DoCoMo 3G to support Windows Media platform

Japanese wireless operator NTT DoCoMo has said in a statement that they would be supporting the Microsoft’s Windows Media technology on their next-generation mobile phones.

This would enable their consumers to play both audio and video on their cellphones and PDAs. The Windows Media Audio platform would add support for copyright-protection technology to their foray of services on the company’s FOMA (freedom of mobile media) handsets.

One of the first handsets to support this new technology would be F902iS model that will be released this summer. As a result, these phones would now support music purchased and downloaded from some 100 online music services. They would also support songs ripped off from the Audio CDs in Windows Media Audio format.

Music download on mobiles is increasingly becoming popular as many more mobile service providers around the world are now supporting this facility. Sprint Nextel, Verizon, and Cingular are all offering some kind of facility providing direct downloading facility on the mobile handsets.