Apple iPhone by Motorola?

[MacRumors]

New fuel was added to the Apple branded phone fire in a post at TreoMac.com, saying that Motorola was working on an Apple-branded phone withe iTunes and iPhoto integration. According to the post, the phone featured a top-located media card slot, and possibly a bottom-located USB port.

No other information is available as of yet.

[AirUncleP]

This is what a lot of people have been waiting for.......if it's true.

[iAdam]

That would give me a reason to upgrade my cheap cell. I don't know likely it is to be true though.

[Peyote]

Doubt it's true. It would be interesting if it was...especially if it was designed by Apple. There's just so much competition in this market, I don't see why Apple would make such a risky move.

[zelmo]

iPhone - a slider phone that is a 512 or 1GBMB flash iPod player with color screen when closed, then slides open to reveal the keypad?

Yes, it is a crowded market, but how many Mac and iPod users would sign up for one immediately?

[nagromme]

I don't think Apple WOULD risk it (yet).

But Motorola might. SO many products could benefit from Apple-style iPod ease-of-use. Remote controls, cell phones, you name it. I think it could EASILY sell enough for Motorola to make their money. Meanwhile Apple wouldn't have to venture directly into new waters.

And we already know Apple and Motorola are working on iTunes for mobile phones.

I find it at least possible. And I hope it's true... I hate every cell phone I've tried to use!

[tom.96]

Originally Posted by powermac666

iPhone - a slider phone that is a 512 or 1GBMB flash iPod player with color screen when closed, then slides open to reveal the keypad?

Yes, it is a crowded market, but how many Mac and iPod users would sign up for one immediately?

Me. I'd buy it as long as it wasn't too expensive. If they had a decent one for about £150 there might be a sale here. Trouble is there is so much competition, and for that money you have all the other manufacturers offering attractive, feature heavy phones. However, the mobile market is quite big, and so if Apple could differentiate the product in some way then it could have another hit on its hands

[retromac]

This is what i found today.

http://www.iphone.org/

This is interesting. Maybe they are planning somthing, why would they have the URL and not use it?

Let's hope! I wouldn't mind an Apple iPhone!

[Stella]

Originally Posted by retromac

This is what i found today.

http://www.iphone.org/

This is interesting. Maybe they are planning somthing, why would they have the URL and not use it?

Let's hope! I wouldn't mind an Apple iPhone!

Apple have had that domain for several years.

[Stella]

Originally Posted by powermac666

iPhone - a slider phone that is a 512 or 1GBMB flash iPod player with color screen when closed, then slides open to reveal the keypad?

Yes, it is a crowded market, but how many Mac and iPod users would sign up for one immediately?

Only if it were a Symbian (that is, the worlds most popular smartphone OS, not to mention, best ;-)) powered smartphone, otherwise there is really no point IMO. I don't want to carry two devices around: pda + phone.

[nagromme]

Originally Posted by retromac

This is what i found today.

http://www.iphone.org/

This is interesting. Maybe they are planning somthing, why would they have the URL and not use it?

1. Just in case... someday...

2. To stop others from using it.

3. Because they have the ten bucks annually to spare

[bokdol]

itunes ring tones.... hummm all the kids would want that... every ring tone already on there imac... hahaha or download a song that can be used as a ring tone... waahahahaha... endless possiblities

[retromac]

How about steve jobs ringtone saying:

"oh yeah, and one more thing."

that would be cool

[dongmin]

All very interesting. He gave me his card, so I'll be sure to press him for more details in the coming weeks.

the little story sounded plausible until i got to this part about this motorola dude giving him his business card. no sane person who's revealing insider knowledge about a product would ever pass out his business card. talk about signing your career away.

anyways, the iPod brand has enough of a cache now that Apple just might be able to sell a lot of these things. all you'd need to do is style it in the familiar white-and-silver and add itunes/iphoto compatibility. i doubt they'd be able to implement anything like the click-wheel on this thing but apple probably has some other interface tricks up its sleeve.

the price, as others have noted, is the big question.

[swissmann]

If so I hope it is more than just a phone like a PDA in a lot of ways.

[Analog Kid]

Originally Posted by powermac666

iPhone - a slider phone that is a 512 or 1GBMB flash iPod player with color screen when closed, then slides open to reveal the keypad?

Yes, it is a crowded market, but how many Mac and iPod users would sign up for one immediately?

Flash? I say put a hard drive in, belt mount it with a bluetooth headset...

[Pismo]

What service providers would offer this phone? I doubt sprintpcs would. I'm stuck with them until August 2006. I'm sure Cingular will pick them up because they use a lot of Moto phones (that new Razor phone is sweet).

[retromac]

I would love to see Fido, I've been with them for years.

Plus i'm locked in for 2 more...

[TednDi]

and then sell the thing for any gsm platform.

sheer bliss

[ajkst1]

Hey...before we go jumping off the handle about an iPhone, how about Motorola or Apple or someone fixes the Bluetooth compatibility with iSync for Motorola phones (V600 *cough cough*)!

I'd buy an iPhone if they sold it, but it better work with my iSync or I'd be pretty pissed off.

[Natron]

Originally Posted by Pismo

What service providers would offer this phone? I doubt sprintpcs would. I'm stuck with them until August 2006. I'm sure Cingular will pick them up because they use a lot of Moto phones (that new Razor phone is sweet).

Cingular being the largest carrier currently, it'd be a shame if they didn't. I just think Verizon has a lame offering as far as phone selection, but they seem to have a lot of Motorolas.

Anyway, I'm enjoying my Sony Ericsson T637, and the day I see an iPhone, it will feel very inadequate.

[Stella]

Originally Posted by TednDi

and then sell the thing for any gsm platform.

sheer bliss

Oh God. Apple could make any iPhone a death nail and market this for north American markets only, ignoring the vastly more popular GSM.

[jamdr]

I don't think an Apple iPhone is a good idea. I wouldn't buy one, primarily because I wouldn't want every electronic gadget I own to be branded by the same company . But I also wouldn't want to pay too much of a premium for a cell phone, and neither do most other people. The most popular cell phones around are those cheap or free Nokia models. Only businessmen/women buy $400 phones.

[ehurtley]

It's been public knowledge that Motorola would make an iTunes-compatible, flash-based mp3 phone for months now. And since cameras are now pretty standard on phones, adding iPhoto support isn't too difficult.

As for Apple-branding? My guess is it was a spoof-y prototype. (Some Apple fan on the engineering team made a case that makes it look like an Apple.) Lots of Mot phones already have replaceable faceplates, so a stark glossy white one with an Apple logo wouldn't be hard to make.

And, yes, iphone.org has been registered for a long time. They used to own iphone.com, too.

[nagromme]

I really don't see Apple (for now) getting involved in a full-scale PDA with their branding--it would be too much like a 3rd platform for them.

That's certainly where PDAs and phones are headed, and Apple too if they're involved in phones at all. But for now, I'd be surprised if an Apple phone were also a full PDA. I'd expect it to be small and simple.

I'd personally love the full deal--PDA, hard disk, the works. I don't think the time is now, though.