Sony-Ericsson, the fourth-largest handset company, has announced it will open its own music store for consumers who buy its handsets. According to MarketWatch, the service "will be available in 30 countries worldwide by the end of 2008, starting from May. It will offer more than 5 million music tracks."

With Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Apple (NYSE: AAPL) already in the same business, it is hard to see how the new Sony-Ericsson initiative will find customers. A number of cellular carriers have services of their own, which means that they compete with their own handset suppliers. Companies outside of the cellular business have also created music download stores for portable devices. The most notable new player in that market is Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).

The multitude of download services is not likely to make those getting in late much money. And having so many services in the market will confuse the consumer.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.