Let's face it: If you're reading this article, you're probably like the LAPTOP staff: gadget obsessed. We love the tech toys, but with so many shiny playthings out there, toting them can become a bit cumbersome. Mercora looks to ease our load with the Mercora M, which streams music from users' PCs to Windows Mobile 5.0-based smart phones and Pocket PCs, turning them into high-fidelity, wireless music players--no need for a separate MP3 player.

 

Mercora M gives mobile entertainment seekers on-the-go access to their PCs' music collections, courtesy of the free Mercora M for Desktop, so they can listen to their favorite MP3/OGG/WMA-formatted songs on their mobile phones (sorry, Apple fans). Since music is stored on a PC, Mercora users aren't bound to the small storage capacities of mobile phones (the Nokia N91 excluded) and don't have to sync up the phone to the computer.

 

Users can also explore more than 100,000 commercial-free, user-generated channels (including British Folk-Rock, Political Reggae, and Contemporary Flamenco, in addition to more traditional favorites), which are searchable by artist or genre. The Mercora M is intended to be far more than a solo experience; social networked listening (coming soon) will let users directly tune into five friends' PC-based digital music libraries.

 

Mercora M promises CD-quality sound through an optimized version of the OGG/Vorbis audio format that delivers clear sound via 3G cellular networks. Mercora M supports Bluetooth and stereo Bluetooth for wireless connectivity to headsets. A free preview is available to Windows Mobile 5.0 users through October 31st. After the free preview period, Mercora M will be available at an introductory price of 99 cents per month. Subscription will be available in six month- ($29.99), one-year- ($49.99), and two-year- ($99.99) packages.

Consumers can download and install the service directly from http://www.mercora.com/M.