Definitive Review: Comes with Music

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Rafe's been trying out Nokia's newest Music service offering, Comes with Music - for real, with a full retail package. There may be some caveats with the system (PC/MSIE-only, DRM-heavy), but overall he comes away very impressed. How is the PC client to use and what's the overall experience like for a new music-loving phone user? Can you retro-fit CwM to an existing handset? What can you do and what can't you do with the downloaded music? Find out in Rafe's definitive Comes with Music review.

"It does change the way you look at music - I have downloaded tracks I'd never have bought outright, partly because I could, but mainly because I wanted to see what they were like. Nokia have created several 'Introduction to...' pages which underlines this ability to try out new music and there are also playlists available from various artists who have selected their favourite music. This ability to try out new music without any perceived costs is, to my mind, the most innovative aspect of Comes with Music. Of course you'll also download your favourite albums and artists, but you would have probably got them anyway. Comes with Music lets you be much less selective and will, I imagine, result in much more eclectic music collections. Overall it is a liberating experience (perhaps rather ironically given the DRM!)"

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Where can I get it?

You can currently buy two different Comes with Music packages from the Carphone Warehouse. The Nokia 5310 is available on PAYG for £129.99 (+ £10 air time) or on a contract (free from £25 per month) and the Nokia N95 8GB is available free on a contract from £40.

These handsets are also available from the Nokia Online Shop. The Nokia 5310 is available SIM-free for £159.99 and the Nokia N95 8GB is SIM-free for £399.

(These represents a premium of and £44 and £54 respectively over the prices for handsets only).