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Apple, Motorola Plan An iTunes-Friendly Phone
PabloJones writes "Apple and Motorola have come together to create a new mp3-enabled cell phone, according to this Reuters article. It says that the device will be capable of storing about 12 songs, and will be fully integrated with iTunes. Perhaps this is a beginning of a new relationship between the two companies, after the PowerPC problems between the two in recent years."
Apple has nothing to lose from this, but a great deal to gain. There's people out there who don't know, or think they want an mp3 player -- this will get them hooked not only on the idea, but on Apple's intuitive interface. When it comes time to upgrade to something that can hold more than 12 songs, chances are they'll consider something iTunes compatible (i.e. an iPod).
And even if it means no iPod sales, it still gives Apple stronger brand recognition.
songs on the phones, what's the point in buying an iPod?
Quite sensible really, if they want to continue with the iPod, which I'm sure they do.
Yeah, it's truly a shame those satellite phones never took off... just think, you could have Musak beamed down to it when you needed to put someone on hold, and then people could listen to an instrumental version of "Walkin' on Sunshine" while you used the can.
Hmmmm, well maybe that's not such a shame after all.
Um, my phone barely makes it through the day on its extended life battery. How the heck is it going to last all day if I use it as my music source as well?
I might be alone, but I really prefer a Sidekick (or Blackberry, I spose...) for my net, email and PDA functions and my cell for phone calls and little else. Other than the occasional game of Jeopardy, I rarely use my cell for much besides a mobile phone.
"The pie shall be cut in half and each man shall receive.....death. I'll eat the pie."
>Apple has nothing to lose from this, but a great deal to gain.
Not sure what they have to gain from this.
Half an iPod with an interface which I'm not sure how its going to work with a cell phone, doesn't sound like a strong product.
And they have alot to lose. Its called watering down a brand-name.
>There's people out there who don't know, or think they want an mp3 player
So why would they buy it with a cell phone? Why not go for this nicer/cheaper/better cell phone?
Apple should do the next step 100% with their iPod. No half PDA or half cellphone combos. Full working PDA/"Son of Newton" and a full blown iPod with a cellphone.
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
Welcome to Slashdot, Cynical haven.
Remember, Slashdotters panned the iPod when it was introduced. They're doing exactly the same thing here. I really get a kick out of reading some of these braindead posts.
Battery life!
OGG!
What? Only 12 songs?!
It's not a Newton!
Apple is dying!
I won't buy it until it has X feature
AAC sucks, X format r0x0rs yo!
Okay okay, so some people are posting positive comments, but they seem to get lost in the pointless hand waving from the haters. Thanks everybody - In a years time, this phone will be a success and you'll STILL be bitching about not having OGG support on X device.
If you were used to and familiar with another companies products, Apple's products would seem very strange and alien to you. They would not even be recognizable as a pattern at all, and certainly not an expected one.
Dunno about that really. I wasn't a Mac user until 2002, but had OS X running to my likening within a few hours of taking the machine out of the box. I remember asking a friend a few questions, but 95% of it would be self-explanatory to anyone who's used a computer in the past 15 years.
On the other hand, I can remember encountering huge hiccups just migrating from one Linux distribution to another, or even upgrading Windows. There is definitely such a thing as unintuitive design; I've encountered it numerous times.
You will not have the knowledge of button placement encoded into your DNA
No, but there are certain UI designs that are more sensible to known human tendencies than others; Apple's done a great deal of research on it, and I think it shows when my dad (whose new to mp3s and computers) can figure out how to use iTunes within a couple minutes without me standing over his shoulders.
Please, there is no such "intuitive"
Sure there is. It's doing things like putting the power switch to say -- a monitor on its front, not the back. It's taking into consideration what most people expect, as opposed to what's technically the easiest thing to implement (which, in some cases -- may be a power switch on the back). Just an example. There are plenty more.