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Apple To Unveil iPod Cellphone Next Week?
Mictian writes "Apple Computer is planning to hold a major press conference next week (September 7th) in San Francisco and the rumours say that it will be the unveiling of a new iPod cellphone (NYT). The phone would incorporate the popular iTunes software, be built by Motorola and marketed by Cingular Wireless. The companies have declined to confirm or deny the report, which would fit Apple's past pattern of being secretive to maximise the splash on announcement day."
Nice, but apparently it'll only hold 100 songs. And if that is true, it is not nearly enough capacity to make me switch from carrying both an MP3 player and a mobile.
Apple is releasing an iPod cell phone, while Nokia is releasing a tablet computer with no cell phone capabilities.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso
Now I can watch movie clips, read news AND listen to music using my mobile phone. However, every second voice conversation will still run to the lines of "Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? Is this better? Yes? OK...wait, I've lost you. Can you hear me? CAN YOU? I'll call you back. I'LL CALL YOU BACK".
Fix your damned voice communications before you introduce more junk into handsets. I have a perfectly good MP3 player, but I still lack a useful phone!
maybe FINALLY apple will be taking advantage of the fact that they have ownership of iphone.org ( http://samspade.org/t/whois?a=iphone.org&server=au to&_charset_=UTF-8&btnGo=Whois )
-- hytmal
Why Cingular?
First, they sell Motorola phones, and Motorola partnered with Apple to build it. Also, they're a GSM carrier, and they seem to sell bleeding edge phones a little bit quicker than other carriers. Motorola probably built the first version as GSM because more carriers use that protocol. I love Verizon, but ditched 'em for Cingular because Cingular gets cooler phones faster. Granted, the coverage isn't as good, but hey, geeks love toys.
What's your damage, Heather?
It's not really a matter of new technology, but rather a matter of branding. The Apple iTunes name sells. This behavior is being done by many corporations. Virgin started it along with 7-eleven. Next to appear on the scene is Disney Mobile (not making this up). Names sell, so individuals who are dedicated to Apple and it's products will most likley purchase this type of phone/service.
A bunch of Tech Stuff
but I'm sure it won't fare nearly as well as the iPod itself. People get tired of their cell phones after a while. Especially when something new and flashy comes out.
Gadgets really shouldn't require contracts.
"No fair, you changed the outcome by measuring it!" - Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth
Looks like this ROKR phone is kinda the 2nd Generation iPod Shuffle.
- It is a small unit with minila but reasonable capacity via Flash
- Smaller than a pack of gum, more like a piece of gum stuck to your cell phone
- Now Suffle detractors get their screen and basically a free ride on the battery life of a much larger capacity battery too
- Still priced at a minimal premium
I have also read that the software people have seen is a music player only, not iTMS integration for buying tracks, so this will sync with
- iTunes
- Address Book
- Calendar events?
- To Dos?
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
The advertisement for the event reads: "1,000 songs in your pocket changed everything... Here we go again". Do you really think that Apple would release a phone that holds 100 songs? My bet is a video iPod and iTunes 5 that will provide music video and movie content through the iTunes Music Store.
First, they sell Motorola phones, and Motorola partnered with Apple to build it.
I contend that Apple partnered with Cingular because they are the largest carrier in the US, now that they merged with AT&T, and because Cingular would allow Apple to sell a phone that didn't get it music by buying from an over priced Verizon music store. Sprint, Verizon, etc sell Motorola phones too (yeah, Sprint only sells CDMA Motos) but the GSM carriers will sell whatever they think is gonna bring in the customers.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
iTones.
I heard the new Apple product would be "revolutionary" and completely new, changing live as we know it and such... a mobile phone/iPod comination will NOT be that.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
Imagine some idiot having ~500 minutes worth of ringtones!
Plus, by issuing a GSM phone, Apple is open to pretty much the whole world on one phone platform. CDMA is pretty much US only and companies like Verizon, while supporting tech like Bluetooth, only support it in a crippled version that they can fee their customers to death with.
Will their new cellphone only have one button, just like their mice? Just kidding...
Height: 38U, Weight: 0 Newtons, Eyes: #0000FF, OS: Gray Matter 1.0 (Alpha)
From all accounts, it wasn't easy to find ANY carrier to carry the iPhone. Cingular apparently was the first to give in and give it a shot.
64kbps is the technical limit of vanilla GPRS. However, T-Mobile is pretty far along with their EDGE rollout in most metro areas - here in Atlanta I have to go outside the perimeter before I lose EDGE coverage. Real-world transfer rates are in the 80-100kbps range almost everywhere I've checked where I have more than one bar. Check this forum for user's reports.
AFAIK T-Mobile is waiting for the deployment to be completed before they begin marketing the service, but there's not going to be any additional charges for it beyond what they charge for GPRS today. They have just begun to sell the v330, which has EDGE support (I use an unlocked v551).
As far as T-Mobile's coverage, I will note that the higher-frequency band (they're on 1800 or 1900MHz in the US, Cingular uses 850) does cause the signal to drop out sooner inside buildings than Cingular's - for some reason it happens a lot in supermarkets - due to faster attenuation of higher-frequency signals. But other than that, I don't have problems in metro areas. Rural/suburban areas are a different story, I've heard...