BlackBerry launches new BBM Music service and takes on iTunes

Research In Motion's BlackBerry brand has launched BBM Music, its new streaming service that will go head-to-head with Apple's iTunes.

BBM Music enables users to build a library of music to share with friends through the BBM messenger service, which has 45 million users worldwide.

BlackBerry has agreed deals with the four major labels - Universal, Sony Music, Warner Music and EMI - to allow users to choose playlists of 50 favourite songs and share them with the community.

As well as being able to monitor how many friends have listened to your chosen tracks, the service also allows you to access and comment on other people's playlists.

The more contacts you add to your BBM Music network, the bigger your music library will become due to access to a greater number of playlists.

BBM Music users can also swap out up to 25 tracks every month to keep their playlists fresh and up-to-date. Tracks can be streamed, or cached to BlackBerry smartphones for listening offline.

Also today, BlackBerry has launched eight new smartphones to its portfolio, including two variants to the classic Bold model, three new versions of the Torch and three variants on the Curve.

All models will run the new Blackberry 7 operating system, boasting several new features including a new browser and the latest version of BBM.