Is this the iTunes phone?

Is this the iTunes phone? To be honest, we won't know until we know (and we're leaning towards this being more of a concept design more than anything else), but check out this mocked-up image of a handset sporting an Apple logo and the makings of scroll wheel that popped up in a presentation that Motorola execs recently made to analysts from Morgan Stanley in Beijing. They don't list a name, model number, or any specs for the phone, it's just smack there on the page right next to pics of the RAZR and the PEBL.

[Thanks, OW]

[Funky @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

that'd be sweet if the glow color changed with the visualizer, and it HAD a visualizer!

[jg @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

that is one of the ugliest things i've ever seen.

[Derek @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

thats just ugly... i doubt it...

AND they better have a flip model

[eli @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

So much for Apple being a design innovator... They ripped of Microsoft's XBox design!

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Really kinda doubt they'd make such an obviously low-end-ish looking phone be the first iTunes phone. I would be surprised if it didn't look like one of their new higher-endy designy thingies. Kinda doubt Apple would even allow a phone that looks like this sport iTunes compatibility either.

[Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

For one thing, Apple is not designing the phone. They're supposedly just designing an iTunes mobile application. Quite frankly I think this is a completely stupid idea, no matter what the design ends up looking like. Apple needs to take a similar role to the deal as Sony does in the Ericsson deal. Apple designs, and Moto takes care of the deals.

No bloody MP3 playing interface is going to make me buy an MP3 phone, let alone an overpriced and hyped up one. MP3 playing on your mobile is _not_ a killer feature.

[PG @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

is it just me or does this thing look very xbox? the green glowing and the black body... very interesting, and very non-apple.

[W0rd @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

are you retarded? why wouldn't you want a cell phone/mp3 player, it eliminates carrying two things around. This is a good idea, the design and interface just has to be there.

[Moon @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

That looks an awful lot like the Garmin Forerunner GPS system.

http://www.garmin.com/products/forerunner201/

[dsunde @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

That's not just a scroll wheel, it's a rotary dial for the phone, too! ;-)

[Barrald @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Hey the one on the right, the flip one, is a PEBL, or damned similar. The hinge design is the exact same. Actually it looks just like a PEBL with a new face plate or somthin. The one on the left is ugly as hell by the way.

[Matt @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Very cool, I wouldn't mind replacing my ipod with one of those.

[andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

It looks alot like a prototype for the Motorola E1060, which is also green and black and sports something that looks like a scroll wheel.

the E1060 can be seen at
http://www.importgsm.com/shop/product.php?productid=100&cat=1&page=6

[John @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

I like the hold switch on the side.

All phones need a hold switch, rather than a stupid button combination.

[David @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

#8 - it would be nice for my phone to play mp3's and take calls so i don't carry have to carry around a player and a phone BUT i don't want a watered down phone or watered down mp3 player that locks me into apple and itunes and a PITA format just so i can buy songs and ringtones directly from my phone or whatnot. i just want a phone that happens to have lots of storage, a drive, or card slot that i can play mp3's on and also use for mass storage. of course even if something good comes out it will be crippled by the carriers...

[Jen @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

I love it.

[rafe @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

I'm sure teenagers will thrill to the edgy neon green highlights.

/it IS 1997, yeah?

[soundboy64 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Yes, it does look like the iPod got very drunk one night after his girlfriend dumped him, he went down to the local slum bar and the Xbox was lookin sassier with every drink. The iPod just wanted happiness and the Xbox wanted to violate the little white guy, so now we have this cross breed freak of a phone.... Sad really.... Although the design could be worse, lets just hope they change the colors....

sB

[craig @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

This looks like it has the much-hyped Synaptics scroll wheel. Since MOT and Samsung have already dropped this input device due to negative feedback from focus groups, I wonder how well it will be received in this new phone... The challenge with capacitive sensors is that there is no way to customize the sensitivity of the sensor (hence all the false positives that one gets when you inadvertently touch your thumbs to your laptop's touchpad - grrr!) Imagine how many false positives we will have to live through when we try to throw this phone/iPod into our pocket/purse/cupholder in the car... Not sure this going to make sense for consumers...

[craig @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

ALSO - wonder about battery life. I read in the teardown reports from Portelligent that the capacitive sensor is a power HOG using approximately 1/3 of the iPOD battery just for the input device... How will consumers deal with this?

[tom @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

What the hell have motorola done to the ipod? they take the best bit of design in years add a modem and a mic and it somehow comes out looking like that? WTF. I'm sure Jobs will back the hell out of any deal if that thing is involved.

Yuck!

[Brado @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Moto should let Proekt do some work on a better iTunes phone design, seeing as their #1 Consept Phone (that's the name mind you) a few years back had subtle references with the iPod menu, touch-sensitive controls and a power switch reminiscent of the iPod's hold switch, a perfect contender.

Even if it is fake, I have a feeling all this hype and waiting will only add dissapointment when the real thing comes.

[Larry Jarvis @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Very ugly. I'll keep my iPod.

[Mirs @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

The fone sux.. looks like a sumfin u mite find amongst childrens toys, im 17 and im lookin for stylish and contemporary fones, i jst bought the e398 and flexed it, the fone is absolutley worth every dollar and more, becasue you can expand the memory upto 1GB with a tiny TransFlash card, thats awesome for a fone mp3 player. Ill stik with that until i see a much better looking fone, with better features then just an mp3 player.

[Connie @ Dec 19th 2005 12:17AM]

Where the hell can I buy a phone like that? I would be willing to switch cell phone providers just for that phone!!! anyone? email me at [e-mail]