Foster
City, Calif. – Sony extended its Music Unlimited streaming service to the
portable PS Vita game player.
The company also announced a new capability that lets users
cache streamed channels and playlists on the Vita and on select Sony Android
smartphones for offline listening when a cellular or Wi-Fi connection
isn’t available.
Cached
playback will also help users conserve battery life or manage cellular
data-plan charges.
For
Android smartphones, the cache capability is available on handsets running a
new 1.3 version of the Sony Music Unlimited app operating on the Android 2.1, 2.2
or 2.3 OS.
Vita
comes in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/3G versions.
Consumers
who pay for a subscription to the personalized service are entitled to stream
music to any PC and to any compatible connected Sony device, such as
smartphones, tablets, and
2010 and later connected Sony Bravia HDTVs, Blu-ray
Disc players, Blu-ray HTiBs, the Disc Home
Theatre Systems, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PS
Vita system.
For Sony Walkman MP3/video players lacking Wi-Fi, Music Unlimited
turns into a subscription-download service in which music is downloaded to a PC
and then side-loaded to the Walkman. Users can side-load individual songs or
channels for playback on the portable devices.
