Support for more powerful handsets and the ability to deliver enhanced services to mobile phones and smartphones is one of the chief and advantages of the increased data throughput of 2.5G and 3G networks. The end-user gets a better mobile experience, while wireless carriers get additional sources of revenue. Improved multimedia and services are on the top of everyone’s list. Take a look, for example, at how quickly picture phones taken off.

At CeBIt 2004 in Hannover,Germany Sony and Finish carrier TeliaSonera announced plans to bring a mobile music streaming service to smartphones. Set to initially launch in the Nordic and Baltic regions, the handset radio service, temporarily called Personal Media Assistant, works with Series 60 and UIQ-based Symbian smartphones on GPRS/3G networks.

While streaming services are currently offered by some carriers, the Japanese electronics and music giant claims Personal Media Assistant is the first that can be customized by the user. In addition to streaming personal music channels and play lists, Personal Media Assistant will deliver news, artist information and community features such as messaging and music exchange.

TeliaSonera Finland will be the first operator to offer the service when it is introduced in the second quarter. Other Nordic countries should follow in the middle of the year. TeliaSonera said it is currently in discussions with Sony Network Services Europe to introduce the service in other Nordic countries. There's no word on when or if Personal Media Assistant will be made available in United States or how much it's going to cost.

According to the companies, Personal Media Assistant will offer a wide range of music from major and independent record labels. With it, users can listen to selections and share tracks, playlists or collections. Subscribers browse through a collection of pre-defined music channels or create their own customized channel.

The service also includes a system that keeps track of individual tastes, so the more a user interacts with the Personal Media Assistant, the more the system understands his or her musical tastes.