Apple/Motorola Announce iTunes Phone

[kugino]

this is apple's R&D on a public stage. use a company that's already out there and just port itunes to it and gauge interest. they're (probably) already developing their own phone, but they need to test the waters and get in there sooner rather than later. using the butt-ugly motorola phone is certainly unfortunate, but probably necessary for steve et al. coming up with a brand new phone from scratch is probably more work than an mp3 player b/c it has to go through the FCC and other communications hurdles...

then again, i have no idea what i'm saying...just thinking out loud.

 

[Rainfreak]

This was the iphone hype? I hope apple will introduce one they made themselves Soon!

[crickets chirping] ..

 

[RAS admin]

I'd pay a grand for a phone that merges ipod nano guts with the RAZR. sure it'd be bigger and thicker...but it'd be smaller than that friggin ugly ROKR. seriously.

i'm pretty sure no one else would pay that much...so it won't happen ... until next year.

I would have paid about $600 for the exact same thing. I've been without an iPod for almost 6 months now, and have had my Nokia cell phone with Cingular service (was Cellular One when I first signed up) for almost 6 years. I have been hoping for a black RAZR with at least a gig or two of Flash iTunes storage.

That ROKR is just no good. I just ordered a black 4GB iPod nano. Now I will also have to buy a black RAZR without a two year contract. I like having the ability to call up Cingular and threaten to cancel my service in order to have my way with them. They will do ANYTHING to keep you! heh heh heh

 

[Dahl]

Apple design next time, please. Then I'll buy.
The phone might be fine, but it looks crappy.

 

[aloofman]

I would have paid about $600 for the exact same thing. I've been without an iPod for almost 6 months now, and have had my Nokia cell phone with Cingular service (was Cellular One when I first signed up) for almost 6 years. I have been hoping for a black RAZR with at least a gig or two of Flash iTunes storage.

That ROKR is just no good. I just ordered a black 4GB iPod nano. Now I will also have to buy a black RAZR without a two year contract. I like having the ability to call up Cingular and threaten to cancel my service in order to have my way with them. They will do ANYTHING to keep you! heh heh heh

$600 for a cellphone/music player? Are you serious? I guess Apple knows its customers better than I do!

 

[ebunton]

This phone is not Apple's product. The MotoROKR phone is a product by Motorola. Do you see an Apple logo anywhere on the phone? No. Apple's product is iTunes. Now go get yourself a juice box and play nice with the other boys and girls.

Don't be naive. The very fact that iTunes is associated with the ROKR, makes consumers regard this Motorola, not just as a Motorola phone, but also as a joint development with Apple.
THAT MEANS, people would think that this is the iTunes phone... hello... ITUNES phone.

What I don't understand is why on earth would Apple allow this mediocrity to come to market?

Apple is considered a WOW company, and yet they let Motorola release a subpar phone loaded with Apple software?

The mind boggles.

People will now remember that Apple's first foray into the cellphone market was mediocre, with a horribly designed and dated phone plus a slow-responding UI.

I think it's a mistake... I predict the internet and media sprouting bad to average reviews of the "iTunes" phone in the near future. What bad publicity.

 

[xnu]

Ok, I revise my previous comment slaming this phone. The fact is Apple waited to release this phone in conjuction with the nano to reinforce Apple's incredible design ability and to reinforce the inability of cell phones to threaten their market. There is a market for this phone, albeit small at this time that Apple wants to address, but they do not want to have their Ipod franshise threatened. I think Apple is waiting until they can set up their own virtual mobile network to release a real smart phone music player. The purpose of the nano is to show that carrying a cell phone and a music player of diminutive size is preferable to a one device solution until all parts of their plan are in place. Well this is my hope. Convergence may be based on the timeline associated with the intel transition, maybe we will see something superior in January to bridge the gap until we see the next generation of Macs based on intel.

 

[FightTheFuture]

does anyone think that the normal consumer won't be able to tell the difference between this and a sony w800i on paper? besides megapixel for the camera - i doubt anyone will think of the interface. they may just associate itunes with ipod, and ipod + phone... i don't think the majority of people will spec out what else is out there. and if the normal consumer is on the phone with cingular i'm sure they'll market the hell out of this thing till they are convinced that its cutting edge.

 

[Whyren]

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

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

It seemed it was in there since iSync 2.1 was released.

 

[Voonplatz]

Don't be naive. The very fact that iTunes is associated with the ROKR, makes consumers regard this Motorola, not just as a Motorola phone, but also as a joint development with Apple.
THAT MEANS, people would think that this is the iTunes phone... hello... ITUNES phone.

Here, let me make this simple for you.

MotoROKR phone = hardware

iTunes = software

If iTunes (reminder: software) is running on Dell computer (reminder: HARDWARE), my computer is NOT an Apple product. The few dim bulbs out there who think that any devise is an Apple just because it's running iTunes are "naive".

 

[Ringu]

I'm sure everyone gets the Dell comparison.

The frustration is that many people on here would love an iTunes phone and are disappointed that it debuted on such a cr@p one.

It would be like the next new Mac OS debuting on a Dell first.

 

[sjo]

Which begs the next question: instead of making such a big deal about an ordinary phone, why doesn't Apple just license iTunes for any phone that can play music and meets certain minimal design specs? What was the particular advantage in working with Motorola here?

I don't get it.

The answer is that the proposition is really not that attractive for mobile phone manufacturers. Remember that we're talking about a 800m unit market here compared to 20-25m ipod market (yearly). A mobile phone manufacturers will make those sales with or without itunes in their phones. Apple is losing ipod sales to mobile phone/music player combos as we speak.

It's really Apple that needs to enter the mobile phone market and not vice versa, and they have basically three options, they can sell itunes software to customers, they can distribute it freely or they can try to strike deals with manufacturers and carriers to have itunes software preloaded on the mobiles. MS is already striking those deals which is not very good news for itms.

 

[mpw]

...What I don't understand is why on earth would Apple allow this mediocrity to come to market?...

This is the kind of phone I had hoped Apple would be working to compete with, i-Mate also make a version of this and the smaller i-Jam which is closer in style to an iPod than any other phone.

 

[DJY]

W800i is miles better than the ROKR phone and it is just a case of drag and drop with OS X.

That is great news!
Drag and drop - phew!
I think that might put this little beauty clearly in the front runner position for me! Might go buy a iPod nano while I decide though! Thanks for the info!

 

[RAS admin]

$600 for a cellphone/music player? Are you serious? I guess Apple knows its customers better than I do!

Yes, I am serious.

If you wanted to buy a black RAZR v3 without a contract it would cost you $250+. I just spent $250 on a black Nano. I really only want to carry one device and have the ability listen to at least 500 songs (preferably 1000), and when I get a call, I want to be able to hear the phone ring in my headphones. For this I would be willing to pay the extra $100. $250+$250+$100 = $600

 

[sishaw]

Yes, I am serious.

If you wanted to buy a black RAZR v3 without a contract it would cost you $250+. I just spent $250 on a black Nano. I really only want to carry one device and have the ability listen to at least 500 songs (preferably 1000), and when I get a call, I want to be able to hear the phone ring in my headphones. For this I would be willing to pay the extra $100. $250+$250+$100 = $600

Or you could glue the Nano to the back of any cell phone and save a bundle. And, I'd guess you'd be able to hear the phone ring while you're listening to music. Not my idea--I got it from the San Jose Mercury News Review, which, despite being a little flip, is a pretty good review.

Seriously, if Apple were to design a phone, it would have to be more nano-like in design (I mean slim and sleek, probably with etched buttons like the Razr, or maybe calling directly from the screen with address book functionaility).

 

[VanMac]

Apple design next time, please. Then I'll buy.
The phone might be fine, but it looks crappy.

I agree. I'm in the market for a new phone, but looks like I will be buying something other then this first offering of an iTunes phone.....

 

[parrothead]

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.

Neither Verizon nor Sprint offer GSM phones. I just recently had the chance to change my mobile service and neither of those companies offered a GSM phone.

 

[Doctor Q]

Update to news story



iTunes Phone Driver 1.0 is now in Software Update.

iTunes 4.9 or later features the ability to transfer music to mobile phones. This driver is required for iTunes to communicate with these supported mobile phones.​

 

[stingerman]

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 750i has the same candy bar design and 100 songs is adequate for the interface you get on these phones. I wish phone makers would stop bundling cameras into the phones and just make them slimmer, like the iPod Nano. The ROKR has the cool pulsating lights to the surrounding sound and the UI for Music is better.

 

[DJY]

The ROKR has the cool pulsating lights to the surrounding sound and the UI for Music is better.

Is the rest of the GUI the old horrible Moto one that is in all their other phones? or have they updated that as well?

 

[krollster]

The 750i has the same candy bar design and 100 songs is adequate for the interface you get on these phones. I wish phone makers would stop bundling cameras into the phones and just make them slimmer, like the iPod Nano. The ROKR has the cool pulsating lights to the surrounding sound and the UI for Music is better.

You could always get the K750i flashed to the W800's firmware. Then you'll get the W800's improved music player interface and flight mode capability. You can get the K750i unlocked, unbranded and turned into the W800 for about £20 in London, so maybe people are doing it elsewhere too.

 

[ebunton]

Talking about dim bulbs

Here, let me make this simple for you.

MotoROKR phone = hardware

iTunes = software

If iTunes (reminder: software) is running on Dell computer (reminder: HARDWARE), my computer is NOT an Apple product. The few dim bulbs out there who think that any devise is an Apple just because it's running iTunes are "naive".

Let me make this simpler for you:

hardware = Motorola

software = iTunes

ROKR = Motorola + iTunes

ROKR - iTunes = Motorola

Therefore, ROKR = hardware + software

You still don't get it. An average consumer will NOT think about this phone separately as 2 components: hardware and software.

They will associate Motorola and iTunes together. Imagine a conversation between A and B:

A: Hey, I saw on the news that Motorola released this new music phone called ROKR.

B: Oh yeah, that's that iTunes phone everyone keeps talking about.

"The iTunes phone". Think about it.

You obviously have not understood my post.

I wrote "iTunes is associated with the ROKR". This should indicate to you that I do not see this phone as "an Apple just because it's running iTunes".

Let me reiterate.

"iTunes is associated with the ROKR"

"Apple is associated with ROKR"

"ROKR is mediocre"

"Apple is associated with mediocrity"

Now all of this is not to say that you would have the same thought patterns as the average Joe. You have indicated that you see this product as 2 separate entities: Motorola hardware, and Apple software. Good for you.

 

[SharksFan22]

Just got a ROKR

After fiddling around with the phone for a bit, I think it's a *decent* first effort, but it still needs a little work. Observations:

- All music sent to the phone needs to be converted to 128Kbps AAC format. This wasn't too obvious the first time I tried to load music. Who reads the manual, anyway?
- The iTunes interface runs a little slow. It's workable, but could be smoother.
- As a phone, it works very well
- Syncs perfectly via iSync using Bluetooth
- Music can only be sent to the phone via the included USB cable and not over BT. This is fine though, since moving that much data across a BT connection would be miserable.
- There's an expansion slot below the battery for expansion cards. I can't remember the format off the top of my head, but Cingular wanted USD$69 for a 512MB card. I passed.

Overall it's not a bad product. Not great, but not fantastic either.

 

[aswitcher]

Which Phone???

Ok, here's my deliemma.

I want a new phone.

Its gotta have:

Bluetooth.
> A Camera (with video) - preferably above a megapixel.
> Video recording options.
> Decent onboard memory for podcasts and a few tunes, and photos.
> MP 3 / AAC player (with iTunes DRM) - Sterio headphones preferably.
> Good Apple sync - Contacts, To Do List, Calender, and photos for contact would be very nice.
> Handsfree would be nice.
> Decent reception, audio quality and battery life.
> Nice design, not too big.
> Video podcast possibilities for viewing.
> Wifi - yeah maybe next year or year after in mainstream phones.
> GPS - HA!

I figure that currently I am looking at

ROKR vs SE 750i vs SE W800i

My problem is that the ROKR has a crap camera (3+ years old tech).
ROKR also doesn't sync to do list or photos from what I can tell being a moto phone.
ROKR does a good job with music and podcasts. And has great audio.


W800i and 750i have great camersa (2 megapixel)
Can sync everything but addressbook pictures.
Has great audio in MP3 and AAC.
Can't sync to itunes from what I read??? ! Definetly no DRM iTunes music will be found on memory stick.
Has a radio!


Is anyone got any hands on with the W800i (and 750i) and ROKR, to help make sure I understand the issues that I will face syncing with my Mac and iTunes?

Can anyone recommend a similarly priced phone that I should consider. Series 60 phones seem like a good idea but I cant find any that seem to fit the bill...