Eliminating the 100-song iTunes CellPhone Cap? (No)

[MacRumors]

Several sites reported on speculation that Apple was going to upgrade the current 100-song limit on Motorola iTunes phones. This was based on images found in the latest iTunes binary indicating that the users phone could be upgraded: "Want more music on your mobile phone with iTunes? Upgrade now".

The celebration appears to be premature as the iTunes product manager clarified that "the upgrade screen exists for non-US customers, some of whom initially had caps as low as 25 songs, and brings their phones up to the 100-song limit."

 

[kev0476]

Why would they upgrade it, it would kill the ipod sales.

 

[Superdrive]

No big deal here. Why would I ever need more than 100 songs on my phone? People who have issues with this need to work on some playlist management I think.

 

[1rottenapple]

Why would they upgrade it, it would kill the ipod sales.

If they upgrade the song cap, the phone still has ancient usb 1.0 speeds.

 

[plinkoman]

If they upgrade the song cap, the phone still has ancient usb 1.0 speeds.

ouch

and i though usb2 was slow, i'd hate to see what that transfer looks like...

 

[Doctor Q]

The 100-song limit may not be leaving yet, but it will, eventually.

People will expect and demand more than that, and the consumer is (ultimately) always right.

 

[1rottenapple]

dispite my vehement protest, my sister has the rokr and lets just say it takes 40mins to do 100 songs.

 

[jacobj]

The speculation keeps going on. Why did Apple insist on capping it? Was it because they wanted to prevent it from becoming an iPod killer? That is hard to believe since if a phone is going to become an ipod killer it is better that Apple has a vested interest in it.

So I am going to say it again. The convergence of mobile technologies WILL result in a camera/phone/MP3/Video player all in one device as people will not want to carry all of them. For now a phone that has a 2.5" screen is not likely but when newer wireless technologies become available and the software becomes more sophisticated then we will see it.

So Apple must have plans as to how to avert this catastrophe. I think that we will see a major partnership between the Apple iPod dvision and a mobile phone manufacturer, but not until the time is right. That time maybe when the iPod growth curve shows the very first signs of flattening out. Until that time Apple would be insane to split their revenue with another party.

 

[Fireburst]

I just purchased a Sony Ericsson W900i which should be arriving on Monday. I have heard many good things about this phone and I can't help thinking that Apple messed up with the iTunes phone.

They shouldn't worry about the effect it has on iPod sales as this is a natural progression that is going to happen whether they like it or not. If they don't market a viable product then the other companys like Sony will.

 

[bigandy]

I just purchased a Sony Ericsson W900i which should be arriving on Monday. I have heard many good things about this phone and I can't help thinking that Apple messed up with the iTunes phone.

the itunes phone was a mess-up, but the RAZR iTunes wasn't bad. still a motorola though, something that will never be fixed.

personally i don't like the walkman phones - the orange is a bit garish. i have a k750i right now and it's a good little phone, but i'm plumping for the p990i the minute it arrives

 

[Fireburst]

The Nokia N91 sure looks sweet too

 

[iMeowbot]

The speculation keeps going on. Why did Apple insist on capping it?

This was done at the insistence of the telcos.

Carriers want iTunes-capable phones so that they can attract customers who want that feature, but they don't want iTunes capability to be too good because the carriers also have (or plan to soon have) music download services of their own. Really I'm kind of surprised that the telcos with lower iTunes limits changed their minds.

 

[shamino]

This was done at the insistence of the telcos.

Carriers want iTunes-capable phones so that they can attract customers who want that feature, but they don't want iTunes capability to be too good because the carriers also have (or plan to soon have) music download services of their own. Really I'm kind of surprised that the telcos with lower iTunes limits changed their minds.

If Verizon was in charge, the phone would have a one song limit, and you'd have to pay $5 to their "get it now" service every time you want to change it.

 

[aten]

i heard that they are, for some from google

im not sure if the "from google" part helps

 

[DrNeroCF]

I think the 100 song cap will leave once Apple makes their own phone...

 

[pacohaas]

"Reviewed by james from - on 5th Feb 2006
if u want more than 100 songs on ur phone then open up the phone as a removeable disk/memory card. go into iTunes, iTunes control,settings and remobe the file itunes lock then u ca get more than 100 songs on it"

I admit i didn't read all the replies to his post, but I might try this when I get home today, it's worth a shot. I have the ROKR and I agree that USB1.1 SUUUUCKS, it's definitely something you have to plan around, but other than that, I sold my 40gig ipod and now have one less piece of hardware in my pocket at all times, which is very nice. Hook it up to my car stereo just like my ipod, plus it has speakers(obviously not great quality, but better than nothing when you want to quckly let others hear a song), which all ipod models are missing. Personally i think the USB 1.1 is more of an annoyance than the 100 song limit, but i suppose if it has usb 2.0, I'd be singing a different tune being "spoiled" with the faster transfers.

 

[1rottenapple]

So there pretty much is no way around the usb limit right then huh?

 

[pacohaas]

So there pretty much is no way around the usb limit right then huh?

correct, this is hardware, not a software or firmware limitation.

 

[jacobj]

This was done at the insistence of the telcos.

Carriers want iTunes-capable phones so that they can attract customers who want that feature, but they don't want iTunes capability to be too good because the carriers also have (or plan to soon have) music download services of their own. Really I'm kind of surprised that the telcos with lower iTunes limits changed their minds.

Really? Damn that's too much power misplaced. How can these companies be so off the pulse? Do they learn nothing from the mistakes of others?

 

[shamino]

... Hook it up to my car stereo just like my ipod ... Personally i think the USB 1.1 is more of an annoyance than the 100 song limit

With a 100 song limit, it's useless in the car (at least for me.) My car stereo can play MP3 CDs, which often hold more than 100 songs. If my iPod could only hold 100, I wouldn't bother using it. I'd just burn MP3 CDs and bring them along.

At USB 1.1 speeds, the time to transfer the songs isn't much different from the time to burn a CD at 48x. (Of course, the time to convert AAC file to MP3 or re-rip them is much greater than this...)

 

[pacohaas]

yeah, my car player is actually an mp3 cd player that has an aux input in the front, i got it a few years before i even heard of an ipod(i was deciding between this and a minidisc car player at the time ). Then i got an ipod a few years back and the aux input hole was great. I was so used to using mp3 disks that I didn't even want an ipod, i got it as a gift, but it soon took over and now there's only 2 mp3 disks in my car in the glovebox and only use them if the ipod/rokr dies.

even with the ROKR's 100 song limit, at an average of 2min/song, i'd have to be on a 3+hour car ride to need to switch out if i were using cd's instead. So even as a diehard mp3cd fan for many years, I still consider this an upgrade to having to burn/keep track of/switching cd's to play in the car, plus I can take it with me and keep listening elsewhere.

not to say i'm blind to the downsides. even 4 or 5 hours of music would not have satisfied me at my last job where I listened to my 40 gig ipod 95% of the time on speakers or headphones while working 9+hr/day. And I completely agree that the 100 song limit is lame. (i looked for the hidden folder that james guy mentioned and it's just not there. there was a settings file, but deleting that did nothing)

anyhow, i'm just rambling. the rokr filled a nice niche in my digital life, and i know it's far from perfect and flat out wrong for some people, just letting you know where i'm coming from. I still have my 1gb free ipodshuffle that I can load up for my longer trips. I'm with "Steve Jobs" on SNL, bring on the ipodphonecamera micro, the one that's invisibly small and holds 1 billion songs

My ideal iThingy: slightly larger than the rokr(give me durable, not tiny), full ipod video OS(with contacts, games, no song limit, etc), phone, video, 4+MP camera with a nifty zoom lense that slides in keeping the thing slim in your pocket, and of course bigger and bigger storage limits. I don't think I'd be the only one willing to pay $500+ for such a device.

 

[TomSmithMacEd]

ouch

and i though usb2 was slow, i'd hate to see what that transfer looks like...

Yeah, try to put 50gb onto a 60gb iPod video with usb 1.0.....

It was a longer than over night project.

One of the only things I have to gripe at Apple about. Why take away firewire connectivity!!!! Why?!?!

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Yeah, try to put 50gb onto a 60gb iPod video with usb 1.0.....

It was a longer than over night project.

One of the only things I have to gripe at Apple about. Why take away firewire connectivity!!!! Why?!?!

ouch.

I dunno if this is rumor mongering, but check out http://www.iphone.org. it points to apple now..has it always done this?

 

[KKKL]

Whose ROKR has been removed the cap? It do nothing to my rokr (50 songs limit, purchased in HK)

 

[mlrproducts]

I just don't see the whole convergence thing taking off, replacing everything, any time soon.

For one, there is battery life - the most important issue, nuf said. Second, I've yet to see any camera that is usable to replace any decent mid-range P&S (IE: middle of the road Powershots), even on the 2mp fashion Nokia. Then there are screen issues, imput issues, the list goes on and on.

I don't even want something to be all that. I want a good digicam, and good phone, and a good MP3 player. Right now, I'm pretty darn close to that (if only I could settle on a phone I liked - think SLVR shortened to RAZR closed height, and made by SE).