Motorola chief debunks rumors of carriers passing on Rokr iTunes phone
The CEO of Motorola has denied reports that wireless service carriers are balking at the opportunity to carry its forthcoming iTunes mobile phone.
During a press conference on Tuesday, company chief Ed Zander said the phone, known as the Rokr, will be out in "a couple of more months,"
"There is no resistance on anybody's part," Zander said. "I don't know where these rumors got started." He said went on to say, "When we did this deal last year, we knew exactly what carriers were interested in [it]."
Zander wouldn't offer any further details but proceeded to have a little fun with journalist, saying he was carrying one of the Rokr phones on himself but would not show it.
"I love it," he said. "I've been playing with it for the last week or two."
In April, BusinessWeek ran an international cover story, claiming major wireless carriers Verizon, Sprint, and CIngular were not interested in carrying the new iTunes phone because they shared different perspectives on how consumers should purchase their mobile music files.
The report cited sources "close to Apple" in saying that the carriers expected to charge between $2 and $3 for wireless music downloads and that they would instead introduce their own services later this year.
Also this week, Motorola announced plans to buy back up to $4 billion of its outstanding common shares over the next three years, reflecting the company's confidence in its long-term growth.
Motorola stock, which rose 2.9% following the news, continues to climb upwards this afternoon, trading at $17.25 a share, up over 2%.
During a press conference on Tuesday, company chief Ed Zander said the phone, known as the Rokr, will be out in "a couple of more months,"
"There is no resistance on anybody's part," Zander said. "I don't know where these rumors got started." He said went on to say, "When we did this deal last year, we knew exactly what carriers were interested in [it]."
Zander wouldn't offer any further details but proceeded to have a little fun with journalist, saying he was carrying one of the Rokr phones on himself but would not show it.
"I love it," he said. "I've been playing with it for the last week or two."
In April, BusinessWeek ran an international cover story, claiming major wireless carriers Verizon, Sprint, and CIngular were not interested in carrying the new iTunes phone because they shared different perspectives on how consumers should purchase their mobile music files.
The report cited sources "close to Apple" in saying that the carriers expected to charge between $2 and $3 for wireless music downloads and that they would instead introduce their own services later this year.
Also this week, Motorola announced plans to buy back up to $4 billion of its outstanding common shares over the next three years, reflecting the company's confidence in its long-term growth.
Motorola stock, which rose 2.9% following the news, continues to climb upwards this afternoon, trading at $17.25 a share, up over 2%.
Comments
Originally posted by AppleInsider
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"I don't know where these rumors got started."
Isn't the internet great or what? Anybody and everybody is invited to the rumor mongering party. From individuals posting on boards to news websites, to bloggers, to financial analysts and everyone in between.
Kind of reminds of a lesson in elementary school we did. Sat in a circle, the 1st child whispered some nonsense in the next childs ear, next child repeats message to next child, so on and so on. At the end, the last child says the message out loud. Everyone laughs at how totally different the message is. NOW, we all get to play on a grand scale and everyone's comments propogate untold numbers and chains of information(misinformation).
Gotta luv the internet.
This deal has been a year in the making... that we know of anyway ? possibly longer. It was supposedly going to be hear at the first of the year. We are about half way through this year now.
How long are they going to dangle the carrot? How long are we going to keep trying to bite the carrot? ummm... How long will the carriers keep saying no to the carrot?
I need a new phone and I want bluetooth isyncing. Rather than spend a bunch of money on a clunky razor, I'm gonna get a Motorola V551. That is unless you tell me otherwise.
Originally posted by Xool
I'm bummed that this phone is not available now. If it was, I'd go get one.
I need a new phone and I want bluetooth isyncing. Rather than spend a bunch of money on a clunky razor, I'm gonna get a Motorola V551. That is unless you tell me otherwise.
dude, one word: SonyEricsson (or was that two words?)
seriously. people (including me) swear by their T630s.
it's been around for a while so it would be pretty cheap now, i've had nearly flawless iSyncing via BlueTooth with it... i'm not liking the S- and K- series (a bit too clunky) so i'm scoping out what is the deal with the W800 phones (walkman-branded
also my carrier's GPRS support is f8cked so i'm not too concerned about GPRS or EDGE 3G stuff at this stage... there are tons of wireless hotspots in my city now 8)
This is not to say that they definitely do not have more than one US carrier with them, but just that his comments don't guarantee it. If you wish to be an optimist, you could take his comments as saying they have multiple US carriers backing them.
Originally posted by Lucy
They may have asked the other carriers, as one carrier could be a little tight for justifying a new phone, and the carriers who they thought would not want the phone, did not want the phone.
The RAZR has been pretty much a Cingular exclusive for awhile. I think Cingular also showed how much press and publicity you can get with a very hot phone exclusive. T-mobile or other carriers may grab the iTunes Phone to battle back against the RAZR effect.
Also MOSR is saying Apple might start their own Cellular service... I find this hard to believe. A phone with Motorola is one thing, starting a cellular company is completely different.