Launch date nears for iPod phone?

netimperative.com | By Staff | 30-08-2005 10:43 AM

Apple is said to be close to launching its much anticipated iPod phone, in partnership with Motorola and network Cingular.

The computer giant will make a major announcement next week in San Francisco, sparking rumours that the firm will launch an mobile phone with iTunes technology.

There is also speculation it may use the announcement to launch an iPod video player.

On Monday, Apple e-mailed an invitation to reporters Monday, alerting them to a “special event'” on 7 September.

The invitation featured a close-up image of the watch pocket on a pair of jeans. The invitation reads: “1,000 songs in your pocket changed everything. Here we go again.”

In June, rival Napster partnered with Ericsson to launch a digital music service for mobiles. The Napster-branded service, to go live in Europe over the next 12 months, combines elements of the online store with Ericsson’s personalised music service.

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Cingular to use Motorola's iTunes phone-analyst
Reuters | Tue Aug 30, 2005 10:08 AM ET166

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cingular Wireless, the No. 1 U.S. wireless service, is expected to reveal plans next week to sell a Motorola Inc. (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) mobile phone that plays music using Apple Computer Inc.'s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) iTunes software, an analyst said on Tuesday.

Cingular, the wireless venture of SBC Communications Inc. (SBC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and BellSouth Corp. (BLS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), could introduce the phone at an Apple event scheduled for September 7 in San Francisco, becoming the first mobile operator to offer such a product.

"Industry sources tell me that there will be a joint announcement between Motorola, Apple and Cingular announcing the launch of a branded Cingular offer with iTunes," Ovum analyst Roger Entner said.

Music downloads are expected to be one of the hottest services for wireless providers in the next year as these companies bet that consumers will increase spending as they use their phones for activities other than talking.

Apple, which reinvented itself in recent years and helped popularize digital music players with its iPod digital music player, and Motorola said last summer they were working on bringing the popular iTunes music download service to mobile phones.

Last month, Motorola said the device would go on sale by the end of September, despite speculation among analysts that mobile operators were not interested in selling the device.

Reports emerged in June that Cingular -- the first operator to sell Motorola's hugely popular and iconic design phone the Razr -- was considering selling the iTunes phone.

Representatives from Cingular declined comment. Apple, which announced its September 7 event on Monday, was not immediately available to comment.

Motorola spokeswoman Monica Rohleder said she could not comment beyond the company's previously announced plans to launch the device by the end of the third quarter.

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Apple plans announcement; some see new music player
Reuters | Mon Aug 29, 2005 10:51 PM ET172

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday said it will announce a new product in early September and fanned expectations it will introduce an updated iPod Shuffle music player with much more capacity.

Apple is known for its marketing prowess and keeps new products under tight wraps before unveiling them at carefully staged events.

The company is widely expected to introduce a relatively roomy four-gigabyte iPod which uses sticks of flash memory, the type of storage used in digital cameras, rather than a hard disk drive. That would hold about 1,000 songs.

In an email invitation showing a picture of a jeans pocket, Apple alluded to its original 2001 announcement for the portable iPod, saying, "1,000 songs in your pocket changed everything. Here we go again."

Apple plans a San Francisco news conference on September 7 at 10 a.m. PDT (1700 GMT). Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment further.

Apple introduced its portable music player in late 2001 with the promise that it could hold 1,000 songs. The first iPod was powered by a hard disk drive, but this year Apple introduced the "Shuffle" with flash memory to hold data.

Industry analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies Inc. in Campbell, California, said the news could be a new 4-gigabyte Shuffle, which would have four times the memory of the current model.

"The obvious news may be the higher density iPod Shuffle," he said. "But (Apple CEO Steve Jobs) may have something else up his sleeve. Steve loves surprises," he said.

Recent analyst reports out of Asia have noted that Apple plans to buy as much as 40 percent of the flash memory chips produced by South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's second largest chip maker and the largest maker of flash memory used in music players.

Apple currently sells three types of iPods: the classic high-capacity hard-disk iPod capable of storing up to 15,000 songs on 60 gigabytes; the iPod Mini, which comes in two versions, either four- or six-gigabyte hard disk models; and the Shuffle.

Cupertino, California-based Apple has come to dominate the digital music player market, accounting for some three-quarters of industry sales this year, according to analysts estimates.

Apple shipped 6.2 million iPods in its latest quarter.

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