Samsung Electronics on Thursday said it has partnered with MusicNet in launching in Europe a music service designed for its digital media players, the latest chapter in the company's uphill battle against the market-leading Apple iPod.

The MusicNet service will be accessible through the Samsung Media Studio, the proprietary media player that ships with the company's K3, K9, and T9 model media players. Previous versions of the studio will get MusicNet support through an automatic software update. The service also works with Samsung PlaysForSure devices, such as the Z5, which are based on Microsoft's digital rights management software.

The new service will offer portable music subscriptions for unlimited downloads for a flat monthly fee, or the purchase of individual tracks or albums. In France and Germany, where subscribers will have access to 2.6 million tracks, the service will be available for $20 a month, or $1.57 a track. In Britain, where 3 million songs are available, the service will cost $21 a month, or $1.60 a track.

Samsung said it would soon launch a "significant marketing plan" in the countries to promote the players and service. No further details were disclosed.

The Apple iPod, which is tightly integrated with the company's iTunes music service, accounts for about three-fourths of the market for digital media players. ITunes in the United States has grown to one of the top music retailers.

Meanwhile, Helio, a mobile phone service provider that targets young adults, is looking to grab some attention from the Apple iPhone, which has been the talk of the tech world since its launch June 29.

Helio on Thursday said it has developed with YouTube a "two-click" service for getting video recorded on its phones onto the popular online video service.

Subscribers to Helio's 3G high-speed network can preprogram the media-sharing service in their devices for YouTube. After the taking a video, a person would click "Helio Up" on the device screen and then "Post" to make the film live on YouTube. Subscribers would also need a mobile profile on YouTube.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, is also available on the iPhone.