Mobile music streaming is set to become even more popular as data rates and all-you-can-eat packages increase and various web-based services find their way to the mobile Internet, so it’s no surprise that UK mobile operator Orange has teamed up with music giant Universal and Channel 4 TV to launch Monkey, a free music service for cellphone users who don’t have a monthly contract.

Aiming to be a central source of music as well as a social network for sharing playlists and portal offering music news, gossip, exclusive content and competitions, the service is targeting the 16-24 age group.

Orange claims that the service will work on any handset connected to the network. The service is supposed to be simple to operate — users are presented with a choice of eight preset playlists (such as R&B, rock, pop, chart), and it’s also possible to set up eight personalized playlists which can then be shared. [Read more…]

Originally posted on July 29, 2009 @ 8:44 am