Phones to sing with iTunes; iPod goes nano |
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Published
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Thu, 08 Sep 2005 19:05
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NEW YORK: Apple yesterday announced two new gadgets – an iTunes compatible cellphone from US mobile operator Cingular and the iPod nano (with two versions 2GB for 500 songs and 4GB for 1000 songs).
The first device – an iPod phone – the Motorola ROKR E1, priced at around £130, allows users to download music onto their phones directly from their PC/Mac. Its interface lets the user select a song by scrolling through the playlists. All they have to do is just connect the cellphone to their PC using a USB cable and then choose the songs they want to sync.
There’s also a choice where the iTunes will autofill the phone by making a random selection from the iTunes Library. User will be able to transfer whole albums just as easily as individual songs. Subscribers to the US-based phone service will have to pay around £0.5 per track (or £5.4 for most full-length LPS) to download from the iTunes music store.
The quadband GSM phone’s stereo speakers make it worthwhile to have so many of your favourite songs stored on your phone. If a call comes in while you’re listening to a song, it will automatically pause so you can answer the phone. The phone also features a built-in VGA camera.
Market watchers feel the iPod phone will cannibalize Apple’s own line iPod products. The company said that the phone does compete with a portion of its product line but it’s hardly an issue for concern because the company has planned more aggressive moves by expanding the range to meet the needs of a wider consumer profile.
According to the deal involving a two-year commitment, Cingular will get no cut of the profits from the iTunes music sold to its subscribers. But they see it more as a customer acquisition tool.
The other gadget is the iPod nano which can store up to 1000 songs and syncs seamlessly with iTunes. It can also store 25,000 photos after it is synced with iTunes. This current version of this tiny device holds up to 4GB for 1000 songs. The company claimed a 2GB version for 500 songs will soon be available. The slimmer-than-a-pencil device comes with earbud phones and a CD with iTunes.
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