Apple/Motorola Announce iTunes Phone

[krollster]

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...

There's a program called synctunes that might be worthwhile looking into for the K750i and W800.

As for getting a phone which does everything you want it to, I'd say that you should be prepared for disappointment. I'm sure the ROKR does music OK, but the camera is far below current standards and it's real ugly too. Plus, the moto interfaces aren't nothing to write home about.

 

[SharksFan22]

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.

Update - After spending the better part of the day with it, I returned it to the Cingular store. I took it on a ride today and the sound quality through the supplied headphones was just awful. I tried to like the phone, but it just wasn't worth it -- I think a solid phone along with an iPod nano might deliver more bang for the buck.

 

[puckhead193]

anyone go into software update recently and see an update for the itunes phone driver. its says this

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.

Does this mean that more phones will support itunes... or apple bad use of grammar cause only one phone support this feature....

 

[pontecorvo]

I will be getting one of these babies!

 

[mpw]

anyone go into software update recently and see an update for the itunes phone driver. its says this
Does this mean that more phones will support itunes... or apple bad use of grammar cause only one phone support this feature....

I think it's inevitable that future Motorola phones will have iTunes across the range, or at least there'll be a range of iTunes phones.(unless this one really bombs)
Also you might want to sync and communicate your Mac with more than one ROKR right now.
Either way the wording in Software Update would work.

 

[aswitcher]

There's a program called synctunes that might be worthwhile looking into for the K750i and W800.

As for getting a phone which does everything you want it to, I'd say that you should be prepared for disappointment. I'm sure the ROKR does music OK, but the camera is far below current standards and it's real ugly too. Plus, the moto interfaces aren't nothing to write home about.

Thanks, I checked it out and nice program

Shame the ROKR seems to be turning out to be such a lemon - 1 hour to load music for example...

 

[Toe]

FWIW, the ROKR now appears on the iSync page:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/isync/devices.html
even though iSync has not been updated.

I guess the iTunes Phone Update mods iSync to add this functionality.

 

[~loserman~]

That is one Butt Ugly phone.

 

[DJY]

Thanks, I checked it out and nice program

Shame the ROKR seems to be turning out to be such a lemon - 1 hour to load music for example...

Agree!
A mate just bought the K750i - and is very happy with it...
I'm still leaning towards the W800i though - haven't seen or played with one yet though.

 

[aswitcher]

Agree!
A mate just bought the K750i - and is very happy with it...
I'm still leaning towards the W800i though - haven't seen or played with one yet though.

I played with one today. Apart from look its a better machine than the 750i for me because it has a music only mode, and better interface for music use.
But I still am trying to figure out how much of a hassle it will be to move music on and off it quickly each day.

I was told that October will see a whole bunch of new phones in the Aus market so again, I might wait another month before I commit myself to a phone for 2 years.

 

[joe_gibb]

Aw come on, don't kid yourself. Best phone feature-wise on the market right now is the Nokia N90. I don't really like Nokia and hate GSM in the US, but I have to hand it to that handset - it's the best on the market, and better than the K750i.

Anyone checked out the video quality of the N90 yet? There's a movie clip going round that was supposed to have been shot on the phone without any kind of video enhancement. Problem is its just too good and I think its been doctored to improve the quality. See for yourself. I'd love to know if the video quality is true or not!!!

Joe.