From the Digital Trends: "We've all been hearing how mobile phones are going to supplant portable digital music  players like the iPod by subsuming most of their functions. However, mobile operators have mostly been focusing on providing ways for mobile phone users to download music to their phones (and pay mightily for the privilege)...

"New music service Mercora M aims to bridge the gap — enabling users to wirelessly stream their own music collections to their phones — but also add to the equation via so-called 'Web 2.0' social networking capabilities which enables users to listen to streams of their friends' music, as well as thousands of Internet-based music broadcasts. Mercora likens the capability to having thousands of high-quality, on-demand custom radio stations available, offering greater variety than any streaming music or satellite radio service.

"Mercora M is an application for Windows 2000 or XP, and streams music to portable devices running Windows Mobile 5.0 or Windows Mobile 2003 SE, which includes gadgets like the Motorola Q and Palm Treo 700w...

"Mercora M will be free through October 31; after that, Mercora M will be offered on a subscription basis for $4.99 a month, $49.99 a year, or $99.99 for two years."

Read this entire article in Digital Trends online here.

From the Arbitron press release: "Arbitron Inc. announced today that effective with the release of the Fall 2006 survey reports, public and non-commercial radio stations will be eligible for reporting in the company’s local market ratings reports.

"The company is also deferring its previously discussed plans to report individual satellite radio channels in order to further refine rules for crediting satellite radio entries...

"The company hopes to begin reporting individual satellite radio channels in its survey reports at some point in 2007.

"Effective with the Fall 2006 survey, the instruction page on the inside of the diary cover is modified to incorporate Internet/Satellite instructions. These changes include a modification to the language describing the term 'listening,' as follows:

"'Listening' is any time you can hear a radio station – whether you choose the station or not. You may be listening to a radio on AM, FM, Internet or satellite. Be sure to include all your listening...

"In winter 2007, Arbitron will conduct a test of new diary designs that will allow listeners to more easily report Satellite and Internet listening and HD Radio along with AM/FM entries. Arbitron is also making systems changes that will allow the reporting of satellite , HD2 channels and Internet-streamed terrestrial radio as separate stations with their full station name in Arbitron’s desktop software programs."

This entire press release is available on Arbitron's website here.

...

... As much as we'd like to see how webcasters fare versus listeners' local stations in the same study, this is not what this development is about. Arbitron is simply enabling diary keepers to indicate whether they're listening to their local AM or FM station on a radio or via the Internet. This point may be obvious to some, but we thought it was worth clarifying. -- PM ...