New lease of life for radio: advanced technology to enable one-click downloads from radio to mobiles.(Radio)

A ground-breaking new digital music service could hit stores by Christmas, allowing radio listeners to download broadcast tracks directly to their mobiles.

The initiative is being led by UBC's technology division Unique Interactive, which has teamed up with a group of media and technology partners, including Chrysalis Radio's Heart, for a series of trials in July and August, ahead of a projected arrival of the service's first hardware by the end of the year.

UBC chief executive Simon Cole is convinced the development will open up a brand new music downloading market. "The rise of digital has given radio a chance to be part of the digital entertainment world," he says. "Nothing comes close to a listener heating a song and having the facility to buy it straight away. It's inconceivable that any consumer worth their salt won't find this utterly compelling."

The two trials will involve 100 customer samples in Cambridge and Sutton Coldfield, who will all be given a mobile handset containing a DAB radio chip. Users will be able to tune into Heart shows--such as Jamie Theakston's breakfast show--on their mobile and download tracks with one click for 1.25 [pounds sterling] as they are being played. The two trials will run for four weeks at a time.

UBC specifically chose Chrysalis-owned Heart for the trial. "Heart is a station listened to by a certain demographic and, without wishing to sound sexist, it's a female, 20-something group who would like to get into downloading, but feel slightly intimidated by it" says Cole. "This initiative provides an easy solution to that and it's important for the entire business that we start to bring those people on board."

The ...