in the evolution of the company—Entertainment Unlimited—giving consumers unlimited opportunities to share their entertainment experiences,” Sony Ericsson global marketing head and VP Lennard Hoornik said in a statement announcing the plans.
Sony also plans to launch a new touch-screen mobile phone, code-named Idou, to support its expanded media offerings in the second half of the year.
