Virgin DAB-bles in radio downloads

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While we were cooing over the Virgin Mobile Lobster phone’s ability to download TV via its DAB receiver we quite forgot about another possibility: music downloads. It seems, though, that DAB is perfectly capable of delivering full music tracks to handsets. A trial in Birmingham with Heart FM has been so successful that the service is ready to be rolled out nationally.Take HeartFull details are yet to be confirmed but talks are currently taking place with Virgin Mobile to launch the service on its DAB TV equipped handset (pictured) in January. Taking impulse buying to a whole new level, users listening to Heart’s digital output will be able to buy music as it’s played out. Tracks look set to cost a pricey £1.25 but will be ‘dual download’ so you’ll get a passable quality track for the phone and then a high quality file for downloading later on your PC.The company behind the technology, UBC Media, tells us it could even make launch by Christmas. We’re promised more details early next month so stay tuned.

Heart FM DAB downloads Price: £1.25 On sale: TBA (expected January) Contact: UBC Media Group Related links: Virgin Mobile Heart FMRelated stories: Hands-on with Virgin’s TV phone Virgin TV phone reborn as ‘Lobster’

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Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website. Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.