Apple/Motorola Announce iTunes Phone

[interlard]

Ugliest phone ever

Oh dear. Steve must be so upset. His bright, shiny company has been linked to one of the ugliest phones ever. All other MP3-playing phones (and there are many) will do better than this.

This will make whatever Apple do next look even better.

 

[Toe]

Interestingly, the ROKR doesn't yet work with iSync...

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/isync/devices.html

 

[jiv3turkey748]

that phone is ugly

im really dissapionted

 

[podus maximus]

Too bad cingular service is terrible

just what i want. Lots of dropped calls, a 2 year contract, and my music tied into a long term contract with a terrible provider. Maybe Apple will partner with carrier pidgeons next. 🙄

 

[mikeyrogers]

USB Sync on a Bluetooth Phone?

I wonder why they say you have to connect a USB cable to the phone in order to sync your music while the phone supports bluetooth. On top of that, I wonder why Apple didn't update iSync today to support this phone.

 

[ZorPrime]

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 🙂

I hear you brotha'! 🙂

 

[ZorPrime]

I wonder why they say you have to connect a USB cable to the phone in order to sync your music while the phone supports bluetooth. On top of that, I wonder why Apple didn't update iSync today to support this phone.

'cause by the time you sync up your 100 songs the Moto battery will crap out.

 

[make it usable]

Revolting

WTF were Apple thinking of.

 

[Tahko]

I was excepting something much better! That is like their ages old model which my friend had (which he forgot in NY) of Ericsson with a fricking iTunes button!

I didn't like Nano, I don't like the new iTunes design (Windows, anyone?) and I especially don't like this new phone. Apple is losing it!

 

[VanNess]

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

If that's the case, it sure shows. Given the appearance of every other iTunes pocket playback devices (iPods), that is one fugly fone. 😱

 

[0098386]

sorry, but who the hell are Cignular? 🙂

the phone... looks like a white version of my cousins phone. its pretty nice. nowt special (then again im not a 'phone' person).

me? if it comes out in the UK i'll skip. my Siemens M55 is perfect still for me, and so is my iPod Mini. smiles all round, i suppose

 

[feakbeak]

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.

I completely agree with you. I just recently purchased a RAZR for $99. I wanted a well-styled flip phone that was small, had good reception and would work with iSync. The RAZR fit the bill perfectly for me and I got a good price on it. The GUI does suck, mostly because it is just not intuitive. Now that I have become familiar with it I'm alright - it's usable, but far from good. The manual isn't very helpful either, bad UI, bad doco!

Previously, I have owned two Samsung flip phones the VGA 1000 and some older one (forget the model). Both were good phones and I really liked their UI. It was simple and intuitive and their documentation was very good. The Samsung phones lacked in features though which is what drove me away from Sprint recently after five years. I was fine with Sprint's service just found their phone selection to be dreadful.

 

[grubesteak]

Works fine for me.

just what i want. Lots of dropped calls, a 2 year contract, and my music tied into a long term contract with a terrible provider. Maybe Apple will partner with carrier pidgeons next. 🙄

I recently switched to Cingular and got the RAZR phone. I'm very happy with both the provider and the phone.

I came from T-Mobile, but in my area, T-Mobile didn't even work in my office. I'm getting crystal-clear calls with Cingular now, and couldn't be more happy.

When it comes to cell phone companies, they all suck, IMHO. However, you just have to find what works best in your area. There is no one solution that's best for everyone. Thank God; I love competition!

 

[zimv20]

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).

yeah, i was thinking about picking up one of those. which service do you use? any additional complaints about the phone?

 

[feakbeak]

sorry, but who the hell are Cignular? 🙂

Europe almost always has the latest and greatest when it comes to mobile phones - let us enjoy this one. 😀

 

[wickermac]

yes, the phone is quite underwhelming. however, i have been told that the rokr was merely a vehicle to get the iTunes mobile interface out. i give it less than a year before we start seeing new devices and more carriers. i anticipate virgin mobile being the next wireless carrier that has an iTunes enabled phone.

 

[digitalbiker]

Apple's iSync doesn't support Moto BT

I wonder why they say you have to connect a USB cable to the phone in order to sync your music while the phone supports bluetooth. On top of that, I wonder why Apple didn't update iSync today to support this phone.

The reason you need a USB cable is because Apple's iSync software doesn't support Moto's version of BT. From what I have heard Apple is unable to fix iSync to work with Moto's BT. Therefore you have to use USB which will work with iSync and Moto Phones.

I have had several Motophones with BT and all of them must use a USB cable.

 

[rlreif]

garbage

what is apple thinking scheduling a big event for a POS like this? they are losing their edge... i have 250 songs on my treo... and could make that 500 with a 2gb card... ptunes is a great interface... in fact it looks better than that moto itunes...

 

[bb0ys]

I think you have the right idea

yes, the phone is quite underwhelming. however, i have been told that the rokr was merely a vehicle to get the iTunes mobile interface out. i give it less than a year before we start seeing new devices and more carriers. i anticipate virgin mobile being the next wireless carrier that has an iTunes enabled phone.

The hardware platform had been there for a long time. Until now, apple has developed the hardware and software for the iPod. The MOTO ROKR will prove or disprove if Apple can sell the iTunes/iPod interface to hardware manufacturers or service providers instead of themselves and their own iPod. Imagine your digital cable box with an iTunes menu. You can access all your songs and purcahse more through the music store with your remote. Hell, put it in a BMW with the stereo and navigational interface. It really opens a whole new set of doors for iTunes.

 

[jydesign]

I feel like the phone was announced to please analysts, the 'nano' was announced to please customers, and the video store will have to wait until the companies that actually control the content realize they need to trust Apple like the music industry did. I'm also surprised they didn't drop the shuffle prices - I wonder if it will go away eventually?

OK, now that this nonsense is over, can us Pro users get some damn answers about the nextgen PowerMacs?

 

[grubesteak]

I have had several Motophones with BT and all of them must use a USB cable.

Huh? My RAZR synced with Mac OS X right out of the box. No cable required if you're playing with BT.

 

[jesuscandle]

user expandable?

some of the copy on cingular's site suggests the storage is user upgradable. Can anyone confirm?

Update:

confirmed from the cingular site:

Inculded Accessories

* Battery
* Travel Charger
* Guides: ROKR E1 Manual - Quick Start Guide - iTunes insert
* iTunes PC software with USB cable
* Removable microSD memory card (microSD memory card must be installed in the device in order to use iTunes)
* Stereo headset and 3.5 mm headset adaptor

Linkity

 

[aarond12]

Sony Ericsson K750i

yeah, i was thinking about picking up one of those. which service do you use? any additional complaints about the phone?

I just got one for use with the Cingular network. It works great! The sound quality is very good and I like being able to put a 1GB memory stick duo into the thing for plenty of tunez. (It can accept a 2GB stick, too, but they're too expensive now.)

-Aaron-

 

[0s and 1s]

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 w800i is sturdier and great UI, although the k750i could be flashed with the same firmware.

The only Moto phone I'll consider is the new RAZR that's coming out in Dec/Jan. That one looks great!

 

[jacobj]

has anyone seen the demo on on cingular... they didn't seem to know about iTunes 5!

I also saw Steve Jobs on CNBC. He never once showed the phone but kept waving the nano about.. I get the feeling that Apple's heart is not in this deal