3UK now offering the N95 8GB Comes with music!

3UK started supplying Nokia N95 8GBs with the ‘Comes with Music” bundle a couple of days ago. They are the first network officially selling the new “Comes with Music” bundles direct from the Network. Previously, you would have to go through Carphone Warehouse who could supply it through various networks but not officially. This is the first high end phone to be sold with the comes with music package, and lower spec’d 5310 is available on PAYG also from The Carphone Warehouse.

Interestingly, 3UK picked up on this deal much quicker then I, and a lot of other people, anticipated. Pretty much all of the major UK networks have their own store, offering a subscription based service where you either pay per track, or pay per month. 3UK offer their own music store with Dual download where you can download to your PC and phone, similar to what Nokia have done with their comes with music service, but 3UK want a Whooping £1.49 per track (Around $2)! Its come as a surprise to me that 3UK have taken up the Comes with Music service and devices, because obviously it seems in direct competition to what surely is a huge profit maker for 3UK. It comes as even more as a surprise that only a couple of months ago 3UK rejected taking the Nokia N81 on because Nokia was insisting that their own music software was to stay on the device rather the installing their own (infact, this happened with several networks!).

It seems 3UK have caught onto the bandwagon that they will never be able to contend with Nokia Comes with music service, and instead of trying to fight it, have embraced it.

The Nokia N95 8GB is available through 3UK for Free on £35 and upwards, and also available on other networks through The Carphone Warehouse. Its just a matter of time before more Comes with Music handsets are released and the Networks start to realise, like 3 have, that they cant fight it, so they will have to embrace it.