Apple/Motorola Announce iTunes Phone

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif

As widely anticipated, Apple and Motorola finally announced the iTunes-capable phone that has been the subject of rumors and speculation for over a year.

Motorola and Apple today announced the availability of the world's first mobile phone with iTunes, enabling music lovers to transfer up to 100 of their favorite songs from the iTunes jukebox on their Mac or PC to their mobile phone.

The new phone will be available in the U.S. through Cingular. Cingular has updated their website and provided pricing information on the new phone. The phone is available for $249.99 with a 2 year contract.

The phone features a color display for album art, dual built-in stereo speakers and stereo headphones.. It supports music, audiobooks and Podcasts and syncs with iTunes. The phone pauses music automatically during incoming phone calls.

More details available at http://www.apple.com/itunes/mobile/

[villanova329]

Hehe hey awesome, first one to post ever! I have pretty high hopes for this phone, a lot of people thought the shuffle was a bad idea but then look what happened. I'm just curious to see how Apple will sell this on/at the store. Usually whenever a phone is sold, they refer you to the carrier site. Maybe they'll sell an unlocked version at the online store=). One can only dream.

[aricher]

I'll be waiting for the Rev C Apple designed phone, thank you. Nano Nano? Shazbot.

[Brian Hickman]

Originally Posted by Macrumors

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif

As widely anticipated, Apple and Motorola finally announced the iTunes-capable phone that has been the subject of rumors and speculation for over a year.



The new phone will be available in the U.S. through Cingular. Cingular has updated their website and provided pricing information on the new phone. The phone is available for $249.99 with a 2 year contract.

The phone features a color display for album art, dual built-in stereo speakers and stereo headphones.. It supports music, audiobooks and Podcasts and syncs with iTunes. The phone pauses music automatically during incoming phone calls.

More details available at http://www.apple.com/itunes/mobile/

Just a note...."The Steve" will be on CNBC momentarily (within the hour) to talk about the Nano and the new phone.

Hickman

[pb1212580]

iTunes phone and iPod Nano!!!

[FoxyKaye]

The ROKR is no RAZR, that's for sure. After all the hype, I was expecting something a little more elegant with more capacity. There's no reason why SD cards can't be used to store songs, which would give it a max 2GB capacity (possibly more in the future) and make it a real MP3 player. Guess Apple didn't want it competing with the iPod Nano.

Looks like I'll be sticking with my original plan and getting a RAZR this November when my existing contract with T-Mobile is up...

iPod Nano, OTOH - wow.

[dswoodley]

sucks...not available in my area. Oh well

[sigamy]

The mini is gone for now?

[caveman_uk]

Shame Apple couldn't have teamed up with a decent phone manufacturer. Everyone I know that's had a Motorola phone has hated it and said it was an unreliable POS.

[Ringu]

Originally Posted by caveman_uk

Shame Apple couldn't have teamed up with a decent phone manufacturer. Everyone I know that's had a Motorola phone has hated it and said it was an unreliable POS.

'tis true. Samsung, Nokia, Sony...any of those would have been nice.

I hope Apple do their own phone.

[Xapplimatic]

You have to see this ROKR related page from Motorola.. this is some funny sheet--err Cascading Style Sheet I tell you! lol.. Give it up for granny! She has more "pep" than Moe, Jack, and Manny!

Dance you little toad!

[mkubal]

Originally Posted by caveman_uk

Shame Apple couldn't have teamed up with a decent phone manufacturer. Everyone I know that's had a Motorola phone has hated it and said it was an unreliable POS.

Cingular isn't too bad. It's a shame that it's such a weak offering at such a high price. I was really looking forward to a RAZR design with iTunes software. Oh well maybe further down the road. And who gives a crap about a phone when they just ordered a Nano! Wheeeeeeeeee!

Edit: Then again I suppose you were talking about the UK provider. My bust.

[sishaw]

This iTunes phone is extremely underwhelming. It certainly isn't going to make me give up my Treo. I'm just not seeing what the advantage of this product is over any other phone that can be used to play songs, other than the integration with iTunes, or where the design elegance than Apple is so famous for is to be found.

OTOH, I wish I didn't already have two iPods! The nano looks pretty slick, but, it is only evolutionary, not revolutionary.

[JtheLemur]

1. GSM sucks in major cities. I'm in NYC. GSM here sucks. If you think GSM in NYC (at least) is good, swing by and see the reception my Sprint phone (or Verizon phone) gets.

2. Talk about a yawner of a design. It's just an older model rehashed. Thank god the Apple logo isn't on it.

[jocknerd]

I'll stick with my Nokia plain jane cell phone that does only one thing.

[JW8725]

I'm staying away from the phone....im down for a nano

[caveman_uk]

Originally Posted by mkubal

Cingular isn't too bad. It's a shame that it's such a weak offering at such a high price. I was really looking forward to a RAZR design with iTunes software. Oh well maybe further down the road. And who gives a crap about a phone when they just ordered a Nano! Wheeeeeeeeee!

Edit: Then again I suppose you were talking about the UK provider. My bust.

I was talking about the manufacturer - the people that actually make the phone. Cingular is a service provider - they don't make any phones.

My point was that Motorola phones suck.

[mkubal]

Originally Posted by caveman_uk

I was talking about the manufacturer - the people that actually make the phone. Cingular is a service provider - they don't make any phones.

My point was that Motorola phones suck.

Ah, my reading comprehension skills are worse than I thought.

I don't have much of a problem with Moto other than their menu system sucking big time.

[elo]

Apple had no input whatsoever in the physical design of this phone. HTH.

[0s and 1s]

Originally Posted by caveman_uk

I was talking about the manufacturer - the people that actually make the phone. Cingular is a service provider - they don't make any phones.

My point was that Motorola phones suck.

I agree. Moto phones are horrible. This design is ugly as sin. And a 100 song cap? Is this something set or can it be increased via memory stick? I'm content with my SE w800i, despite the horrible UI on its Disc2Phone software. If anything, it's making me buy CDs instead of albums on iTunes.

[greenstork]

Originally Posted by caveman_uk

I was talking about the manufacturer - the people that actually make the phone. Cingular is a service provider - they don't make any phones.

My point was that Motorola phones suck.

My RAZR is the nicest phone I've ever owned. The most important feature, IMO -- the reception -- is stellar. It's too bad this iTunes phone wasn't available in a flip phone design and with more storage space, what the heck is that all about.

[daddy-mojo]

the site says bluetooth connectivity for voice calls, does this mean I would lose the ability to wirelessly sync my phone as I have been doing? I know I would need to cable to transfer songs, I'm just talking about keeping my contacts/calendars up to date. Or is it a moot point since the cable is faster. Anyones thoughts?

[Toe]

Too bad it's Cingular. I had nothing but awful experiences with them, and dumped them within a month.

Motorola phones don't suck so much anymore. The a630 is a great little (free) phone, and works with iSync.

[digitalbiker]

Originally Posted by Toe

Too bad it's Cingular. I had nothing but awful experiences with them, and dumped them within a month.

Motorola phones don't suck so much anymore. The a630 is a great little (free) phone, and works with iSync.

I own a RAZR and love it! It is the best designed phone I have ever had. The second best phone for it's time was the Moto StarTac. The big problem with moto phones is not the phone, it is the GUI. Who ever designs the interface for Moto should be shot. Maybe it makes sense if you are Japanese but for the American consumer it makes no sense and is a pain in the a** to use.

[Felix_the_Mac]

This phone seems to be, in looks and technology, pretty second rate.
I really had to hunt around to find the specs of the camera, but the BBC revealed to me that it has a VGA resolution !!!!!!

I just bought a Sony Ericsson K750i with a 2 megapixel camera.
That is the best phone on the market at the moment (although sometimes I feel that it could be sturdier). I have stuck a 1GB Memory Stick Duo in it so it should take 200-300 songs.

The K750i is iSync compatible and of course has bluetooth. Buy One!

Regarding the iPod Nano, it looks nice but it really isn't that much of a change.
I guess the extra battery life will be useful and the lack of moving parts can't hurt.
However I am disappointed that there is no longer a 6GB iPod (I was hoping for an 8GB sometime soon).

All in all, a bit disappointing. Couple that with the fact that Steve has cancelled his Keynote at Paris Expo and it appears that Apple are having a bit of a dry spell.
Lets hope that the transition to Intel goes super-smooth and ahead of schedule.

I want my 65 nanometre dual core Powerbook please :-)