If someone shuts a mobile music service down in the forest and there's no one to hear it, does anyone care? That's the situation facing Sony, which is finally turning off its ill-fated Connect service, according to CNET News.

"Apple's iTunes was never... threatened by Sony's misguided download service," said the report. "The company's attempt to compete in the digital music market was from the start marked by glitchy software and disinterested consumers."

The writing was already on the wall as early as April 2006, when Sony stopped development on Connect after failing to fix technical problems. More recently, there was the July 2007 announcement of a new mobile venture between Sony BMG and Dada Entertainment that lacked any mention of the existing Connect service.

Sony to shut down Connect music store [CNET News]