WITH the success of its XpressMusic handphones launched early this year, Nokia has added another two models. The new 5610 XpressMusic and 5310 XpressMusic promise a better mobile music experience for users.

“Nokia has blazed a trail for music on our devices, from personalised ringtones to integrated radio and MP3 support. Today, many people carry portable music devices along with them, but there is also a shift where more people are listening to music not on standalone devices, but on their converged device – their music phone,” said Nokia Malaysia’s managing director Andrew Cheong.

Among the features on the new XpressMusic models are dedicated music keys, music pause and resume on incoming calls, support for

3.5-millimetre connectors and

extended battery life.

The 5610 XpressMusic comes with a music slider key for easy access to music at the flick of the thumb. The 2.2-inch, 16 million-colour display comes with aluminium side panels and an all-black, high-gloss finish.

The model offers 22 hours of music playback and memory with a

capacity for 3,000 songs on the

optional four-gigabyte (GB) Micro Secure Digital (SD) card. It is also equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus and dual light-emitting diode flash.

And it is a third-generation device, which makes downloading, Web browsing and video calling a breeze.

The smaller-sized 5310 Xpress-Music is only 9.9mm thick. With a sleek aluminium finish, it offers up to 18 hours of music playback and memory for 3,000 songs with an optional 4GB microSD card.

It also comes equipped with a two-megapixel camera and a two-inch quarter video graphics array screen with 16 million colours.

The 5610 XpressMusic is priced at RM1,339 while the 5310 XpressMusic goes for RM1,199.

Nokia also announced the launch of the Independent Artists Club (IAC), a platform to promote home-grown music and talent, providing opportunities for new artistes to be heard and discovered in the digital space.

According to Cheong, with the launch of this new platform, the company is strengthening its commitment to the music industry, moving it forward by providing opportunities not only for artistes to get their music heard, but to give users access to a wealth of local talent on the go.

IAC also will feature artistes from countries in the region, including Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.

IAC is a music-focused community platform developed in the lead-up to the launch of the Nokia Music Store next year.