Some light weekend reading from Carlo Longino over at The Feature. While Symbian and it's licences sit around talking about the OMA DRM system, Carlo looks at some of the fun thing that could happen if Microsofts Plays for Sure DRM makes the penetration into mobiles.
Plays For Sure Going Mobile?
I don't know whether this will be such a good thing. At the moment, I download tunes from Apple's iTunes shop and they're DRM locked in a format that, at present, only my iPod can read and I can't convert them because of above DRM. What if Microsoft gets it into it's head to launch a new type of music file with DRM protection? All the vendors (except Apple) would get behind "Just because it's Microsoft" and of course any Windows device would have it's updates tweaked to allow for these files. Which would leave anyone with for example a Palm PDA or Symbian smartphone a little stuffed. Am I just being paranoid?
It's aleready here, called Windows Media 10, and DRM'med as well as Apples AAC bodge...
Nokia have already licensed Janus DRM "Plays4Sure" and the MTP Protocol for file transfer that integrates with Windows Media Player.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/feb05/02-14NokiaCollaborationPR.mspx
It will probably be integrated into the N91, maybe even before that. I see it as a good thing that there is one standard DRM for PCs, Portable Players, and Mobile Phones. At least it means there shouldn't be issues with moving songs onto whatever device you are taking with you.
If me mory serves, Nokia, when announcing the N91, said that it wouldn't initially be Plays for Sure compliant, but that it's strogly being considered for later versions - probably through software updates IMO.