Yahoo!, the internet giant, and SanDisk, the flash memory group, today launched an assault on Apple's lead in digital music through a new system that offers wireless access to unlimited tracks for $12 (£6) a month.

A new MP3 music player, the Sansa Connect, will go head-to-head with the iconic iPod. It will download tracks from Yahoo!'s music website, which goes up against iTunes, Apple's market-leading online music store.

SanDisk is best known for inventing flash memory storage cards. It has partnered ZING, a mobile technology start-up, to develop the Sansa Connect.

The 4-gigabyte gadget, which costs $250 in the US, will also be able to access images stored on Yahoo’s Flickr site and Yahoo's instant messaging services, through wireless internet connections.

Yahoo! Music offers more than 2 million songs for download. The companies have not yet said whether the service wil be rolled out in the UK.

A string of companies, including Sony and Microsoft, have sought to topple Apple from its position as the leader in digital music, so far without success.

Ian Rogers, of Yahoo! Music, said: "Sansa Connect really underscores Yahoo! Music’s strengths and future direction, showing that we’re not just a way to get your music, but a set of services you use to manage your music experience."

He added: "For those of you about to complain about the $12/month to get unlimited tracks (like, um, Steve Jobs [the Apple chief executive]), check yourself before you riggity wreck yourself.

"Labels and artists get paid for every radio play and every Yahoo! Music download to the Sansa Connect, whereas we all know iPods are mostly full of not-paid-for MP3s."

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