Sony Corp. announced Wednesday what it called the first "personalized radio" service for mobile phones.
Under the still-unnamed music streaming service, subscribers would not own any of the songs but could create a customized channel to listen to the music they want, storing favorite tunes in personal playlists. Users would also be able to listen to music from a collection of predefined channels.
A "smart personalization" feature could also keep track of the subscriber's music preferences and make song suggestions.
Some mobile phone operators already offer music streaming services, but Sony said it is the first to let consumers tailor the music to their own tastes.
The service, introduced at the CeBIT electronics trade show in Hanover, Germany, will be first available in the second quarter in Finland for TeliaSonera mobile phone customers. Sony said the service will later expand across Europe with other mobile operators.
Sony officials were not immediately available to discuss whether the service would eventually be introduced in the United States or elsewhere.
Prices for the service were not disclosed.
