Music-playing cellphones were supposed to have “arrived” by now, but few companies have actually gotten them right so far. (That could be the wireless providers’ fault, though.) So Gracenote, the company that runs the CDDB database that iTunes checks every time you insert an audio CD, has come up with the Mobile Music 2.0 Platform. I know, the name could use some work. MM2 links cellphones, PCs and online music stores in an attempt to streamline the whole process of using a cellphone as a competent music-playing device.
Or, simply, it makes music-playing cellphones better. Well, at least it should.
The PC-to-cellphone part of MM2 lets music aficionados use their PC to look up artist info, get album art, etc. and have all of that content sent to their cellphone. Simple enough, but not exactly something to go wild over.
The other portion of MM2, however, is a little more impressive. Right from compatible cellphones (so far, the Sony Ericsson W910 Walkman and the K850 Cyber-shot), users can look up artist info by supplying a name, some lyrics or a snippet of an actual song. Then you’ll be given the option to buy the song. (Always looking to nickel and dime us…) Gracenote says MM2 has no problem identifying Justin Timberlake songs, but I wonder how well it handles groups like The Knife or DJs like Armand Van Helden.
Gracenote’s history isn’t littered with crappy products or services, so hopefully—hopefully!—MM2 doesn’t outright suck. It at least sounds like it could be good…