Finding music at Sprint.com

Downloading ringtones is not the only way to get music to your mobile phone through the mobile Internet. Many of the latest mobile phone models can store music similar to an iPod from Apple or on any MP3 player. Wireless carriers have been eager to add iTunes-like digital music storefronts on their Web sites so that people can download music directly to their mobile phones. The mobile Internet services in this section apply only to Sprint subscribers and don’t work on any other wireless carrier networks or mobile phones. However, this section can still give you an idea of how these services work, because most carriers’ services work in a similar way. If you’re not a Sprint subscriber, your wireless carrier may offer music downloads as well. Go to its Web site to start the process of downloading music to your mobile phone. You may have to experiment, but the steps should be relatively straightforward.

From a computer

As with ringtones and wallpaper, music downloads can work in a couple of different ways. The first one we cover here is from your computer, as it is easier to find what you want on your bigger computer monitor, surf all the selections made available, and preview the songs all without paying wireless data charges. Follow these steps on your computer to browse what’s available:

1. On your computer, go to the Sprint Web site at www.sprint.com and click the Services tab in the middle of the page.

2. Click the Music link on the left side of the page. Click the Sprint Music Store link.

This step opens the Sprint Digital Lounge, where you can browse, preview, and purchase any of the songs offered for your mobile phone.

3. Click the Music link.

A list of songs appears, which you can purchase and download to your computer and transfer to your mobile phone.

4. Click the song you want to download.

You can listen to the song before you purchase it. If you haven’t already signed in, and you want to buy the song, you need to sign into the Sprint Digital Lounge.

5. Click the Buy It Now button to purchase the ringtone.

6. After you’ve purchased the music, transfer it to your mobile phone by connecting your phone to your computer with the accessory cables that came with your phone or via Bluetooth.

The best way to transfer songs to your phone is up to you; we recommend you visit your local wireless carrier store to show you how to do it, especially if you’re not familiar with connecting your phone to your computer. If you are familiar with downloading songs to an iPod or other digital music player, then follow the steps recommended by your wireless carrier to download music to your phone.

Take advantage of all the great Sprint Digital Lounge services by signing up for either My Content Manager or Sprint Music Manager. You can manage all your mobile content, including music, that you purchase from Sprint right on your computer (like any digital music storefront). From My Content Manager, you can send (or transfer) your music to your mobile phone — or even to a friend’s phone.

To take advantage of the music that Sprint offers, you must have a Sprintcompatible phone model and subscribe to an appropriate Sprint service plan.

From your phone

If you don’t want to use your computer to transfer music to your mobile phone, you can easily use your mobile phone to purchase and download music directly. The process is quite simple. Here are the steps to download music over-the-air (sometimes abbreviated as OTA):

1. Launch your mobile browser on your Sprint mobile phone. Click the Sprint Music Store link.

When you enter the Sprint Music Store for the first time, you need to set up your user identification and password. (If you have a user ID, you can skip this step.)

2. From the Sprint Music Store opening page, browse songs by Feature Music or by Categories, or search for a specific song.

3. When you have found the song you want to buy, highlight it and press the OK button on your phone.

The information about the song will be displayed on your screen.

4. Select the Preview option if you just want to listen to the song, or select the Buy Song option if you want to purchase the song and download it to your phone.

When you buy the song, the file automatically downloads to your phone. Make sure it goes to your phone memory card (often called a microSD card). If you don’t have a microSD card, or your memory is full, you will be alerted about that.

5. After the song is downloaded to your phone, choose whether to listen to the song, add the song to a playlist, or simply continuing shopping for new songs.