Nokia launches online store, as US rivals take on Apple.

As Nokia launches a global download store, a new handset and a retail shop on London's Regents Street, rivals keep one eye on the mobile operator's launch, and the other on a raft of US-based online activity

Digital

Nokia is set to wade into the increasingly crowded online music market, with the announcement this week of the launch of a global download store.

The handset manufacturer's Go Play launch event, which takes place in London this coming Wednesday, is expected to include the unveiling of a flagship retail outlet on London's Regents Street and a new handset - reportedly called the N81 - boasting an iPhone-comparable 8GB of in- built memory.

The move follows Nokia's $60m (#29.9m) acquisition of digital music platform and media distribution service Loudeye in August 2006. At that time, Nokia Multimedia executive vice president and general manager Anssi Vanjoki stated the company's intention to deliver "a comprehensive music experience to Nokia device owners during 2007".

This week's announcement will follow a number of significant US-based online music store debuts last week, initiated by Universal's launch of its six-month MP3 trial last Tuesday.

Wal-Mart - the US's largest retail chain - unveiled a DRM-free download store, boasting high-quality MP3s from labels including EMI and Universal, and undercutting iTunes' lower-quality offering by four cents (2p) per track. Elsewhere, gBox, a California-based start-up, launched with an offer of Universal and Sony BMG content via click- throughs from Google adverts.