Motorola on Tuesday revealed details of its plans for iRadio, a subscription music service that will go on sale this year. Motorola's iRadio service is first available on Rokr E2, surprisingly the phone will not include iTunes software.

Legendary multi-platinum musician Graham Nash, who will contribute music and interview material to an upcoming Crosby, Stills, and Nash channel, noted that "Motorola iRadio is a fantastic new way for us to reach our fans with our music. We can improvise, and experiment, and let the people decide what they like to listen to."

Another exclusive independent artist channel is produced by Academy Award-winning writer, actor, director, and musician, Billy Bob Thornton.  "Motorola iRadio is the best thing to happen for variety in music since Jimmy Hendrix opened for the Monkees," said Thornton. "This is radio like it used to be, like it's supposed to be."

NAME THAT TUNE. Listeners can bookmark an individual song by simply pressing a button on their phone or car stereo, making it easy to recall the name of a long-forgotten favorite or to discover a new artist. Artist, album and song information along with offers to purchase downloads, CDs or even concert tickets will appear on the iRadio “Wish List” viewed on the computer.

SECURE PLAYBACK. Motorola iRadio’s proprietary rights management technology offers content owners and artists an advantage. Using the single-play model of radio, labels can introduce consumers to new content and be protected from piracy and unauthorized file-sharing.

Completing the Wireless Carrier Music Offering
ACQUISITION AT THE POINT OF DISCOVERY. Motorola iRadio completes the music service ecosystem for the wireless carrier, by placing the element of discovery right on the mobile device. Carriers can now introduce subscribers to new music played from the handset, and drive them to their wireless music store for over-the-air acquisition of the tune they just heard. For example, listeners can hear a song on their car stereo, and simply press a key to purchase and download the track over-the-air.

INCREASED REVENUE AND CUSTOMER RETENTION. Wireless carriers can extend their relationship with the customer beyond the handset, by offering a branded music service that’s accessible from the mobile phone and the car stereo. This seamless service offers the opportunity to increase customer loyalty and monthly subscription revenue.

TURNKEY. Motorola iRadio has aggregated hundreds of channels of content through agreements with major labels and other producers, and continues to develop compelling new content. Carriers can differentiate and customize iRadio’s vast selection to enhance their existing music offerings.

EASY TO DEPLOY. Motorola iRadio can be deployed to subscribers through a simple software application that can be downloaded to a handset over-the-air.

NETWORK EFFICIENT. Motorola iRadio combines over-the-air delivery with a sophisticated caching system that reduces the cost of delivery for wireless carriers.

Award-Winning Variety, Innovation and User Experience
The Motorola iRadio® Service was recently honored as the “Best Radio Service” at the 2005 Digital Entertainment and Media Excellence Awards, recognized by a panel of judges from across the entertainment and digital media industries as the “the best radio service (digital, Internet, satellite or other format) with respect to variety, innovation and user experience.” Other finalists in this category included XM® Satellite Radio, America Online’s AOL® Radio Network, and Yahoo! LAUNCHcast Music Radio Service.

The award ceremony was part of the two-day Digital Entertainment and Media Expo (DEMXPO), co-sponsored by Billboard® Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, AdWeek, Nielsen Entertainment and Digital Media Wire.

Consumers can subscribe to the Motorola iRadio Service by simply tapping an icon on an iRadio-enabled mobile phone, available through wireless service providers later this year.

System requirements include:

• iRadio-enabled mobile phone
• High-Speed Internet connection (cable modem or DSL) 2
• PC running Windows XP
• USB port on the PC