SingTel touts mobile karaoke
Published: 17 Oct 2003 10:50 BST
The sight of people talking into their mobile phones as they walk down the street is normal. But the island's largest telco, SingTel, is hoping that users will take to staring at their handsets devices and singing.
SingTel’s new Mobile Karaoke service will offer the operator’s postpaid mobile subscribers full-length songs for download. These will come with synchronised lyrics to prompt users singing along.
"Fun and entertainment services have always been one of the critical drivers of mobile usage," explains SingTel’s vice president (consumer products) Hui Weng Cheong. "We see Mobile Karaoke as an entertaining and innovative service that will appeal especially to the young and anyone who loves to sing. With the inclusion of some Christmas songs nearer to the festive period, we are confident that the service will be a hit at Christmas gatherings and parties."
The songs can be downloaded by Java-enabled phones, such as the Motorola E380, the Nokia 3650 and the Sony Ericsson T610. Songs cost S$4.16 (£2.47) per download. SingTel expects 100 English and Mandarin hits to be available by year-end, with an additional 20 songs a month thereafter.
The service is already being offered in the region by Advanced Info Service of Thailand, which launched it in February, and Telkomsel of Indonesia. Since its launch last month, Telkomsel has seen about 1,700 downloads a day.













