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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."
It sounds like a great idea, I have to say I have been wating for such a cellphone for a while. I do have a few potential issues though. Battery life and size. While the Palm Cell phones were cool, they would eat a battery in about an hour and were about as sleek as carrying a forty pound rock.
I thought that the whole reason Apple was winning because they weren't selling 12-song devices.
I don't know why this couldn't be the iPhone. Co-branding is in Apple's past.
Then again, one could read that this announcement came from Motorola's web site as an indication that it won't be the last deal with a phone manufacturer. Maybe the iPhone is just further down the road.
Apple has done this before.
The Quicktake 200 Camera was a Fuji DS7 camera - they were no different. The Apple Quicktake however used a better JPEG compression technology (read as quicktime) - that was especially developed for the Quicktake. Apple also created it's own system level camera reading and editting software.
I think this could represent a possible new hardware direction and unlike many have suggested I think this DOES possibly mean an Iphone from Apple could be in the works. Except this time, unlike the iPod that is Windows and Mac; the iPhone will be for Macs ONLY, the Moto version will be for everyone else.
Semi unrelated - a smaller footprint of iTunes would also be easier to emulate - possibly giving Linux a better shot at a quality iTunes solution.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
...from their failure to license the Mac technology. This time around, their going to license their iPod technology to every Tom, Dick and Harry and establish it as an industry standard.
Good for them!
until I can get ALL the functionality of both devices in one package.
With only 12 songs, I'd still need my iPod for real music needs. Will the phones have headphone jacks? I sure don't want to listen to music from a single crappy phone speaker.
While this is a step in the right direction, it's not enough.
When I can fully replace my iPod, cell phone, and PDA with one device, i'll buy.
First of all, the 48mb seems a little odd to me. I guess it's a 64mb device, with 16 used for the phone's OS/address book/ringtones/etc. But more importantly, why not make it hold 74 minutes of music. One full CD. I think that would be ideal for tiny storage. That would be 74mb, and if you include the 16 for the phone's other requirements you get 90 megs. That means that using 96 mb of memory on the phone, you could hold the OS and such, and 80 minutes of audio. Seems fantastic to me.
That said, I have three other comments. First, how 'bout bluetooth so you can use your Bluetooth headset to listen to music? Second, will the memory be expandable? That would be great. Third, can you use your files (MP3, AAC, etc) as ringtones? Those would be three nice things.
It will be interesting to see how all this pans out.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Now how freakin' cool would it be, when you put a freind on hold to take another call, poop, etc. It would play the music (in a somewhat reduced qaulity) like companies do when they put you on hold. just remember to properly liscense it.
The hell with an iTunes Moto phone - I want an Apple mobile phone. It's time for Apple to shake up the mobile device market again with a leap to something that competes with the Treo 600, with fancy HW and a UI so simple it's legal to use while driving. C'mon, Jobs - you've reinvented a better Walkman, now let's see you reinvent a better PC on top of that!
--
make install -not war
I admit I didn't RTFA and only the /. byline, but only 12 songs?
There are sell-fones that have long been in existance with built-in MP3, WMA, and WAV players that accept high-capcity removable memory-stick storage (128mb+). Like the Sony-Ericsson P800 & P900. These phones are GPRS and Bluetooth enabled, natch (and yes, that's enough bandwidth to transfer some content). Undoubtedly there are a few that take CF as well.
If 12 songs is the most they're going to offer you, when it's abundantly clear that's lightyears off of the current technical ceiling, then someone's trying to screw us (surprise).
They're not exactly the hottest name in cellphones right now.
I just see another device that doesn't need to be combined with a phone. I just want my phone to make calls and maybe sync contacts with my computer. Phone battery life barely lasts long enough for some days, even without all the fancy gadgets. Putting two good things together doesn't always make a better product. It's like the one Simpsons where Homer is eating out of a can and it says, "Gum and Nuts: Together at Last."
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
A 12-song player is not all that exciting. However, if they make it so you can download songs to it over the phone, then it becomes a lot more interesting. Keep your collection on your home computer with your always-on broadband connection, and grab songs 12 at a time for playback on the phone.
Can I rip a cell phone conversation to MP3?
It's funny to see so many people griping about the 12 song capacity of the phone. Lets not forget all the cries of "why the hell would anyone want to buy an iPod when you can get something so much cheaper?" Then the iPod Mini came out and instead of griping about it competing against the product from another company, they cried "but who will buy this? Why not spend $50 more and get a full size iPod that holds so much more music?"
C'mon people. Have faith in Apple. They seem to know what they're doing (finally...we'll just forget about the Cube...). When your son or daughter (who probably helped put the iPod Mini on the 25 year (slight exaggeration) waiting list is at the wireless store comparing phones, are they going to be looking at the phones that have no ring-tone options, crappy ring-tone options, or the cool new phone that plays music from iTunes (considering they probably already own an iPod and iPod Mini).
I see a lot of "12 song only" complaints but I bet three months after release, this will be a wildly popular phone.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
The real iPhone will be when Apple makes an official bluetooth remote. I've got a Sony Ericsson T610 and it's amazingly useful for controlling VLC and iTunes from my couch, but current cell phones weren't meant to be used like this. If Apple designed a bluetooth phone with nicely laid out iTunes/DVD remote features, I'd be first in line to buy one.
The PowerPC or semiconductor division of Motorola has been spun-off. It's now Freescale Semiconductor, a freely operating entity. Motorola without the semiconductor division is planning this new cellphone/i-pod.
Fyi. Working at Motorola sucks. Low pay, lower benefits every minute. Culture and morale is near the toilet... Great quarter everyone! Now please read the reduced severance plan as it's going to hurt as I stick it to you!
(finally...we'll just forget about the Cube...)
I bought a Cube (500mhz) the day they came out (waited five months, but oh well.)
It still sits on my wife's desk, working faithfully and silently, handling her little business and the house bills, along with her mail, browsing and Office stuff. It's 802.11b, and has never had a touch of trouble.
It still gets compliments and "what the heck is that?" comments, and still will get $550-$600 on ebay.
Nothing wrong with the Cube at all...people just wanted a better, more flexible desktop, satisfied with the G5 I'm typing on.
Cubes rocked!
"The pie shall be cut in half and each man shall receive.....death. I'll eat the pie."
Anyone notice that the iPod mini is about the same size as a cellphone.. and if it can store 4Gb of music and smaller hard drives available/round the corner, there's no reason why we won't have a phone that can stores gigs of music. (and remember, the phone circuitry +RF is not really *that* space consuming.)
"When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail." - Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
Why does no one mention the possibility that this implies the ability to download songs from the iTMS directly to the phone.
A cell phone has the internet connection that the iPod lacks. The two can not be compared. Small capacity, yes, but I can download a song I want to hear RIGHT NOW.
Having the iTMS in my pocket is a groundbreaking concept. Considering the number of songs they've sold from PCs, imagine how many songs they would sell if the store was in your pocket all the time!
If apple can successfully license the aac compression algorithm that they stand to make allot of money. it would also become a more viable alternative to MS audio compression. with the proceeds from licensing aac, there may be a little bit of a drop in ipod sales but most people buy ipod's based on aesthetics and the design. but in the end apples greatest failing is a business model partially based on fear. by locking down the market on hardware they loose the revenue from software licensing. with proper marketing aac and quicktime compression can become a consumer device standard.
Seeing as the E398 Motorola phone already supports removable flash card (seen ones that can hold 96 mb at least), I doubt that the proposed phone w/iTunes support will be limited to only 12 songs. At the standard 5 mb a song this is 20 songs. And in a year I'm sure that the flash-industry will figure out a way to cram more memory into the size-format.
The really neat thing would be a phone with iTMS integration so you could buy songs on the go. This would alos help a lot with platform independence. If you don't have Windows or Mac OS X (the current iTunes platforms) then you can have a cellular phone that gives you access to iTMS.
Yeah, I had to use google to find the Terminal app in OS X.
Couldn't you just have used the OS X find command? Isn't Google a bit of overkill for this?
SteveM
As a current developer of cell phone applications, I would kill for the amount of storage to store 12 songs, and the memory to play them. I think most computer people would be suprised by the hardware restrictions of even current generation cellular phones. I consider myself lucky if the phone I choose to use has more than 64 Kb for each application and > 256Kb of heap memory.