Nokia Lumia 800 Gets Mix Radio App

Mix Radio scans the music library on users' devices to assess their interests and then uses the data to create personalized radio stations. The app also comes with dozens of regular streaming stations and other downloadable programming.

Nokia's new music effort is powered by a music intelligence platform called the Echo Nest, which powers Mix Radio's user customization features.

The Finnish phone maker is likely hoping features like Mix Radio, and the already announced Nokia Drive feature, will be enough to separate it from other manufacturers' Windows-based handsets. The company is still keeping the wraps on Mix Radio for now, but it remains to be seen whether it is good enough to differentiate itself from other music streaming apps like Pandora and Spotify.

Mix Radio will likely never achieve a level of success that makes Nokia phones must-have devices over its competitors, but the feature could become a part of more robust software package for the company in the future. Nokia's deal with Microsoft to use Windows Phone on its devices will, in the future, provide the company with first-hand access to a version of the platform, allowing the phone maker to build more native apps into its devices.

If Nokia can work on building more native apps for its Windows Phone devices, it can expand on what it already has with Mix Radio and Drive. With software running on top of the Windows platform, the manufacturer may be able to gain an advantage on companies like HTC and Samsung, which ship their handsets with the stock version of Windows Phones.

Mix Radio will debut against a lot of competition from apps that have been on the mobile market for a while, but it could eventually become an important piece to the package users get when they buy Nokia Windows Phones.