Roger Entner an analyst with researcher Ovum in Boston has blown the lid off secret plans to launch an iTunes phone. Apple was reported to be on the verge of announcing a partnership with Motorola, the handset maker, and Cingular Wireless, the mobile service provider. This partnership is expected to take the responsibility to market the iTunes compatible phone.
The phone hopes to cash in on the worldwide popularity of Apple's iPod. A deal with Motorola had already been signed last year, but there were no reports on the progress made until Entner's revelations, "You are marrying the most successful music player with a cell phone. It's a huge deal because the premier mobile music player is coming to the wireless industry. Now, you have a choice between talking to your spouse on the phone or listening to music," said Entner. Cingular, which has a 51.6 million-subscriber base, would be hoping that the new phone would woo new customers into its fold.
Initial rumors began doing rounds when Apple Computer announced that it would host an "invitation-only event in San Francisco on September 7th, 2005." Apple as usual was mum about what the conference was all about, but said that it was music-related, thus causing the rumor mills to work overtime. Entner elaborated on the launch plans and said that the first iPod-centric phone would be available in two models; with either 512MB or 1GB of storage. It would roughly work with the same capacity as the iPod Shuffle. The phones are the first in the line of a new series called as "Rokr." Jennifer Weyrauch, a spokeswoman for Motorola declined to comment as did the Cingular spokesman.
Posted
on : Thu, 01 Sep 2005 05:05 GMT | Loans News
By : Mark Richardson
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