Apple and Motorola introduce iTunes phone

[AppleInsider]

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

Apple’s iTunes software on the Motorola ROKR phone features easy to use menus, simple navigation and playback, and the ability to simply switch from phone to music and back again with the push of a dedicated music key. The new Motorola ROKR is available today at www.cingular.com and will be sold exclusively in all Cingular retail locations beginning tomorrow.

“We’ve worked closely with Motorola to deliver the world’s best music experience on a mobile phone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re also thrilled to be working with Cingular, the largest wireless carrier in the US, to bring this pioneering phone to market.”

The ROKR has a color display for viewing album art and features built-in dual-stereo speakers, as well as stereo headphones that also serve as a mobile headset with microphone.

Users can randomly autofill or manually fill the mobile phone with playlists from their favorite music, audiobooks and Podcasts from their iTunes library via a USB connection. The ROKR pauses music automatically when users take a call and offers the ability to listen to music while messaging with friends or snapping a photo.



Pricing & Availability

The new Motorola ROKR with iTunes pre-installed is available for $249.99 (US) with a two-year commitment at all Cingular stores nationwide and includes stereo headphones and a USB cable.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[g3pro]

Kanye West closed out the show. Why am I not surprised.

[Anders]

So "iPod player interface" hack and iTunes intergration.

They needed to do A LOT more if I was to favor this over the k750i.

Does it have radio? What kind of camera? Why such sucky design?

And the price? WTF? That what I pay for the k750 with a 6 month contract.

[TKN]

I think the iTunes phone is terrible. The iPod nano is a great device, but the phone is a complete disappointment. I really expected Apple to either have licensed iTunes for phones for flagship phones like the RAZR/SLVR/Q series or to have come out with something truly innovative and cool.

Instead we get a boring candy-bar phone.

Maybe the interface is actually good for the rest of the phone, but I doubt I will be buying one.

[hmurchison]

No worries. I'll just get the next Treo model and stick the Nano to the back when I need it :P

[alexluft]

The most important thing (for me atleast) about this phone is whether or not it has:
PERFECT iCAL syncing

if it doesn't, good bye apple and...well, welcome msft...because I'm simply tired of waiting for a decent device to carry with me that will keep my contacts, tasks, and phone numbers WITHOUT messing them up during syncing...

does anyone know if it has iSync capabilities?

[ajay]

when they're offering itunes for windows/mac, why not just get version(s) out for symbian OS's??
now that would be interesting!

(sorry if this topic has been beaten to death elsewhere...)

[msantti]

iPod nano=fantastic

ROKR=craptacular

[zenarcade]

Originally posted by hmurchison
No worries. I'll just get the next Treo model and stick the Nano to the back when I need it :P

HA HA HA !

Excellent posting !

Zon

[melgross]

This actually LOOKS like a Trio (which I can't stand).

Well, they say that expensive phones don't sell, but that's not true. I just bought a Sanyo MM 5600 for my daughter who is starting High school tommorrow. With the discounts it came to $330. It was out of stock in almost all of the Sprint stores. The same with the other hi-end phones.

This doesn't really seem that much out of line.

[durandal]

New? Now, I suggest everyone hops over to Moto's website and takes a close look at the Motorola E398... which seems to be the very same cellphone, only without iTunes - and (in Germany) for 90 Euros less (about 112 US $)

durandal

[melgross]

Originally posted by durandal
New? Now, I suggest everyone hops over to Moto's website and takes a close look at the Motorola E398... which seems to be the very same cellphone, only without iTunes - and (in Germany) for 90 Euros less (about 112 US $)

durandal

Does it have the same amount of flash?

[TednDi]

grrrr!

Locked phone!!

grrrr!

It is teh suck if you travel to and fro out of the USA

can't swap out sim chips!!!

grrrr!

[melgross]

Originally posted by TednDi
grrrr!

Locked phone!!

grrrr!

It is teh suck if you travel to and fro out of the USA

can't swap out sim chips!!!

grrrr!

Maybe the versions sold abroad will have them. It seems to be more popular there.

[A/UX]

After thinking about this for a bit, I have changed my tune (no pun intended). The ROKR will probably be a success for Apple because it will introduce a whole new group of folks to the iTMS. These folks will quickly fill their phones and realize that they want a device that has more storage. This will further spur iPod sales.

If it is a Moto phone, then it makes sense that Apple would not want it to have a click wheel or hold a large number of songs. I still think that Apple would have better success by adding phone capabilities to the iPod. It would not even need a keypad if I could just scroll through my contact list. Hiding a keypad in a slider design wouldn't hurt though.

[fahlman]

I'm not buying until I can buy a phone with mobile versions of iCal and Address Book, plus maybe even Mail and iChat (for text messaging), that sync perfectly. Oh and it has to be a filp phone. Exposed keypads are not user friendly.

[melgross]

Originally posted by fahlman
I'm not buying until I can buy a phone with mobile versions of iCal and Address Book, plus maybe even Mail and iChat (for text messaging), that sync perfectly. Oh and it has to be a filp phone. Exposed keypads are not user friendly.

You mean you won't buy an iTunes phone? Because this will most likely not happen unless Apple makes the phone themselves.

[mattyj]

The phone is crap. Perhaps Apple wanted to see the reaction of people and the press, i.e. if there is demand for an Apple branded phone.

The iPod nano is cool, might pick one up on saturday if I can.

[1984]

Motorola has supplied Apple with such cutting edge, blazing fast PowerPC chips it's no wonder they turned to them for a cell phone.



I love the fact this phone is not even supported by iSync currently. I wish they could have partnered with Sony-Ericsson.

[TenoBell]

I also expected more.

The Rockr is just ok. Its still nowhere near the Razr

This is probably just the beginning of Apple licensing iTunes for cell phones. To gain momentum before MS can get a foot hold.

With out a doubt Apple is working on their own phone in the labs. Will they actually release it as a product is anther question.

This would be the phone that could sync with Address Book, iCal, iPhoto and so on.

Apple has to play things pretty cool. When they put resources behind a product it needs to succeed.

[melgross]

Originally posted by 1984
Motorola has supplied Apple with such cutting edge, blazing fast PowerPC chips it's no wonder they turned to them for a cell phone.



I love the fact this phone is not even supported by iSync currently. I wish they could have partnered with Sony-Ericsson.

Are you sure about that? I thought I read somewhere today that it did.

If I did, and can find it, I'll post it here.

[MacCrazy]

Originally posted by alexluft
The most important thing (for me atleast) about this phone is whether or not it has:
PERFECT iCAL syncing

if it doesn't, good bye apple and...well, welcome msft...because I'm simply tired of waiting for a decent device to carry with me that will keep my contacts, tasks, and phone numbers WITHOUT messing them up during syncing...

does anyone know if it has iSync capabilities?

and Microsoft does? SonyEricsson phones have always worked perfectly for me - I've had a T68i, a Z600 and now a S700i - they all sync well and no problems. However, the S700i wont sent txts using address book.

Motorola phones are bad because they have awful interfaces, they're ugly and they're fiddly - all the reasons Jobs used to slag off the competition for flash MP3 are the reasons I hate Moto!

[mattyj]

Originally posted by MacCrazy
Motorola phones are bad because they have awful interfaces, they're ugly and they're fiddly - all the reasons Jobs used to slag off the competition for flash MP3 are the reasons I hate Moto!

Exactly. It just doesn't fit.

[Gon]

Originally posted by MacCrazy
and Microsoft does? SonyEricsson phones have always worked perfectly for me - I've had a T68i, a Z600 and now a S700i - they all sync well and no problems. However, the S700i wont sent txts using address book.

I've had a T68i for about two years now and it is downright user hostile compared to any Nokia I've ever used, including the ones from 7 years ago. Bad, laggy (!) user interface that should have never left the factory. Searching for names of companies (input from Address Book/iSync) doesn't work, all companies are at the end of the phone book and searching for one (even with exact name) jumps you to the nearest corresponding first name among the persons in the phone book. Color screen but it's just fluff, they didn't design the interface to give you any information with color and there is no camera on this phone. The end result is that the battery runs out faster and the old color screens are less readable than monocolor. Text messaging interface worse than Nokia's. This thing doesn't even tell you when a call in the call log occurred! There's a "call recording" feature which is utterly useless because you can't make it automatic, and you can't transfer the recordings out of the phone even if it has Bluetooth. One of the games would be a good one, if it didn't crash every time it's played.

I hope this breaks down on me soon so I can get a phone I can like. That said, it's the most durable/longest living phone among my last 3.

[alexluft]

Originally posted by MacCrazy
and Microsoft does? SonyEricsson phones have always worked perfectly for me - I've had a T68i, a Z600 and now a S700i - they all sync well and no problems. However, the S700i wont sent txts using address book.

Motorola phones are bad because they have awful interfaces, they're ugly and they're fiddly - all the reasons Jobs used to slag off the competition for flash MP3 are the reasons I hate Moto!

Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I never seem to be able to get my point completely across: Microsoft, at least, has perfect out of the box syncing capabilities with duh: Pocket PCs and Palm products, Nokia, and Sony-Ericsson phones. I have posted this a number of times in different threads, (here we go again) but syncing a Palm through iSync is horrible...I mean it doesn't even sync my categories properly, I can't install many of the good apps for Palm, etc...and this is only PALM!!!

Now, I don't know about moto - which i hate, as was already mentioned by many others, because their U.I.s are so laggy for the most part - but Nokias only sync ALL of their features with Windblows (or at least that's what it says on their website). Correct me if I'm wrong, but Nokia's PC Suite and Ericsson's Applications Suite are only available for Windows. If I'm lucky, I can MAYBE sync contacts with my Mac on SOME Nokia and Sony-Ericsson phones, but I can't install apps, or any software updates, or basically take advantage of the phone's full capabilities, which has always held me back from buying a great new phone.

These are my main grudges for OS X right now, and I was hoping that it would get fixed this time around with the ROKR since Apple had a part in it's development (software-wise)...

I only hope that Apple has something of their own in their labs, because the features meantioned above are the ones I really need (and want ). Otherwise, I will be forced to use Windows.

[666]

ok, so Sony Erriccson phones have always seemed to be the most completely intergrated phone with apples with Salling Clicker etc. Now, the K750i is a great phone, more applesque than this motorola monstrosity from 1998, so why did they go motorola? If they did this with SE the phone would have been amazing! Was it a 'sorry about going to intel, dudes' kind of thing? 3rd Apple dissappointment in a day! Wow..

[sunilraman]

thank god for the iPod Nano. this moto Phone, as i expected, is just a piece of shite. screw it. Jobs is smart. he was like, let this generate buzz, the ROKR sucks ass visually, and feeling wise, but whatevs. more iPod, iTunes music store publicity, plus licensing royalties from motoSucky.

the iPod nano and rest of the ipods is a nice ride out to the christmas season. you know, i really couldn't give a damn if there are no updates 'till Macworld SF2006. which is unlikely, there'll be a few tidbits here and there to sweeten everything up by end of november.

but:
1. no macintels this year
2. no "great" PPC products (by our standards) this year
3. some minor updates to certain lines (not iBook, prolly powerMac, powerBook)

okays. i can get on with my life now.

[sunilraman]

also, this is a collaborative milestone. apple has its foot in the door with music labels, cell phone carriers, and while steve + gang stink a bit from having to go through orificies (his own words) to get these collaborations happening, its a step. now next orifice(s) on the table: cable and movie/tv studios.

edit: additionally, i do not forsee any brand dilution, only brand expansion for apple, with the motorola and cingular deals. the iPod name and image is secure, while iTunes is fine on mac or windows. iTunes on mobile ~ well, i dontch know, i havent tried it yet...

[UnnDunn]

So now Apple is copying Microsoft.

Because Microsoft had a musicphone out 9 months ago; the Audiovox SMT-5600, also from Cingular (then AT&T). Except the Audiovox has a much better interface, supports up to 1GB Mini-SD, doesn't cap the number of songs you can carry, syncs perfectly with Outlook, and also makes calls.

[sunilraman]

Originally posted by 666
ok, so Sony Erriccson phones have always seemed to be the most completely intergrated phone with apples with Salling Clicker etc. Now, the K750i is a great phone, more applesque than this motorola monstrosity from 1998, so why did they go motorola? If they did this with SE the phone would have been amazing! Was it a 'sorry about going to intel, dudes' kind of thing? 3rd Apple dissappointment in a day! Wow..

heh... dude, all of us SonyEricsson fans were shouting for months and months till our voices were hoarse about iPhone should be (iPod mini + SE T630 or K700+) ... to any SE user this Moto, iTunes enabled or not, is a piece of garbage. like i said, thank gawds for the iPod Nano. something white, something black, something slick, something apple.

[digitaldave]

The ROKR looks like an updated version of the Motorola E398, which isn't exactly a cutting edge piece of hardware anymore . It looks like all they have done is changed the colour, added the iTunes software, and maybe one or two other minor tweaks. The funny thing is that the E398 had music playback capability anyway, it was one of the main selling points IIRC .

I won't be getting one, as it's going to have the same old Motorola UI, which isn't a nice as the SE ones - even Nokia's Series 40 interface is better IMO . And the iPod Nano is half the size!

I'd be interested to see if it will sync address book contacts out of the box. Since contact syncing is now handled through iTunes for regular iPods, I would guess it will be the same for the ROKR, so I would hope it can be done out of the box on day one. Even if you end up having to use iSync for that part (which I doubt), the E398 is already supported in iSync, so it might be something that can be added easily by tweaking the files, or even by Apple with an iSync update.

[MacCrazy]

Originally posted by Gon
I've had a T68i for about two years now and it is downright user hostile compared to any Nokia I've ever used, including the ones from 7 years ago. Bad, laggy (!) user interface that should have never left the factory. Searching for names of companies (input from Address Book/iSync) doesn't work, all companies are at the end of the phone book and searching for one (even with exact name) jumps you to the nearest corresponding first name among the persons in the phone book. Color screen but it's just fluff, they didn't design the interface to give you any information with color and there is no camera on this phone. The end result is that the battery runs out faster and the old color screens are less readable than monocolor. Text messaging interface worse than Nokia's. This thing doesn't even tell you when a call in the call log occurred! There's a "call recording" feature which is utterly useless because you can't make it automatic, and you can't transfer the recordings out of the phone even if it has Bluetooth. One of the games would be a good one, if it didn't crash every time it's played.

I hope this breaks down on me soon so I can get a phone I can like. That said, it's the most durable/longest living phone among my last 3.

I've struggled to get Windows to sync my friend's phone to her computer - however all my phones have synched with my mac perfectly. Try upgrading your phone, to the latest Sony phone if you think features are missing- i personally prefer SonyEricsson phones but you could use a nokia.

[sunilraman]

Originally posted by Gon
I've had a T68i for about two years now and it is downright user hostile compared to any Nokia I've ever used, including the ones from 7 years ago. Bad, laggy (!) user interface that should have never left the factory. Searching for names of companies (input from Address Book/iSync) doesn't work, all companies are at the end of the phone book and searching for one (even with exact name) jumps you to the nearest corresponding first name among the persons in the phone book. Color screen but it's just fluff, they didn't design the interface to give you any information with color and there is no camera on this phone. The end result is that the battery runs out faster and the old color screens are less readable than monocolor. Text messaging interface worse than Nokia's. This thing doesn't even tell you when a call in the call log occurred! There's a "call recording" feature which is utterly useless because you can't make it automatic, and you can't transfer the recordings out of the phone even if it has Bluetooth. One of the games would be a good one, if it didn't crash every time it's played.

I hope this breaks down on me soon so I can get a phone I can like. That said, it's the most durable/longest living phone among my last 3.

yeah, the newer SE phones like my T630 (now outdated ) have near flawless UI and syncing with Mac. i have heard good things about K700+ series although i have not used one. the w800i may be my next phone, although i am soo attached to my t630...

[MacCrazy]

Originally posted by sunilraman
yeah, the newer SE phones like my T630 (now outdated ) have near flawless UI and syncing with Mac. i have heard good things about K700+ series although i have not used one. the w800i may be my next phone, although i am soo attached to my t630...

the K750i is very similar to the S700i - they are both very good phones.

[Gon]

Originally posted by MacCrazy
I've struggled to get Windows to sync my friend's phone to her computer - however all my phones have synched with my mac perfectly. Try upgrading your phone, to the latest Sony phone if you think features are missing- i personally prefer SonyEricsson phones but you could use a nokia.

Oh, it's not that I want more features. When I got T68 I just wanted something with Bluetooth and basic call functionality, and that's what the T68 had. My main complaint is that the whole user interface is miles behind what I had seven years earlier on my Nokia 3110. Somehow, miraculously, they have gotten a mobile phone to lag. If you're even slightly fast in pressing buttons, the phone is left behind and creates a "typo". You can't, for instance, open keylock and close keylock as fast as you can press the buttons. A Nokia phone I could use with one hand without looking at it while pedaling a bike in traffic. Not so with the T68, even after two years of adjustment time. It will never be an extension of your body, so to speak.

P800 UI was bad too, for all the same reasons. If anyone knows that SE changed their ways after making the P800, I'm all ears.

[sunilraman]

Originally posted by Gon
Oh, it's not that I want more features. When I got T68 I just wanted something with Bluetooth and basic call functionality, and that's what the T68 had. My main complaint is that the whole user interface is miles behind what I had seven years earlier on my Nokia 3110. Somehow, miraculously, they have gotten a mobile phone to lag. If you're even slightly fast in pressing buttons, the phone is left behind and creates a "typo". You can't, for instance, open keylock and close keylock as fast as you can press the buttons. A Nokia phone I could use with one hand without looking at it while pedaling a bike in traffic. Not so with the T68, even after two years of adjustment time. It will never be an extension of your body, so to speak.

P800 UI was bad too, for all the same reasons. If anyone knows that SE changed their ways after making the P800, I'm all ears.

sony ericsson T630. but don't take my word for it. unless you are really really sensitive to it, i generally don't notice any lag on that, just when you first turn it on you give it some time to "boot up" fully (10-15 secs)... texting, keypad lock/unlock is all generally lag free IMO.

the t630 is simple, inexpensive, elegant, bluetooth, calls, text, very basic camera, probably what your looking for... you would need to test it out though if like i said, you are sensitive to the mobile phone 'laggy UI'.... although, for me, i never really had any lag issues with it....

[macmike]

Originally posted by TenoBell
I also expected more.

The Rockr is just ok. Its still nowhere near the Razr

This is probably just the beginning of Apple licensing iTunes for cell phones. To gain momentum before MS can get a foot hold.

With out a doubt Apple is working on their own phone in the labs. Will they actually release it as a product is anther question.

This would be the phone that could sync with Address Book, iCal, iPhoto and so on.

Apple has to play things pretty cool. When they put resources behind a product it needs to succeed.

I think this is a beginning for Apple with cell phones (not the greatest beginning, but no one was really that impressed with the first iPods either)

There will be more iTunes phones... and hopefully they'll be more 'Apple-like'... click wheels, slick design, better interface.

[macmike]

Could this iTunes software be added after-the-fact to other Motorola phones? For instance, could a RAZR phone be made into an iTunes phone?

[cayman]

My contract with Nexttell is up in Dec so I was looking forward to this iphone thing .....mmm well ....next ....any one have any experiance with Cingular I was looking at the Sony ericsson 710a...I still have time maybe somthing else will come out!!!!

[MacCrazy]

Originally posted by cayman
My contract with Nexttell is up in Dec so I was looking forward to this iphone thing .....mmm well ....next ....any one have any experiance with Cingular I was looking at the Sony ericsson 710a...I still have time maybe somthing else will come out!!!!

I would not recommend Moto - they have bad interfaces and are missing key features - like the ability to copy your whole address book in one go!