"Nokia has announced details of its Comes with Music service, which will allow 12 months of unlimited music downloads on pay-as-you-go phones. From 16 October, the bundle will be sold for £129.95 exclusively from the Carphone Warehouse.

The service boasts more than two million tracks, available first on Nokia's 5310 XpressMusic handset and on more models later. Also unveiled was a new 5800 handset that will support the service in 2009.

Major music label EMI has announced that it is taking part in the service. That means that all of the major labels are on board, and Nokia announced it was also partnering with several independent labels.

The deal allows 12 months of unlimited free downloads, but users can keep the music they have downloaded indefinitely.

Because the music is free from digital rights management, industry experts expect that the approach could be a serious rival to Apple's iTunes.

Nokia has already sold 10 million 5310 XpressMusic handsets, making it the best-selling music phone. The Comes With Music service will also be available on the N95 handset, but a date for that has not yet been set.

To coincide with the launch, Nokia also unveiled its first ever touchscreen handset, the 5800 XpressMusic. It will be available from late this year at 279 euros (£219) worldwide, with the Comes With Music version available in early 2009. "