“Motorola and Apple have finally agreed on a stage to raise the curtain on the much-anticipated iTunes phone. The iPod-inspired music phone — which Motorola twice pulled from introductions earlier this year, apparently under orders from Apple chief Steve Jobs — will debut in the U.K. next month,” Scott Moritz reports for TheStreet.com. “The planned venue is a four-stage ‘V Festival’ concert sponsored by Virgin Mobile U.K. on Aug. 20-21, says American Technology Research analyst Albert Lin. Virgin Mobile U.K. will be one of the first telcos to offer the phone, says Lin.”
“Meanwhile, here in the U.S., the market may have to wait a while. Though Virgin Mobile operates in the U.S., the service is a brand used to resell Sprint’s network. Motorola’s iTunes phone, dubbed the Rokr, is a global systems for mobile, or GSM, phone. Motorola does not have a code division multiple access, or CDMA, version of the phone that could be used with Sprint’s network or for that matter with Verizon’s,” Moritz reports. “Industry watchers say it’s likely that a GSM operator — either T-Mobile or SBC and BellSouth’s joint venture Cingular — will be the first in the U.S. to offer the phone.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Motorola and Apple are using the “Boy Who Cried Wolf” marketing playbook and taking it to levels hitherto unseen.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Motorola, Microsoft unveil RAZR-thin Windows smartphone, Apple iTunes phone deal still unclear – July 26, 2005
Motorola to announce Apple iTunes phone via webcast on July 25? – July 20, 2005
Report: Motorola Apple iTunes phone ‘ROKR E1’ to launch in UK in July, US in August – July 14, 2005
Motorola to unveil Apple iTunes mobile phone during UK’s V Festival – July 11, 2005
Photos of Motorola E790 ‘Apple iTunes phone’ posted online – July 04, 2005
Report: existing Motorola handsets talk to Apple’s iTunes 4.9 – June 30, 2005
MacDailyNews Exclusive: Leaked images of Motorola Apple iTunes phone? – June 29, 2005
Apple iTunes phone image shown by Motorola execs in Beijing? – June 28, 2005
Apple’s iTunes 4.9 contains many hints of iTunes music phone – June 28, 2005
Cingular Wireless considering selling Motorola Apple iTunes mobile phone – June 24, 2005
Motorola CEO: Apple iTunes mobile phone on track for July debut, carriers not balking – May 18, 2005
Motorola expects to launch first Apple iTunes phone this summer, second iTunes phone in 4th quarter – May 11, 2005
Motorola’s Apple iTunes phone software screenshots posted online – May 11, 2005
Will cellphones eat Apple’s iPod or vice versa? – May 09, 2005
Bona fide Apple iPod killer? Nokia’s 4GB mobile ‘jukebox’ phone due by Christmas – April 28, 2005
Can mobile phones and telecoms kill Apple’s golden iPod+iTunes combo? – April 26, 2005
Motorola CEO Zander: Apple iTunes phone due ‘in the next few months’ – April 20, 2005
RUMOR: Apple’s iTunes Mobile 1.0 to be ready by June – April 20, 2005
Verizon, Sprint, other wireless companies balk at carrying Apple’s and Motorola’s ‘iPod phone’ – April 19, 2005
Motorola to unveil iRadio – PC to Mobile to Car Stereo service – April 18, 2005
Will Motorola’s Apple iTunes phone make it to market? – March 28, 2005
BusinessWeek: What’s going on with the Motorola Apple iTunes mobile phone? – March 24, 2005
So who’s really delaying the Motorola iTunes phone anyway? – March 21, 2005
Motorola exec: Apple iTunes phone debut delayed by Steve Jobs; phones will launch in 2005 – March 16, 2005
Motorola’s Apple iTunes phone in trouble? – March 14, 2005
Motorola says iTunes phone unveiling delay not caused by dispute with carriers – March 10, 2005
Motorola says it’s working on more iTunes phones, some models ‘can store eight hours of music’ – March 10, 2005
Motorola indefinitely postpones Apple iTunes phone unveiling – March 10, 2005
Motorola’s ‘ROKR’ Apple iTunes mobile phone to be unveiled this Thursday – March 06, 2005
Motorola’s yet-to-be-unveiled ‘ROKR’ phone will be first Apple iTunes phone – February 16, 2005
Nokia to use Microsoft’s music formats on its handsets – February 15, 2005
Motorola E1060 not, repeat not, the iTunes phone – February 16, 2005
Motorola executive previews iTunes Phone at CES, syncs to iTunes like an Apple iPod – January 06, 2005
Apple’ prodigious hardware and software design skills may help Motorola create iPod phone – December 28, 2004
Apple, Motorola iTunes on cell phones a harmonious deal that benefits both companies – August 05, 2004
Motorola posts Steve Jobs’ Apple iTunes announcement video – July 28, 2004
Apple, Motorola iTunes deal not exclusive, debuts Apple’s licensing of FairPlay DRM – July 27, 2004
Motorola and Apple to bring iTunes Music Player to Motorola’s next-gen mobile phones – July 26, 2004
At this point, I’d be surprised if the phone will live up to everyone’s heightened expectations. Though, Tiger certainly did. . .
A first in the UK? Shocker
First post, heavan
d’oh
(CAU*bullshit*GH) (CAU*bullshit*GH)
bless me
They want the phone to not suck.. and the ROKR looks ghey.. so they are doing what it takes to make it cool, (RAZR) etc.. thats whats taking so long, they realized there was huge demand.. and they dont want it to flop, so there you go. hurry up and wait.
I am at one with the Ether
did i miss the iPodDailyNews launch announcement? What is it and why is it here?
First post, yey
mw= seems, seems like t-mobile is the right one to start in the US
yeah.. the mdn take is fair.. i mean.. I actually wasn’t breathless w/ anticipation.. but.. by publicly delaying this thing.. they’re really wearing on their ‘fans’ … you don’t get a CAPTIVE audience after the 3rd ‘delay’…
underpromise, overdeliver..
I will believe it when I see it
I don’t even care anymore….
Hey TT, what does your initial stand for? Trailer Trash?
Isn’t virgin already competing in the music download space, especially via cell phones?
It doesn’t make sense that apple would launch iTunes phone at a virgin event.