AOL's Winamp Goes Mobile

  • by March 26, 2007
Winamp, AOL's music media player, is going mobile in a beta version launching today. The new feature will enable music fans to stream their favorite tunes via their mobile phones with no download or software installation required.

The mobile addition to the Winamp Remote PC-to-PC streaming service will offer consumers the ability to play back music on their mobile phone.

"This is the first time that the Winamp experience is going mobile," said Matthew Callaway, product director for AOL's Winamp and SHOUTcast services. The mobile feature plays directly to what music fans appear to want--more self-expression, customizable features, and the ability to tap into a community of fans.

"This is a very customizable media player; users can create skins and plug-ins making it whatever you want it to look like," Callaway added.

The mobile service offers consumers the freedom to consume their music whenever and however they want to. Previously, they had to be in front of their computers to access Winamp. AOL is also working on developing new features to facilitate easier sharing of playlists and tracks.

As for advertising, Winamp is currently free, but AOL is working toward an ad-supported business model in future iterations.

Winamp Remote on Mobile works with wireless handsets that have a data plan and a Web browser, and work on any type of streaming media player including 3G, RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, or Flash. Winamp Remote doesn't support the streaming of digital rights management-protected music.

Existing Winamp Remote users can access the service at http://winamp.orb.com from their phone, while new users can download the Winamp Remote client onto their home PC at http://www.winamp.com/remote.

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