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Digital
Sony launches new streaming service
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 2 September 2010
While Apple was busy launching its new iTunes logo in San Francisco yesterday, rival Sony launched a whole new digital content service at a technology convention in Berlin.
Actually the new service, which goes by the stupid name of Qriocity, has been available in the US since April, but the whole thing will roll out into Europe this autumn, with additional content and devices added into the mix.
A subscription-based streaming service, Qriocity will offer both video and audio content on-demand which can be accessed via a range of Sony devices, including PlayStation 3 consoles, Bravia TVs, Blu-Ray players and Sony PCs. It launches with a film library, with a Spotify-style streaming music option due to be added later in the year.
Sony Europe President Fujio Nishida said: “Via Qriocity, Sony will deliver a variety of digital entertainment content and services… including video, music, game applications and e-books over time”.
It’s not Sony’s first attempt to get a slice of the digital music market, of course, though its original download service, Connect, only ever excited nine people and was quietly shut down in 2008. File formats and digital rights management constraints were always a big issue for Connect. In Australia and New Zealand, Sony more recently launched a more conventional MP3 download service called bandit.fm, which would complement the Qriocity service if it were to be rolled out globally.
In sort of related news, everyone seems to think Amazon is about to enter the streaming music and movie market too. Good times.
