NetEase launches digital music service on mobile devices

NetEase Inc, a major Web portal operator in China, has entered the digital music market by releasing a service that enables users to listen to and share music on mobile devices.

This is the company's latest effort to expand its presence in the mobile sector as an increasing number of people access the Internet through mobile devices.

William Ding, NetEase's chief executive officer and director, said earlier that a full portfolio of the company's services for mobile Internet will be released in the first half of 2013.

Apart from the music service, NetEase has provided a number of services for mobile devices, including a dictionary service, a news service and a note-taking application.

Currently, there are about 1 million songs available on the service, which runs on the iOS and Android operating systems. The company said the service will also be available on table computers, Web pages, and client software on personal computers.

NetEase has cooperated with major record companies for the services, including Universal Music, Warner Music, Sony Music, Rock Records, and Gold Typhoon.

However, Ding also said in February that the mobile Internet services are not likely to contribute a lot to the company's total revenues in the near future.