Nokia Internet Radio - for FOUR phones!

Earlier this month, Nokia created a buzz when it released its Internet Radio software that, as its name implies, allowed users to access Internet radio stations on their handsets. While similar software has been around for a while, this was the first time a major cellphone manufacturer had come up with software for Internet Radio. Naturally, our hopes soared when we heard of it. After all, it was from Nokia, the company that sold more handsets than anybody else. So logically, it would work on a lot of handsets!

Were we wrong!

You see, Nokia’s version of Internet Radio runs only on a sum total of FOUR devices – the N95, the N95 8GB, the N91 (is it still around) and the N82. Even the mighty Communicator cannot run it! Yes, you can install the application on more than a dozen devices and access some functions such as Nokia Music Store and podcasting , but you will not be able to use the Nokia Internet Radio function unless you have one of the four devices mentioned earlier! If you do not believe us, check http://europe.nokia.com/A4668051

Now, as all the three devices (we are not counting the N91 as it is almost out of the market in India) that support Nokia Internet Radio are rather expensive ones, we are tempted to accuse Nokia of being elitist and neglecting the masses that made it the market leader in the cellphone business. Prove us wrong, Nokia. Please! Meanwhile, if you want to try out Internet radio on your cell, you can try out Virtual Radio from http://www.vradio.org/index.php?js=a. It runs on most Symbian Series 60 (3^rd edition) and Symbian UIQ 3 phones – which is a lot more than Nokia’s product!