Sony Plays 'Name That Tune' On Cell Phones

Music fans no longer need to wonder: "What is that song?"

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and Gracenote, formerly CDDB will name that tune on mobile phones worldwide. The companies announced this week the release of a service that will allow Walkman phone owners to hold up their phones in a restaurant, bar, or just about anywhere and identify music through Gracenote's Global Media Database. The service will also work with songs played on the phones' built-in FM tuners.

"Sony revolutionized the world of music with the original Walkman, and now Sony Ericsson is positioned to do the same in the mobile world with their cutting edge handsets optimized for music," Craig Palmer, Gracenote CEO, said Tuesday in a prepared statement.

The premier service, Mobile MusicID, combines advanced recognition technology with what Gracenote claims is the world's largest music information database for quick identification. TrackID will offer ring tones, full tracks, album art, and other related merchandise, as customers view song information.

The database includes more than 10 million song fingerprints, optimized for mobile devices and representing popular music."With TrackID we've been able to provide users with the simplest and easiest way to discover new music whether it's playing in a caf?, in the car or even on the built-in FM tuner," Steve Walker, vice president of Sony product marketing, said in a prepared statement.