Didiom Music Download/streaming System Comes To BlackBerry

Back in November 2008 SlashGear heard talk of mobile music service Didiom bringing their hybrid download/streaming service to RIM's BlackBerry smartphones.  Turns out our tipster was correct: Didiom have announced the release of their app, free in the BlackBerry App World download store.  With it, users can not only buy music and audiobooks on the move from a catalog of over 2m songs, but stream audio content from their home computer.

Currently in beta, the service uses Didiom's proprietary place-shifting system, which creates an encrypted tunnel between your computer and your phone – either via 3G or WiFi link – for wireless audio streaming.  The computer app automatically scans for new content, allowing you to search from it from the smartphone, while tracks bought on-the-move are delivered in MP3 or DRM-free WMA format.

Tracks are between $0.89 and $1.39 each – the former for single-downloads, the latter for dual-downloads (which gives you a standard quality copy for your phone and a CD-quality copy for your home computer) – while albums range from $9.99 to $12.99.  Meanwhile the streaming side of the app is free, though it's recommended that you have an unlimited data plan on your phone.

Didiom also have a Windows Mobile client, and are offering 25 free downloads (albeit pre-selected, rather than your own choice) to get you hooked.  More at the company's site, or you can download the Didiom app on your BlackBerry Tour, Bold, Curve, Pearl or 8800-series phone through the BlackBerry App World.

[Thanks Ben!]

Press Release:

Didiom Now Available for Free on Blackberry App World

 Didiom has expanded its hybrid mobile service to include PC-to-phone streaming of audiobooks and podcasts  The Didiom MP3 Store has passed the two-million song milestone  All new users will receive 25 free songs for their phone and PC/Mac

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 6, 2009 — Didiom®, an award-winning mobile media service provider, today announced the availability of its mobile application on BlackBerry® App World™, the on-device application store for BlackBerry smartphones.

Didiom's free application allows users to stream songs, playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks from their home computer to their phone over the air, and also to buy new music and audiobooks from Didiom's Mobile MP3 Store.

Starting today, BlackBerry® App World™ users can download Didiom, for free, on select handsets including the BlackBerry® Tour™, BlackBerry® Bold™, BlackBerry® Curve™, BlackBerry® Pearl™, and BlackBerry® 8800 series. As a bonus, all new users will receive 25 free, pre-selected songs from up-and-coming artists, ready for download to their phone and PC/Mac.

"Launching Didiom on the BlackBerry App World is a giant step forward for us in reaching the rapidly-growing BlackBerry community," said Ran Assaf, Didiom's founder and CEO. "Didiom doesn't only eliminate the need for synching your iTunes library with your phone via USB; it also shifts the paradigm on how we mobilize our home computer's media library. When you wait for a flight, stand in line at a busy Starbucks, or walk your dog, you can easily access your computer from your phone and stream anything from the latest audiobooks you've downloaded from Barnes & Noble to the latest podcasts you've downloaded from CNN, The Wall Street Journal, or ESPN."

Didiom's hybrid service is built upon the company's proprietary, placeshifting technology and wireless content delivery platform. Throughout the beta period, Didiom offers a free mobile application for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile phones, as well as a desktop application that seamlessly scans users' personal computers, and maintains an encrypted channel between the user's computer and phone. When users add new audio files to their computer, Didiom's desktop application automatically scans and makes them available for wireless streaming on their phone.

With the mobile and publishing industries at a critical turning point, the market for placeshifting of audiobooks and podcasts presents attractive growth opportunities. Didiom has recently expanded its public beta test to include PC-to-phone streaming of audiobooks and podcasts. The audiobook market has been growing steadily for more than a decade. According to a new study by the Audio Publishers Association, downloadable audiobooks accounted for 21 percent of audiobook sales in 2008, up from 17 percent in 2007.

The podcast market has also been on the rise in light of the growing number of individuals and mainstream media companies that provide free, downloadable podcasts. A new survey by Edison Research, a market research and consumer polling company, shows that the main reason for podcast consumption is the ability to listen offline to podcasts any time, and podcast consumers increasingly use their mobile phones as media players.

"In this always-on-the go society we live in, I think it is crucial to make it as easy as possible to listen to your content," said C.C. Chapman, producer and host of the award-winning music podcast, Accident Hash. "As a podcast producer, I want people to be able to listen to my show wherever and whenever they want, and the opportunity that Didiom is giving me and my listeners helps make that possible."

About Didiom:

Founded in 2005, Didiom® (www.didiom.com) is an award-winning mobile media service provider offering the world's first hybrid service to allow customers to stream music, podcasts, and audiobooks from their home computer to their phone, and also to bid on music downloads directly from their phone. With two million tracks from more than a quarter of a million artists, the Didiom MP3 Store is the first and only on-device music store to operate independently across multiple wireless networks and mobile devices.

Didiom's innovative products and services, which are built upon the company's proprietary placeshifting and wireless content delivery platforms, have recently won a Gold Award of Excellence, and a Silver Award of Distinction at the 15th Annual Communicator Awards. Didiom also became the first company to win a Merit Award in the branded mobile application category at The One Show, the advertising industry's most prestigious international awards competition.