SEATTLE-Mobile music software developer Melodeo Inc. Friday unveiled a service that downloads podcasts directly to mobile phones.
The company announced Mobilcast, free software that will allow users to download selections from thousands of podcasts onto their handsets. Each music and talk program will range in length from a few minutes to about half an hour, and the service will be free aside from carrier airtime and data charges.
The downloadable service will be available on the company’s Web site early next month.
Melodeo powers North America’s first full-track mobile music download service for Canada’s Rogers Wireless and offers a similar service through Spanish carrier Telefonica Moviles Espana. The company hopes to use the new podcasting service to encourage wireless consumers to use their handsets as mobile music devices.
“This is not a revenue play for us at all,” said Stan Sorensen, Melodeo’s senior director of product management and marketing. “The thing we have realized is that the adoption curve is very slow. While inherently, everybody in the industry thinks full track is a good idea, on the end user side, there seems to be a bit of hesitation there.”
