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More on Apple/Motorola Joint Cell Phone Venture
1+(smarterThanYou) writes "Forbes.com has an article with updates on the previous Slashdot story on the Motorola/Apple iTunes compatible mobile phone.
'Apple Computer and Motorola could soon show us the mobile phone they are developing to play music purchased from Apple's iTunes online music store.
'We've said we have something coming on this in the first half of 2005 and we're definitely on schedule for that. Hopefully you'll be able to see more about it soon,' says Eddy Cue, vice president in charge of applications at Apple.'" Theories about this device showing up at the next MacWorld Expo abound.
Could this phone be the rumoured flash-based iPod?
I also want a Moof ring tone!
Cellular would be the next logical area for apple to explorer. While i think a dedicated Apple Cellular phone would be interesting i don't think it would fly. A joint venture would be a good alternative. Make a slimmed downed ituens for a mobile device. Though i dobt VZW would carry such a cool phone...i mean they finally got bluetooth and look how that mess turned out.
-Will
If Eddie Cue has pre-empted the suprise and fawning over what could have been a Steve Jobs suprise announcement then Mr. Cue may very well be a Former Vice President by the time MacWorld Expo rolls around.
well, motorola is the company that is going to be delivering the application, so I think the apple related logo at the top has got to go........
anyway, Eddy Cue is about to be fired, leaking a comment a couple weeks before macworld, and a couple of days before christmas????? not that any of his comments are going to slow down the sale of any apple produced products, it is still a slip and he must be cut loose, there can't be any leaks in the apple ship
For the U2 edition newton.
it seems that this phone + mp3 player might be the convergence of the "flash based" ipod and the apple/motorola venture. Mac heads gotta have their lifeblood flowing...rumors...mmmm
I wonder whether this will be branded as an Apple phone or as a Motorola phone. Seeing as Motorola's marketing gusto seemed to die with the Star-Tac, I'm personally rooting for an Apple phone.
So many things are becoming an addition to the mobile phone, and different groups teaming up to cover their core areas. Obviously Sony are placed fairly well at the moment with their audio, imaging, comms and gaming devices. Who else will team up to compete?
Personally, I'd love to see the Nintendo technologies meshed with Apple and Motorola. To me both Apple and Nintendo, lean towards highly usable, simple technology with high build quality.
Who else is next?
-----
Glen Williams
i hope they come up with an add-on to merge two everyday gadgets...it would eliminate the need to have an ipod AND a mobile phone in my pocket
Will Eddy be keeping his job?
Every phone that I could use in my area is hobbled by SOB carriers who view BT as headset only, and charge for transfer of photos, ringtones and everything else.
Not that I want the latest MP3 of Poo Doody as my ringtone, or want to take blurry, oversaturated photos with my phone...It's the principle of the thing...
May Apple destroy the phone market as they have beaten the mp3 market.
Through doing BS like this, they are destroying that image that has been so successful.
This may be a whacky idea, but have you considered waiting until you actually see a product before you condemn it?
Hm...it doesn't look like they'll be able to use the name iPhone...Nuvio's got it locked up:
http://www.iphone.com/
I bet you'll have to madly spin around a little touch wheel in order to dial it. Like a rotary phone.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2002/jul/17isync.h tml Cingular and Apple are already buddies. With Moto's exclusive offering of the new RAZR phone with Cingular, perhaps are budding relationship will truly blossom with an iPhone to tie it all together.
Go Apple.
1) In Sino-Soviet Korea, a Beowulf cluster of iTunes-enabled fone overlords (who I, for one, welcome) plays Natalie Portman naked and petrified in hot grits to old people in a positive manner.
2) ???
3) Profit! Because the iPod has made Apple money hand over fist, so a fone that has the same general function (could this be the flash iPod everyone is talking about?) will likely be a giant seller.
Problem is that cell fones are typically loss leaders for SOMEBODY, and we all know the iTMS is barely profitable, so I just don't see where the money would be coming from here.
p
In Korea, long hair is for old people!
- iTunes ringback (what the caller hears is an iTune bought by the callee)
- Distinctive iTune ringtone (I can program the ringtone I hear with an iTune I bought, according to the caller)
- iTunes will not only sync with iPod but also with iPhone
- iPhone to iPhone gifts (I bought an iTune and I give it to you)
- iPhone to iPhone recommendations (I recommend an iTune to you)
- Express your feeling with iTune (when you call her, she hears a music you selected)
- ...
it's just the beginning man! Wait 'till Apple sells movies, documentaries and radio shows...Get a Kyocera. I have a 2325, but I don't know if they still sell them. The battery life is great, the sound is fine, and there are no moving parts to break.
I get about two hours of talk time on a full charge, which takes an hour or so. Idle time charge lasts about four days, sometimes more (if I stay near a tower). It doesn't suffer from heat problems.
And it has Tetris.
Raise your children as if you were teaching them to raise your grandchildren, because you are.
You hreak the number you want to dial either by;
That said, I'm sure it will be a hit with the
--#voxlator
Who's going to buy an iPod phone when we've all already gone out and bought Ngages?
i have mod points, i can modded you up but i'll just reply instead.
... and now after teaming up with sony -- they capture the old market formerly held by nokia.
for now, iPod is doing well; but sooner or later some competitors will catch up.
this things happens in the philippines and i dunno how it affects other parts of the world. 7 years ago, star-tac is the king; it was overrun by nokia when nokia 3210 comes out of the market -- and then stays the lead until now and very very few people are buying motorola phones. 4 years ago, ericsson is not doing well in mobile phone market
This joint venture by Apple and Motorola is a win-win for both of them. Design/Interface/Usability teams will add value to a technology competitive products from Motorola -- like what Sony did to Ericsson.
Okay, so it's now wireless. But I bet it'll have less space than a Nomad.
Lame.
Wouldn't you like to be able to navigate address books to dial a phone vial the scroll wheel and single click button, just like an iPod? I know I would...
Potentially this new phone could all cross licence the UI and be a real boon for Motorola.
As for diaing numbers not in the address book - voice reognition, I'd wager.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
1) Uh, CodeWarrior was by Metrowerks, and AFAIK, there was never an OS X version. Apple's tools for OS 9 were less than useful in comparison to CodeWarrior, but by all accounts, Xcode is infinitely superior. The fact that it's free is a nice side benefit, but serious developers don't really care that much about what the development environment costs as long as it's a good value.
2) The rug got pulled out from all the other cloners, too, most of whom were doing FAR more business than the Starmax series.
3) The PPC/CHRP/AIM alliance (whatever they're calling it this week) had a lot of problems that may or may not have been Motorola's fault. Until the PPC 970 (G5) and 750fx (G3), IBM wasn't exactly delivering that many CPUs to Apple, which leads into...
The G4 debacle was really the first time Mot had trouble delivering what Apple asked for. After that it was all downhill. Of course, Mot's semiconductor division is a separate company now (Freescale).
Your last point is really your only good one, but I can't say as I disagree with your conclusion. Jobs has been pretty angry with Mot ever since the whole G4 debacle, but the Freescale spin-off might have softened that anger somewhat. I suspect Mot had to do some serious ass-kissing to get this deal to fly.
p
In Korea, long hair is for old people!
My current cellular contract is up in February. I can't wait to go shopping for a new phone!
Wake up.
Or they could be bringing the iPod's image to the phone world.
Sure, everyone's used a cellphone already... but we haven't see what Apple can pull out of their hat for the phone world yet.
Does it make you happy you're so strange?
Ehh. You're just a wannabe cultist...
My name is already Steve. No need to name a cat here.
*shiver* It's like my parents figured it out before I was even born!!!
And yes, I have a +6 modifier to underrated posts.
Not that Apple doesn't make some nice stuff, but do you really want to see a Apple-designed cell phone? Phones would become almost status-symbols.
Imagine: iPod2
Codewarrior 7 ran on OS X. Codewarrior was bought by Motorola, but whereas Codewarrior saved Apples bacon back during the the 68k to PPC transition, they were late to the game for OS X and simply couldn't keep pace with the excellent tools that came over with NeXT.
Codewarrior positioned itself for cross-platform development instead, which is what interested Motorola, but wasn't compatible with Apple's focus on superior APIs.
Apple didn't kill Codewarrior as much as Codewarrior chased different markets.
Mots influence on the G4 problem was refusing to allow IBM to fab G4s or to improve their processes, which really left Apple in a bind. After all, G4s still run on a 167MHz bus, which is a disaster for a modern desktop CPU.
You forgot Apple-Moto, you insensitive CLOD!b randing overlords.
In Soviet Russia, Mobile phones make lame jokes (like these) about YOU!
And for the grand-finale...(rimshot)...I, for one, welcome our single-mouse-button-mp3-player-trendsetting-moto-
My Favourite Meme
Or if you prefer, an iPod that has a phone in it.
If all it did was play AAC ringtones I don't know that Apple would waste the ink on a contract with Motorola.
If I can remove one more item from my pocket, it's a win. Although personally my keys annoy me more than anything else.
Please, for the love of god, I just want a phone that will actually make phone calls in my apartment. *whimper*
I'm not in the boonies. I'm a mere 20 miles East of San Francisco in an area where the median home prices is over $700,000. People have money.
But I can't make a phone call from my apartment. Verizon comes close, but Cingular, AT&T Wireless, Sprint, Nextel - none of them work.
My old ass MetroPCS phone is the only phone that I get more than 3 "bars" with. And it doesn't have a camera, either.
What ever happened to making call quality the #1 priority? I don't want a camera phone! I don't want an mp3 player! I just want to make friggin PHONE CALLS!
*head as-plodes*
Am I the only one that needs a Kleenex after reading this???
maybe the rumors are way off and this is what the flash iPod is. the Moto V710 phone has a removable memory card you can put MP3 files on and play them as ringtones, or listen to them on the speakerphone. i guess headphones or a carkit would be possible too? who knows. you have to read the article knowing some are quotes from Apple and Moto and some is filler/speculation by Forbes. not to diss them, but it's possible they don't totally know and are off the mark with their speculation.
and i quote:
I went into a phone shop two days ago.
Most major phone companys had a camera & java-less phone!
http://www.nokia.co.uk/nokia/0,,46548,00.html
Wow, I should not post when knackered.
1) It really isn't a sore spot between them. Motorola bought Metrowerks primarily to have a good software suite to go with their embedded processors, and Metrowerks has done quite well for themselves in the embedded market, especially embedded PPC and for Freescale's DSPs. Even back in 98/99, around the time of the Metrowerks purchase, Motorola was already starting to shift focus to making PPCs for the embedded market. By the time Xcode was released, Metrowerks basically didn't care about the desktop software market.
---
Mod me down, you fucking twits. Go ahead. I dare you.
(I read with sigs off.)
If there is no OS X version of CodeWarrior, what is this, and why does Apple use Codewarrior as a benchmark for speed against XCode (with Apple even admitting that Codewarrior is still faster)? And yes, Motorola created CodeWarrior. Metrowerks might even still be owned by them.
as mentioned by another poster, i also have a s-e T610 (actually, two) with t-mobile; and here is the first time i hear about the lockout of bluetooth features with other phones/companies. ...), though not as advanced as some of the newer nokias (which e.g. show the cover art when using it as itunes remote...).
maybe you should switch the carrier? the t610 is very nice as remote, too (using salling clicker
though, for a german it is kind of weird to see the familiar ugly magenta "T" logo of the formerly state owned german carrier popping up everywhere in the u.s.
Are cell phones really not status symbols for many people already? Or do I live in a different world than you?
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, though I'm not yet sure about the universe. - A Einstein
A phone is not a real status symbol. It is more of an accessory now. Like a bracelet or necklace.
Shameless self-promotion: iPhone is already available. ;)
Ok, I'll bite. What is the point you're trying to make?
... a phone! A number of cell phones already play MP3s. People use them as PDAs too!
Not that Apple doesn't make some nice stuff, but do you really want to see a Apple-designed cell phone? Phones would become almost status-symbols.
Phones already are status symbols. They've been for a long time, since the first consumer cell phones were sold. And iPods are status symbols too. I fail to "imagine" the upheval. You talk about the iPod's image. It is the iPod's image that makes it the status symbol that it is. Unless they screwed it up, I don't see why an iTMS phone would be much different, except that it was a phone, obviously.
Why would anyone have to listen to music on a built-in speaker? See, there are these new fangled things called headphones. You can even use the headphone jack to hook your mp3/music player up to a real live stereo! Even one with speakers as big as your closet! Or house! It doesn't matter what that music player is- an mp3/wma CD player, an iPod, some lame 128 MB flash-based MP3 player, a PDA (even crappy Palm OS devices can do it these days!), or
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
CodeWarrior was released in the early '90s by a small Canadian startup named Metrowerks. When Apple transitioned to the PowerPC and was only able to come up with an abominably slow, clunky and cumbersome development system for it (a set of multipass C++ compilers bundled with their ancient MPW evironment), Metrowerks saved the day by shipping CodeWarrior which had a kick-ass IDE (inspired by Think C, formerly Lightspeed) and a fast, efficient one pass compiler and linker. A few years later Motorola released a compiler plug-in for Codewarrior; then Metrowerks started trying to branch out into other areas such as embedded systems and cross-development systems. Eventually they were bought by Motorola by the end of the '90s.
Now the mugger will get a phone with his mp3 player
Motorola already had a real phone (and I still do). This beast has a plain old LCD display (not color), takes no pictures, has survived numerous falls onto concrete, has battery life that won't quit, and a speakerphone that works fairly well. I almost switched carriers when I was told I would have to "upgrade" after they "upgraded" their network. It took 3 or 4 calls before I actually got someone who let me keep the phone. So I stuck with them.
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
How about Apple and Motorola produce a phone that fully synchronizes with iSync for all the productivity items like contacts and calendars? The only folks that make such devices are Nokia and Siemens. I want everything down to the photo on the Address Book entry... plus decent enough e-mail for getting warning messages from the servers.
Is it just me or would it be really amazing if they released a phone with essentially an iPod mini integrated into it? That's all the convergence device I would need really. Seriously, why hasn't anyone released in the US either a phone or a PDA with a built in HD? The iPod mini shows the hard drive can be pretty damn small.
With an iPod mini integrated into a phone, you could get phone call making, mp3 playing, and basic PDA functionality all in one. Basically all I need from a mobile device. And you could wrap it all up with a super slick scroll wheel rotary dial interface. Maybe not as easy to use for making number dials as a regular phone, but easy enough, considering I almost never dial in a number manually and 90% of my phone calls go to people I already know. And man that sure would be futuristic retro cool.
Too bad it's pretty apparent the real device isn't going to be anything like this. I sure think this would be sweet...
Wow. does that thing come with a briefcase for carrying it around? I won't use a cellphone unless there's a chance I might accidentally swallow it.
||:|::
Nokia beat Apple with a rotary cell phone, it's their Nokia 7280 (http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,,62356,00.html).
Well it is aptly named "TimePort", heh. I don't think u suck as a consumer though - I think you're actually a 'smart' consumer. You want to perform specific functions, and have bought something which fulfills those specific needs. Apart from the very high-end models (which have only recently broken the 1MP level), camera phones are good for nothing except getting 'up-skirt' pictures. A colour screen, a ringtone that doesn't jar (this is POV, I guess), speakerphone and Snake are all I ask from my phone :-p 3120
My Favourite Meme
I suppose it's only a small thing, but I think Apple could at least bring their good design sense to bear.
For all the huge number of cell-phone makers and phones, about 70% of them are completely awful in design, and most of the rest merely OK; even manuf.s who are normally good at product design, like Sony, seem to completely lose it when it comes to cell-phones (in Sony's case, they seem to be partnering with Ericson, so perhaps it's the latter's fault).
We live, as we dream -- alone....
for now, iPod is doing well; but sooner or later some competitors will catch up.
Maybe, but this is harder to do than with the phones.
The iPod is so dominant not only because of the iPod but also iTunes and iTMS. Not many companies out there have the talent to pull off hardware/software/service solutions so elegantly. Even MS, who should be able to easily take care of the last two is having trouble - the vast majority of online music sales are AAC, not WMA.
I think that Apple's interest in a phone is not only to deliver some kind of music service, but I'd look for some kind of iChat hooks as well - either simple texting or building to some kind of eventual videophone functionality. Quicktime in the phone is overkill for just music - there are bigger goals here.
Apple's iPod hardware buddy HP seems to sell might-look-good-in-white, curiously out-of-stock bluetooth stereo headphones, but without a mic. Hmmm...
Welcome to /.
Everyone has an agenda here, whether its pro-FreeBSD or pro-Moz.
It seems like the only time people actually bitch about agendas is when it is insanely anti-MS or pro-Apple.
Most of the flamebait articles are infact flamebait. Seriously, I am sick of the anti-Apple bias of some of the users of this site.
forget it.
The Mot Timeport was a brilliant phone. Full of useful features. I got it because it was the first tri-band phone, had an in-built dictaphone function, modem and IrDA.
It's also interesting to note rumours of an updated StarTAC style handset:
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000713022463/
If this was the phone to include iTunes I'd buy one without question. I loved my original StarTACs and went through several versions of them before the Timeport came out.
Don't blame me - this
All white, beautiful OS, iTunes support, iTMS support, sync to mac and PC.
:(
But just one button
Nah, it'll probobly be like "No bluetooth. Clunkier than a Nokia. Lame." anyways : )
Check your renters'/homeowners' associations.
This happens in my area, too, and it's caused by the NIMBY attitude of people when they see a cell phone tower. Even if the cellular provider proposes a camouflaged tower (one that looks like a tree, etc.), they are beaten back by the pseudoscience wackos threatening health problems. They've even taken out existing towers ("Too close to the schools--think of the children!"), which I suspect is why you remember your MetroPCS phone fondly. As a result, my nearest cell tower is a zillion miles away and, like you, I have no coverage indoors.
Also, the Ericsson T100. No camera or anything, small, a nice clean, simple design, even a scroll thing. Have to recommend it.
The interesting thing with a potential phone pod would actually be whether the audio codec remains AAC or becomes AAC+. Obviously AAC+ would make more sense when considering over the air download constraints etc. AAC+ would also help on the memory side.... What does the NET think?
I'd prefer to have an enter key rather than a mp3 phone anyday.
See?
I win!
actually, I must say, after using that new Razor phone they have (the uber-thin one) I'm impressed. I used to have to hawk the Startacs and Timeports they used to make (they were such shit) but its a huge step up in quality. If I wasn't jonesin' for a Sidekick 2 right now, I'd consider it.
Viva La Revolucion! Buy a Mac!
Maybe it's a US thing that they can do that and expect to get away with it. I don't know of any Carrier in the UK that does that sort of thing. I've got a K700i and regularly use Bluetooth with my Mac to sync up the address book, calendar, offload pictures I take with it and most importantly to connect to the phone's GPRS modem for mobile internet access. If I had to funnel the first three through my carrier (Orange) it would cost me a fortune. And the last feature would be impossible.
I simply would not accept that limitation from a carrier. It's an abuse of their service. Do the sensible thing and change you carrier to someone who doesn't cripple your phone and your computing experience. Then let them know in a letter why you're changing. If enough people do the same, they'll start to get the message.
One can only hope.
I have a website. It's about Macs.
Apple's success is based on Apple controlling all aspects of its business. Can you imagine a company that doesn't allow clones of its computers allowing people to judge their newest/coolest gadget by the quality of signal that someone gets from some anonymous tower?!?
Think about it...
When the average user gets crappy reception during a phone call, do they curse the towers? No, they get mad at their phone (sometimes tossing it across the car or shutting it violently or something)!
Apple will not make a product that is judged by the quality of something outside of Apple's control.
If this is a phone, it will be a new set of features for Motorola, not an iPhone. Since Nextel uses Motorola and Sprint just bought Nextel, here is what I think will happen:
Nextel/Sprint will offer 2 lines of phones:
Powerbook line:
Enhanced versions of what Nextel uses now
(black, invulnerable, geeky, GPS, etc.)
iBook line:
iTMS (iTunes Music Service) enhanced versions of Sprint
(Sprint "pin-drop" clarity with cool music downloads)
Think of this more along the lines of the HP iPod, Apple is going to allow others to license their service. Apple will not make their own phone. If Apple is really doing anything with Motorola specifically on chips, it would be trying to get a lower heat/power-consumption G5 so Apple can get them into new Powerbooks.
Maybe (I hope) I am being really, really cycnical but I bet it won't be possible to either transfer tracks from your PC that you have ripped from a CD or (even worse) transfer tracks from your PC that you have already purchased via iTunes.
I would put money on the only method of loading tracks onto the handset being downloading them directly to the handset.
Nice way to get you to repurchase music and to lock you into your contract/handset (if you change network or handset you would loose your tunes).
Maybe this will help the poor RIAA members get their profits even higher.
"Your current wait is expected to be two hours, twenty-five minutes...."
One can also see this with keyboards. Many PC ship with 10 or more extra keys to execute specilized commands. While this may be useful for a small subset, it annoys me that the extra keys make the keyboard bigger than it has to be and it causes confusion. For instance, on my compaq laptop there is a row a ancillary buttons across the top. The most important button, the start up button, is just one these buttons, barely differentiated. Everytime I want to turn on the machine I must look for the button. Time wasted because someone wanted to look technologically advanced by including lots of buttons.
The phone I want from apple has the structure of iPod mini, but much smaller. No keyboard, no speaker, no mic. Bluetooth to a headset. Scrollwheel selects person to call. Sync to adress book and datebook. If the networks would get full caller ID, like the bells, numbers could be stored with names. In fact I have often wondered how hard it would be add phone capability to the mini, and, of course, bluetooth.
The keyboard on a phone is useful for texting, but a popup keyboard and the scrollwheel could be just as useful, expecially with predictive technology and a phrase bank. I will never buy a phone in which the data cannot be gathered from my laptop. The current cellphone is evolved from 70's technology. It is time for something different.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Apple's success is based on Apple controlling all aspects of its business. Can you imagine a company that doesn't allow clones of its computers allowing people to judge their newest/coolest gadget by the quality of signal that someone gets from some anonymous tower?!?
Just like Apple not supporting that internet thingy! Imagine having your customers judge their new computer based on the crappy service they get from Comcast.
Or like how you can't use third party software on your Macs. Imagine the user experience being ruined by some random app causing kernal panics!
[/sarcasm]
SteveM
In germany and benelux, the discount chain aldi is releasing the "AldiPod" . I'm not much of music-man, but a phone with the design-talent of the ipod, my god, the drool is shorting my keyboard!
10 ?"Hello World" life was simple then
I don't want my cell phone to:
Be a pda; play music,games, 3 billion different, ring tones,take pictures, record video, show tv shows, or any of the other things they keep cramming in.
I want a cell phone that works well as a PHONE, doesn't drop calls, and doesn't have to be "rebooted" because of a crappy OS trying to do everything but what a telecommunications unit should do. It should make and recieve calls - and maybe, just maybe store a few frequently called numbers.
IF, AND ONLY IF THEY GET THE BASIC PHONE FUNCTION ROCK SOLID THEN THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO ADD "FEATURES." I would much rather see them invest in makeing the technology more reliable than cramming new "features" into the device.
. there used to be a sig here.....
Just didn't know that it was Apple who would do this.
And that it would be this soon.
Guess I win the bet. :-)
-- Boycott Shell
I really don't think Steve Jobs would let Motorola put out a piece of crap. This is probably one of his pet projects which he is going to make sure comes out right. Having a pissed Steve Jobs over your shoulder is not something you want. He is probably all over this venture to make sure its done right. Given that Moto has done a great job lately with the Razr V3 and Mpx220 I wouldn't discount them from designing a phone that makes this whole Itunes venture work.
http://treomac.com/v-web/portal/cms/modules.php?na me=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=32
I can throw a little more gas onto the Apple phone rumors. I was on a train this weekend, watching an episode of the Simpsons on my Treo600. The gentleman sitting across from me asked me how I liked the phone. I told him I loved it and we began a tech conversation. He mentioned that he worked for Motorola. I told him I was a Macintosh consultant, and then he dropped the bomb! "I've got a scoop for you", he teased.
Apparently some of his associates had been telling him earlier in the week about an Apple branded phone that had been circulating around the office at Motorola. The phone had Motorola components, but most certainly had Apple brandings on it. He said that he did not have a chance to handle the phone, but that his direct supervisor did. The phone was "sleek and sexy" in her words. He mentioned that there was talk amongst the people who had seen it that itunes and iphoto would factor into this device somehow. They also said that the phone had a slot on the top (media slot?) as well as what looked to be a usb 2.0 port on the bottom.
All very interesting. He gave me his card, so I'll be sure to press him for more details in the coming weeks.
Stay Tuned!
_________________
Tony Ricciardi
Administrator
TreoMac.com
Also, from another source:
It's basically the successor to the Motorola E398, but with iTunes, and extensive Apple influence and iPod integration. I haven't seen it yet, but my info is direct from Moto top people.
The current Motorola E398 was a tri-band GSM bar form factor phone, with a large screen, TransFlash slot, Bluetooth, camera, media player, speakerphone, and FM tuner. And since this offering is GSM, and Steve Jobs has twice trotted out Cingular CEO Stephen Carter at Macworld keynotes, and given other carriers' resistance to the idea of iTunes on a phone (for reasons of either not wanting to provide bandwidth for such a service at a reasonable cost, OR being opposed to having full computer/device connectivity via Bluetooth bypassing their networks), it would appear that Cingular/AT&T might be a good candidate to carry such a device.
And for all those who think that Motorola phones suck OR are only basing your opinion on NEXTEL phones, trust me: they've gotten a LOT better, and actually have some excellent offerings (e.g., RAZR V3 and v710, Verizon crippling aside).
A cell phone is a pretty limited device -- maybe 256mb ram. Will there be a way to transfer my purchased music to my PC?
Also - will I be able to transfer AAC music that I purchased in the past from iTunes to my phone? It'd be nice to not have to carry a phone *and* an iPod to work.
And lastly -- what about battery life?
Chip H.
I have to admit I'm a bit curious about all the effort and publicity surrounding this, but I guess with Apple and Motorola being former bedroom buddies and with iTunes and Apple as hot as they are right now, anything involving either would make news.
Most of Apple's functions (Bluetooth, MP3, AAC, 3GPP, contact synchroniztion) already work with Nokia's Symbian platform right now, except for iTunes' DRM - which, admittedly, is the show-stopper. But why would you not also try to partner with, or license your stuff to, another company who has done much of the grunt work already ?
IIRC the Samsung Uproar was the first phone to come out with mp3 playback capability. For the technology available at the time (2001) it was a great device - 64MB flash player with a decent phone.
One of the best features of that phone was completely unintentional - since it had stereo headphones for both phone and mp3 player usage you could have two people talk on the phone at the same time without having to use a speakerphone by giving each person one of the earpieces.
Have you seen my stapler?
I love the idea of mp3 players merging with cell phones. If you think about it, it's a very natural merge. And, ideally, MP3 integration would force the production of more comfortable handsfree headsets, and perhaps one day, a headset so seamless comfortable you would never have to take it off.
"hey, could you pass me a paper towel? er.. I mean... DEPLOY ABSORBTION PANEL!"
Come on, ringtones as we know them are passé, dead. Very soon, all new phones will just play any song/sound file (mp3, aac, wma...ugh) same as your iTunes or Mediaplayer. No more buying ringtones from phone companies. As soon as "air bandwith" is high enough, phone companies will be selling mp3/aac/wma songs just as any online music store.
Rubies and Pearls are not what you think.
> So many things are becoming an addition to the mobile phone, and different
> groups teaming up to cover their core areas. Obviously Sony are placed fairly
> well at the moment with their audio, imaging, comms and gaming devices.
Personally, I think that most additions that are bolted on a cell phone result in a substandard product.
Consider a phone + camera combo.
On one hand, I want my phone to be small and light.
On the other hand, I want my digicam to take quality pictures, which requires a decently sized photosites and good optics (with lots of lens elements).
These requirements are at odds with each other.
On the other hand, adding audio functions to a cell phone should be doable without exessively compromising quality.
Is there a reasonably priced cell phone + AM/FM radio + MP3 player combo in existance?
Isn't this the same news organization that has such wonderful writers as Daniel Lyons, and publishes glowing articles about what a wonderful case SCO has? Wern't they buying SCO's story even as of August 2004?
Those who would give up liberty in exchange for security and DRM should switch to Microsoft Palladium!
There is a big difference between making something work and making something usable. Motorola may have already implemented the technical end of things but it's the user interface that makes or breaks a product. And creating a good user interface is just as hard, if not harder then making it work technically.
Are cell phones really not status symbols for many people already? Or do I live in a different world than you?
Yes. The parent poster lives in 2004 World. You live in 1974 World.
Mobile phones have not been status symbols since back when they were called cell phones.
Some guy answers a mobile phone in a public place, it's not like all the ladies are going to go, "oooo! He can afford a $200 gadget and a $40/month service contract! I wonder if he's a doctor or a CEO or something... I hope he's not already married!"
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Well... it was inevitable. The venture between Apple and Motorola. Music was bound to be on cell phones eventually. We all new it was coming.
But, Wohoo! I'm excited. Not necessarily for the iTunes compatible cell phone, but for the concept. Sooner or later, all cell phones will be MP3 players as well. It's like two in one. It's like a combo DVD and VHS player. It sounds wonderful. Music on the go with no extra devices...
This new cell phone will definitely replace the iPod, despite what the executive said.
" Are cell phones really not status symbols for many people already? Or do I live in a different world than you?"
Nope...really more of a commodity these days. Pretty much everyone has at least one of them....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I agree that from the screen shot the phone looks very impractical.
But if it could recognize spoken numbers to dial, then it would be much more practical - and my initial point about using the scroll wheel to traverse address books still stands. Nothing beats scrolling through a large list of items like the scroll wheel.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
With a #11 key.
The last analyst report I saw pointed out that the entire revenue from legal downloads amounted to 5% of the current revenue from mobile phone ringtones.
If I was Apple I'd be selling ringtones on the ITMS.
Da Blog
Because Apple's business model revolves around producing hit products (a lot like Jobs other business). A big part of making a product a "big hit" rather than "just another product" is how it's initial launch is managed. Jobs method is surprise... a big announcement of a major new cool product THAT NO ONE EXPECTED introduced with the understated trademark phrase "Oh, just one more thing..." A leak ruins the surprise (or even turns it into a negative if the real product doesn't live up to the leaked details). It damages the enthusiasm and buzz around a new product that Apple needs to create in order to turn a nice product into "the cool new thing" everybody is talking about and just HAS to have.
Contractors have been sued (in 2002), employees have lost their jobs (a webmaster in 2003), and relationships with major vendors have been seriously damaged (ATI in 2000) on account of leaks.
Sacking a VP would be a big deal but it would be in character. Motorola announcing a Motorola branded phone that can play iTunes songs is not a leak and not about an Apple product. A leak about an Apple branded(!) phone *IS*.
Then again this could be calculated misdirection to protect some other product and heighten the surprise. This is something Apple appears to have done before - prior to the launch of the iPod there were tons of rumors about all sorts of products, none of them MP3 players. I suspect that Jobs, like Churchill, believes the truth is so important it must be protected by a vanguard of lies.
The companies said they plan to release a phone that will connect locally to computers unning Microsoft's Windows as well as Apple's Macintosh computers using a cable or a Bluetooth wireless connection.
What about Redhat's Linux?
Is it black like the U2 phone? How much more black could it be?
Random is the New Order.
I have my Apple BT powerbook, I have Apple Ipod. Both designed for sleek and easy mobility. Whats missing? My connection! I want this to be an apple component that gets me onto the internet at the highest possible speed while on a cell network (rather than WiFi) . Perhaps it can autonomously download an album from iTMS without my laptop, for when I hear it on the radio, or see it in a store. but who knows...
They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!
So many of the phones are sold as a cheap thing you can throw away when your contract runs out(now a draconian two years), or a feature ladened behemeth that you can impress your freinds with. Motorola still seems to be the company that will produce quality irrespective of a price point.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
I posted the item above. it didnt attach my name to it.
Making a phone that also works as an iPod would simply undermine regular iPod sales. If anything, my guess is that the Apple/Moto phone would have the typical integration with iSync, Address Book and add to it tight integration with .Mac (web-mail) & iChat AV. The possibilities with that would be amazing.
http://oldphones.com/
So far we seem to be the only ones thinking in the same direction.
Yeah, everyone's sick and tired of iPods already.
--R.J.
Electric-Escape.net
And if they do address book they might as well throw iCal synchronization in there too so I can see my calendar on my phone. Though the Address Book Synch would be more useful.
And - of course - the interface to my PowerBook should be Bluetooth.
Conserve Oil, Recycle, Boycott Walmart
Although I have to say I've always wondered why Apple is so bad at missing the christmas and back-to-school seasons with their product announcements. But I guess it's working for them, since they never seem to make enough units anyway (except maybe for G4 Cubes...)
Sony, seem to completely lose it when it comes to cell-phones (in Sony's case, they seem to be partnering with Ericson, so perhaps it's the latter's fault).
Well, Sony had fricking awfully designed mobile phones before they teamed up with Ericsson. Sony Ericsson is a really good example of a product merger gone the right way. Ericsson has all that AND a bag of chips when it comes to telecommunications and mobile phones, but theyr design was outdated since they didn't believe that anyone other than business people wanted to buy mobiles, so they got shafted by Nokias youth-inspired phones. Sony knows how to make something stylish and chuck it full of features. The result is, very cool. A phone that has the most features from Sony and takes a hard beating like a real Ericsson phone.
Apple should have teamed up with Sony Ericsson.
So why dont you buy one then: http://www.apple.com/isync/devices.html My last 3 cellphones have talked happily with my Mac. Syncing, sending files, sending sms with the computer, using it as a modem etc "just works"..
It's already happening, dammit - I have a roommate whose phone blares some annoying-ass punk rock song in mono badness. He's with Cingular, I believe.
My English teacher once told me that two positives don't make a negative. Two words for her: Yeah, right.
I see. So nobody buys the newest $5000 Sony Ericsson phone and wears it conspicuously on their belt or waving it around.....
It may not be the same status symbol as it was in the 70s and 80s, but having a phone with all the bells and whistles is something of a status thing in certain groups.
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, though I'm not yet sure about the universe. - A Einstein
Nokia seem to be working with Apple on the 7280:
from the site you linked to:
"Nokia Collector supports synchronization with Apple for photos, audio files, and video clips"
If it wasn't rude and anti-social enough for all you whippersnappers to talk loud on your cell phone in public spaces, now people will have to talk even louder over all that damn hippie music....
I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
Thanks!
Conserve Oil, Recycle, Boycott Walmart