~ The Rokr iTunes mobile phone
~ iPod Nano
Rumours fly over Apple unveiling
BBC News | Last Updated: Wednesday, 7 September 2005, 11:44 GMT 12:44 UK
Speculation is reaching fever pitch about what Apple will announce in its 7 September press conference.
Most pundits and analysts are expecting Apple to unveil a mobile phone that works with its iTunes music download service.
But other possible candidates include a high-capacity iPod that stores songs in memory chips rather than a hard drive or an iPod that can play video.
The announcement will be made in San Francisco at 1000 local time (1800BST).
Late arrival
Apple kick-started the speculation when it sent out invites to the press conference featuring text that read: "1,000 songs in your pocket changed everything. Here we go again".
Apple watchers and analysts have concluded that this means that the long-awaited unveiling of a phone that can play songs downloaded from the iTunes service is imminent. Motorola is known to be developing the music-playing phone.
What is under dispute is how many songs this phone can hold. Some experts expect it to hold about 1,000 songs which is roughly equivalent to that of lower capacity iPod Mini. Others say it will be able to hold less than 100 tracks.
As ever Apple declined to comment on the speculation. Motorola too has batted away enquiries and has only say that its companion announcement is "music industry" related.
US phone firm Cingular is widely expected to be the partner for the eventual launch of the iTunes phone in America.
Although Apple has a policy of never talking about products before they are ready to be sold in the shops, the iTunes phone has been expected for more than 12 months. It was originally due to be unveiled at the Cebit technology fair held in Hanover, Germany in March.
However, if Apple does not unveil the music-playing handset, other candidates for launch include an iPod that can play movies or an iPod with 4GB of Flash memory on board.
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CNET News.com
Rokr iTunes phone, iPod Nano unveiled
Published: September 7, 2005, 11:06 AM PDT
Last modified: September 7, 2005, 1:35 PM PDT
By Michael Singer , Scott Ard and Leslie Katz
Staff Writer,
SAN FRANCISCO--Ending months of speculation, Apple Computer on Wednesday rolled out a cell phone capable of playing music and a tiny new iPod that will replace the popular iPod Mini.
At an invitation-only event for journalists and others here, Apple CEO Steve Jobs rolled out the Rokr (rhymes with "soccer"), a color-screen cell phone that can hold music downloaded from iTunes. The product had been expected since July 2004, when Motorola and Apple announced plans to collaborate on a music-capable phone.
News.context
[What's new:
Apple Computer and Motorola teamed up on an iTunes-compatible mobile phone. Apple also rolled out another new music player, the tiny iPod Nano.
Bottom line:
With the Rokr, Apple hopes to extend the popularity of its iPod into a vast new market, while the Nano replaces the significantly larger and colorless iPod Mini.]
"Today the talk ends and the music begins," said Ralph de la Vega, chief operating officer at Cingular, which will be the exclusive U.S. carrier of the phone.
The Rokr will be available this weekend in Cingular stores and sooner online at $249.99 with a two-year service agreement. It can hold only 100 songs, even if the consumer inserts a memory card larger than the 512MB card that ships with the phone. The Rokr has a color display and features built-in stereo speakers, as well as stereo headphones that also serve as a mobile headset with a microphone.
Also on Wednesday, Apple announced a new iPod, the iPod Nano: "1,000 songs in your pocket and impossibly small," Jobs said. It's "thinner than a No. 2 pencil," he added. "The iPod Nano is 80 percent smaller than the original iPod."
iPod Nano comes in two models--the 4GB iPod nano holds about 1,000 songs and the 2GB iPod Nano holds 500 songs. They cost $249 and $199, respectively, and will appear in some Apple stores beginning Thursday.
"iPod Nano is the biggest revolution since the original iPod," Jobs said. "iPod nano is a full-featured iPod in an impossibly small size, and it's going to change the rules for the entire portable music market."
The iPod Nano features the same 30-pin dock connector as the iPod and iPod Mini, allowing it to work with a wide range of accessories, including home stereo speakers and car adapters.
Rokr, nano
The Rokr could help Apple crack a potentially vast new market--hundreds of millions of cell phones are sold each year. In North America, Motorola is the largest handset maker and Cingular is the largest service provider. The Rokr will cost $249.99 with a two-year commitment to Cingular.
iPod sales have propelled Apple into a lead market position, with a 53 percent share of all digital-music players, according to a report released Tuesday by Solutions Research Group. Sony and RCA tied for a distant second with 9 percent share each.
Apple's success has had a tremendous ripple effect on the digital-music player industry. D&M Holdings, which makes the Rio music player, said last month that it is shuttering its portable digital-audio division, in part because of Apple's domination.
Despite Apple's steps into the mobile-phone music player space, analysts are mixed on its effect on the iPod generation.
"I see the move as largely defensive," said Roger Kay, president and chief analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates. "A cell phone is not the optimal device for listening to music."
Kay noted that Apple should be concerned that other handset makers and network providers might try to bypass the need to work with Apple, given that cell phones are already exceptionally popular and increasingly capable of playing music.
Gartner analysts estimate 780 million handsets will be sold this year alone with 1 billion cell phones sold every year by 2009.
Other analysts, such as Tim Deal with Technology Business Research (TBR), say that Apple's move into the cell phone market is a natural evolution of not only its iPod strategy but its iTunes store as well.
"The pervasiveness of cell phones in the world makes sense that there should be a relationship of these cell phones and iTunes," Deal said.
Motorola is also banking on more sales of its handsets with Apple as a partner. Gartner ranks Motorola as the No. 2 global seller of cell phones behind Nokia, which recently released its own N91 handset. Capable of playing music, the N91 has a color screen, a camera and 4GB of storage that can hold about 1,000 songs. Samsung's SGH i300 and Sony's Walkman W800 also are similar to Motorola's Rokr.
Motorola's iTunes phone also has significant market potential for Cingular. According to Solutions Research Group, 14 percent of Cingular's customers have a digital music player. A larger proportion, 17 percent of those surveyed, report that they want to buy one within 12 months, the report said.
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Reuters.com
Apple unveils iPod-cellphone,
Wed Sep 7, 2005 6:25 PM ET164
By Duncan Martell and Sinead Carew
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. on Wednesday unveiled a cellphone that plays music like an iPod and a pencil-thin "iPod Nano" digital music player, both aimed at extending its domination of the digital music market.
The Rokr phone, developed with Motorola Inc., can store up to 100 songs and has a color screen, stereo speakers, stereo headphones and a camera and is Apple's long-awaited foray into the wireless realm. Cingular will be the first mobile carrier for the Rokr. Several operators in the United Kingdom are expected to offer the phone soon.
In addition to the Rokr phone and the seriously slimmed-down new iPod, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs also said that in 2006, some 30 percent of all new U.S. cars will sport stereos that can easily connect to the iPod.
But some said the silver phone was not stylish enough for the high expectations set by Apple's iPod and Motorola's slim flagship Razr phone, and others cited its somewhat limited song capacity since iPod users are accustomed to carrying thousands of songs.
"It doesn't have the emotive cachet that the Razr or the iPod has," said Yankee Group analyst John Jackson. "When you whip this out in the bar, nobody's going to say, 'That's a cool device."'
The Nano, which is about a quarter of an inch thick by 3.5 inches long by 1.6 inches wide, generated more buzz at the product release in San Francisco than did the Rokr phone, eliciting "Oohs" and "Ahhs" from the audience.
The black and white players, sporting click wheels, holds up to 1,000 songs. Apple has about 75 percent of the market for digital music players.
"It's very important for Apple," said Gartner analyst Van Baker, about the Nano. "It changes the rules of the game."
Meanwhile, the Rokr iTunes phone will be available in Cingular stores on Thursday.
No. 1 U.S. mobile service Cingular Wireless, a venture of SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp., will be the exclusive U.S. carrier of the phone, which it will sell for $249.99 to customers who sign up for a two-year service contract.
Cingular does not make money from the songs played on the phones, but hopes they will help boost sales and reduce customer defections to rival services. One analyst said it could become Cingular's top-selling phone by next year "If this phone is easy to use, at this price I think it will fly off the shelves," Charter Equity analyst Ed Snyder said. "Cingular will reap the benefits of the combination of Motorola and Apple's brands."
The phone does not allow for wireless downloads, but it does eliminate the need for carrying two separate gadgets.
Motorola said the phone would be available in the United Kingdom at Carphone Warehouse Group's stores in mid-September and with operators such as O2, Orange, BT Mobile, Virgin Mobile this month or next.
In the coming months, it is also expected to be available in countries such as Germany, Canada, Italy and France.
Motorola's chief marketing officer Geoffrey Frost said the phone -- the first in a whole family of Rokr devices -- would be followed by more stylish designs.
"As this continues to develop you'll see it become as iconic as our other new products," Frost said, referring to a new products inspired by its Razr phone.
Music is expected to be one of the hottest new features in mobile phones, which already sport everything from cameras to video players.
Apple, which has remade the music industry with a 75 percent share of the digital music player market, has to keep up a steady pace of innovative new music products to maintain the level of growth investors now expect.
Apple said it was teaming with carmakers Acura, Audi, Honda and Volkswagen to integrate its iPod products into their car stereos for 2006 model lines.
Apple, which has sold more than 21 million iPods since introducing them in 2001, keeps new products under tight wraps before unveiling them at carefully staged events.
Shares of Apple fell 12 cents, or less than 1 percent, to close at $48.68 on Nasdaq. So far this year, the stock has gained 52 percent and trades at about 34 times its projected earnings per share in fiscal 2006. Apple's fiscal year ends in September.
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Apple unveils iPod nano
Reuters.com |Wed Sep 7, 2005 9:03 PM ET9 | By Duncan Martell and Sinead Carew
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. on Wednesday unveiled a pencil-thin "iPod nano" digital music player and a long-anticipated cell phone that plays music like an iPod, both aimed at extending its domination of the digital music market.
Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs also said that in 2006, some 30 percent of all new U.S. cars will sport stereos that can easily connect to the iPod.
The seriously slimmed-down nano -- about a quarter of an inch thick, 3-1/2 inches long and 1-1/2 inches
wide -- drew "oohs" and "ahhs" from the audience at the product release in San Francisco, outdoing the buzz generated by the Rokr phone, which some said failed to meet high expectations for design.
The nano players, either all black or all white, are nearly as small as the entry-level iPod Shuffle but sport click wheels and hold up to 1,000 songs.
Apple has about 75 percent of the market for digital music players, with iPod sales about one-third of its total revenue, and Jobs said competitors had set their sights on the iPod mini, which he said was Apple's best-selling iPod model.
The nano replaces the mini, and Gartner analyst Van Baker said that Apple -- which has sold 21 million iPods since introducing them in 2001 -- has moved the goal posts farther down the field with the nano. "It changes the rules of the game," Baker said.
The iPod nano uses flash memory chips to store songs and photos, rather than the hard-disk drives that the iPod mini and the larger iPods use.
TEST FOR MUSIC ON MOBILE PHONES
The Rokr phone is Apple's long-awaited foray into the wireless realm. Developed with Motorola Inc., it can store up to 100 songs and has a color screen, stereo speakers, stereo headphones and a camera. Cingular will be the first mobile carrier for the Rokr. Several operators in the United Kingdom are expected to offer the phone soon.
But some said the silver phone did not meet style expectations set by Apple's iPod and Motorola's slim flagship Razr phone, and others cited its limited song capacity for iPod users accustomed to carrying thousands of songs.
"It doesn't have the emotive cachet that the Razr or the iPod has," said Yankee Group analyst John Jackson. "When you whip this out in the bar, nobody's going to say, 'That's a cool device."'
The Rokr iTunes phone will be available in Cingular stores on Thursday.
No. 1 U.S. mobile service Cingular Wireless, a venture of SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp., will be the exclusive U.S. carrier of the phone, which it will sell for $249.99 to customers who sign up for a two-year service contract.
Cingular does not make money from the songs played on the phones, but hopes they will help boost sales and reduce customer defections to rival services. One analyst said it could become Cingular's top-selling phone by next year.
"If this phone is easy to use, at this price I think it will fly off the shelves," Charter Equity analyst Ed Snyder said. "Cingular will reap the benefits of the combination of Motorola and Apple's brands."
The phone does not allow for wireless downloads, but it does eliminate the need for carrying two separate gadgets.
Motorola said the phone would be available in the United Kingdom at Carphone Warehouse Group's stores in mid-September and with operators such as O2, Orange, BT Mobile, Virgin Mobile this month or next.
In the coming months, it is also expected to be available in countries such as Germany, Canada, Italy and France.
Motorola's chief marketing officer, Geoffrey Frost, said the phone -- the first in a whole family of Rokr devices -- would be followed by more stylish designs.
"As this continues to develop you'll see it become as iconic as our other new products," Frost said, referring to a new products inspired by its Razr phone.
APPLE RETAINS FLEXIBILITY
As it tests the market for music on mobile phones, Apple is free to work with other handset makers and cellular service providers, said Phil Schiller, Apple's head of worldwide product marketing, in an interview.
"We have flexibility to do many things," Schiller said. He declined to comment on the financial arrangements of Apple's partnership with Motorola and Cingular.
Music is expected to be one of the hottest new features in mobile phones, which already sport everything from cameras to video players.
Apple has to keep up a steady pace of innovative new music products to maintain the level of growth investors now expect.
Shares of Apple fell 12 cents, or less than 1 percent, to close at $48.68 on Nasdaq. So far this year, the stock has gained 52 percent and trades at about 34 times its projected earnings per share in fiscal 2006. Apple's fiscal year ends in September.
Apple said it was teaming with car makers Acura, Audi, Honda and Volkswagen to integrate its iPod products into their car stereos for 2006 model lines.
Source here
BBC News
Last Updated: Wednesday, 7 September 2005, 18:50 GMT 19:50 UK
Apple unveils iPod phone hybrid
As expected Apple has unveiled a gadget that combines its hugely popular iPod music player with a mobile phone.
Announced by Apple boss Steve Jobs the device will be able to store about 100 songs and play them out randomly like the iPod Shuffle.
Developed by Motorola for Apple the gadget, dubbed Rokr, will first be available on the network of US mobile operator Cingular.
Since it was introduced in 2001, Apple has sold more than 21 million iPods.
Mobile music
The colour-screen gadget is silver, has stereo speakers and has a VGA quality camera onboard.
A version of Apple's iTunes music store has been developed for the phone so users can manage the tracks they store on it. Smart software on the handset pauses music if a phone call comes in.
Music is stored on a 512 megabyte memory card and the numbers of songs on board is capped at 100 - even if a bigger capacity card is used.
"This is the first device in a series," said Carsten Schmidt, European manager for Motorola's retail operations. "There will be more coming with higher memory."
Tunes are downloaded to it via a USB cable and users can fill it manually or use autofill to populate it with pop. The gadget is due to go on sale in Cingular stores from 8 September and is expected to cost $249.99 (£136). Buyers must commit to a two-year contract.
[Madonna leaving Motorola ad shoot, AP
Madonna will front the ad campaign for the phone]
The Rokr phone is expected to be available in the UK and Europe in late September.
The Carphone Warehouse is advertising the phone on the O2 network for £209.99 for pre-pay customers and free for those choosing a monthly contract. The phones will be available from 15 September.
Mr Schmidt said that with this first device, music can only be downloaded from a PC to the phone.
But, he said, Motorola was talking to operators about future versions that can download songs via the airwaves.
Madonna is reportedly fronting the publicity campaign to advertise the phone. In a related announcement all Madonna's music is now available on the iTunes store.
As well as showing off the Rokr phone, Mr Jobs unveiled a new version of iTunes and a smaller version of the music player called the iPod nano.
Long wait
Plans for the Rokr gadget were first unveiled in July 2004 and it was originally scheduled to be unveiled at the Cebit technology fair in Hanover, Germany in March 2005.
Big hints that the phone was going to be unveiled on 7 September were given by the fact that Apple, Motorola and Cingular all planned press conferences for that day.
Apple is keen to replicate the success it has had with the music-only iPod sales which, in recent quarters, has been responsible for the biggest share of its profits.
However, the ultimate success of the device may rest on factors that Apple cannot control.
At the moment owners can only use them to play music downloaded into the gadget from a computer.
This makes sense because most mobile operators charge by the megabyte so downloading a track while out and about would add a premium that most would be unwilling to pay.
It might take time for mobile operators to change data pricing regimes which would help to convince consumers that downloading is worth it.
Download charges are likely to be one of the few ways that phone firms can recoup some cash from selling iTunes phones. Most of the money paid to buy songs from iTunes goes to record labels, Apple and payment processing firms.
The time it takes to download a song might affect the popularity of such services. Most Europeans and Americans are on phone networks that shunt data around at a theoretical maximum speed of 170 kilobits per second. Actual rates are much lower which would make downloading a multi-megabyte song a trying experience.
Without good deals on downloading, Apple may find it hard to convince existing users of iPods to buy another gadget. And with the iPod proving so popular entirely new customers may be scarce too.
Also Apple is coming slightly late to the market for music on mobiles. Many other handset makers and operators are already pushing services that combine the two.
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