“Beginning in the first half of next year, new Motorola mobile phones will be able to fetch songs from Apple Computer’s iTunes Music Store and play stereo-quality music. Using software developed by Apple, consumers will be able to transfer iTunes from their Windows or Macintosh computers via USB or Bluetooth connections,” Elizabeth Corcoran reports for Forbes.

[MacDailyNews Note: The new Motorola cellphones will ship with new Apple software, called iTunes Mobile Music.]

“Jobs [underscored] that Motorola’s phones would not compete with Apple’s iPods. ‘Wouldn’t it be great if you could take a dozen of your favorite songs with you’ on your cell phone, Jobs told the crowd. Apple’s iPods store hundreds of hours of music,” Corcoran reports. “Although iTunes will be the default jukebox on future Motorola phones, the deal is not an exclusive partnership.” Full article here.

The custom version of iTunes jukebox software that will run on Motorola’s handsets “will not initially be able to preview, buy and download songs over the air directly from the iTunes Music Store. Instead, users will have to download tracks on a PC or Mac then transfer them to the phone using a Bluetooth or USB link, but that’s probably the best solution until much higher data throughputs become available over cellular networks,” Tony Smith reports for The Register.

“HP’s own-brand iPod is expected to ship in September, but – barring other deals, of course – Motorola’s handsets will become the first devices not produced by Apple to support the Mac maker’s DRM technology, FairPlay,” Smith reports. “In short, this is a very significant deal that eclipses all of those done by ITMS’ rivals so far, and represents a real a win-win partnership for Apple.” Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Seems that just as Motorola is free to add other music services along with iTunes, Apple is free to pursue deals with other cell phone makers. This partnership marks Apple’s first license of their proprietary Fairplay DRM to another company. “We think Motorola is the ideal partner [with which] to kick this off,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs stated in the press release.

Look for future announcements.

[UPDATED 9:20AM to include quotes from The Register and denote Apple's Fairplay licensing in the article's headline and MDN take.]