Nokia Australia is pushing ahead with the local launch of its Comes With Music download service even though the only mobile phone it will offer to access the service has struck problems in the USA.The local subsidiary has announced a start to Comes With Music on March 20, along with the Nokia 5800 ExpressMusic smartphone. People who buy a 5800 will score 12 or 18 months of unlimited downloads from the Nokia Music Store, which claims to have 4 million tracks available.
They can keep all the music on their dedicated Comes With Music device and associated PCs, even after the year expires, Nokia says.
However so far the $979 model 5800 is the only phone due to be marketed in Australia with Comes With Music. And in the USA Nokia has pulled the equivalent handset from the market after complaints that the 5800 has trouble picking up 3G networks, and that some of its earpiece speakers are not properly protected against moisture.
The phone has been marketed successfully in Europe without apparent problems. In a statement Nokia said the issue was “a very isolated problem concerning only the North American market and is not specific to any other region or country.”
The 5800 is Nokia’s first touchscreen phone. It has a 3.2-inch widescreen display, and has been seen as a possible challenger to Apple’s iPhone.