After a clobbering in the press, Verizon Wireless has decided to do away with its monthly $15 fee for its music download service. Instead the firm is launching a new mobile with a 2Gb storage card, capable of storing 1,000 tunes.

Earlier this year, Verizon became a target of much abuse when it launched the Verizon music store which required users to convert their MP3 tunes into the Microsoft WMF format. Now the firm is offering LG’s “Chocolate” handset that will run native MP3s.

Verizon will charge $150 (£80) for the phone with a two-year contract. An additional $100 will secure the memory card.