Nokia is ceasing its unlimited music download offer to its subscribers but only in 6 markets. It is a sure sign that the company is currently suffering difficulties in keeping its position in the smartphone market.
The unlimited Ovi Music subscription was launched in 2008; this service allows the users to download as much music as they want for free. The unlimited music comes with the Nokia phones which have such service included for one year.
The company said that the current subscriptions will be honored but there will be no renewal of contracts and there will be no more new phones with unlimited music features that will be released after this year.
When this feature was introduced by Nokia, it shook the Apple’s iTune music store. But the restrictions on Nokia’s Ovi music store failed to gain advantage over iTunes so it is now being discontinued.
The restrictions included: the DRM or Digital Rights Management could only be played on a Nokia mobile or a personal computer.
This suspension on the unlimited Ovi music is a big set back for the company although they remain the top mobile phone producer worldwide. This is due to the fact that Nokia phones are still the best selling cellular phones in most developing countries.
So far, Apple’s iTunes stays the number one digital music store around the globe, holding at least 60 percent of the market, being followed by Amazon’s music service at 13 Percent.