This interview of Microsoft UK’s Head of Mobile simply boggles the mind. Microsoft’s new MSN Mobile Music service allows people to buy and download music directly to their mobile phone.
It costs £1.50 per song (about $2.08 US as of this writing).
You cannot transfer songs to your computer.
You cannot transfer the songs when you buy a new mobile phone.
Compare to something like Amazon’s MP3 store, which sells songs for about $0.79 US, has no restrictions on transferring them to and from mobile devices. It defies reason that Microsoft’s offering ever saw daylight. Honestly, go read the interview. It’s short. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t a parody! Both Amazon and Apple have abandoned DRM (use restrictions) for their music offerings, and have driven down their prices, while expanding their selection. Microsoft’s offering is more than twice as expensive, and is tied to a single physical device.