iTunes for Windows Mobile 5.0?

Ok, so some dude in Germany claims to have gotten their hands on a copy of iTunes for Windows Mobile 5.0. Let's just get it right out of the way that we think this is fake. Or at least that we're going to assume this is fake until we get some sort independent verification (email us the app already!). And you also have to wonder why exactly Apple would bother making a version of iTunes for Windows Mobile devices when they've been so reluctant to let even a single phone (the ROKR E1) run a mobile version of iTunes. It doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, but there are at least three possible explanations for what's going on here:

1. This is real, and Apple has some sort of amazing reason for doing this.

2. The pics are fake and this is all an elaborate hoax.

3. This isn't an Apple product and was instead created by some sketchy developer decided to mimic the look and feel of iTunes.

The true test would be whether or not a Pocket PC with iTunes would be able to play FairPlay DRM protected AAC files, but conveniently enough the person hasn't been able to sync with iTunes on a Mac or PC because they lack the necessary drivers.

[Thanks, Zach and ticotek]

[Ruegen @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Even if it is fake... it looks well designed!

[swherdman @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Why wouldent apple want to make iTunes for Windows Mobile Devices? They make it for Windows why not Windows Mobile? It would get more people using iTunes and therefore they could make more money with ITMS. The only real place it could take away some profit from iPod sales would be the shuffle or prehaps the smaller nano? You cant get that much memory than whats in this ipod modles into a mobile without spending more money on removable media then the device its self!

[alli driver @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

It is fake!!! Even got an apple scrollbar in there. There is a n official ROKR itunes on the apple website.

[cyberdork @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I'm sure this is fake, why?:

1.) since every single button is taken 1:1 from the iTunes desktop app. I can't believe a product made for pdas wouldn't get at least a slight redesign of the interface.

2.) why would Apple cut into it's iPod sales with this product?

3.) How come the first guys to get their hands on this are from Germany and not some people a bit closer to Cupertino?

Doesn't make sense!

[msafi @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

and i wish the makers of handheld computers that run WM5.0 would think of audio listeners as a target market and do something about it. like greater storage instead of all the miniSD devices or a remote-control headphones?!

[Kevin Hanson @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

The best part is that the phone has a TMobile logo! Maybe Tmobile is finally getting a WinMO5 phone!

[Martin @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I just talked about this on my podcast. Part of the post claims that there's going to be an Apple/T-Mobile announcement about a special data rate for these devices...if I remember correctly, T-Mobile carries the Treo, and word on the street has it that Palm is creating a Windows Mobile-enabled Treo. Can you put the pieces together?

[snax @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

it looks like a legit apple app from here, and there would be no reason not to release it.

time will tell, but nothing is shocking anymore in this new ipod game

[nilay patel @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

so, so fake. i applaud his photoshop skills, however.

[rasapi @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Oooh...The Cardigans.

[Vaha @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Last time we saw somethin from Germany was the iPod photo firmware (1.2) that had the tetris game...I think this is fake and Apple wouldnt release this product to cut the sales of iPod.

[Navras @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Apple should reinvent the newton with itunes in it...i guess they are hiding the future from apple users

[Jimmy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

"The best part is that the phone has a TMobile logo! Maybe Tmobile is finally getting a WinMO5 phone!"

T-Mobile already sell the HTC Universal in Europe.

[Vaha @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Last time we saw somethin from Germany was the iPod photo firmware (1.2) that had the tetris game...I think this is fake and Apple wouldnt release this product to cut the sales of iPod.

[Zeno @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

C'mon guys, it's fake! Look at what I did in Photoshop (in 5 minutes): http://zenonez.com/pics/iTunesForWindowsMobile.png . Next step is to simply add the Windows Mobile bars at the bottom and top of that png and and then open the image on the pocketpc in a fullscreen picture viewer....There are some differences between the mockup I did and the one used on that site, because I based my mockup on screenshots taken from iTunes 5 for OSX, while the german guy used screenshots from iTunes for Windows...voil?.

[Zeno @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

oops, I forgot to say I based my mockup on this picture: http://www.schrankmonster.de/content/binary/IMG_3534_thumb.jpg

[JT Mill @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Fake. Case in point: There's still the little arrows to go to the iTunes shop. I doubt they would let you buy over a handheld.

[Cedric @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

It would be a funny move : Apple porting iTunes to devices that are not supported by MacOS X. Or will Apple (or Microsoft) acquire The Missing Sync / Pocket Mac so that they better can control Windows Mobile & Apple sync. ?

[Mark @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

It's probably fake because it can be easily faked, as Zeno above has proven. All it is is an image file loaded up.

But you know, the whole idea of a PDA with iTunes on it, and which would enable you to buy music on it, wirelessly, would kick such ass. It's the next natural evolution of the iTunes Music Store and maybe even the iPod.

Browse through the iTMS, listen to music samples, purchase a song, and listen. The technology to do all of this is already there and in use. But why the hell hasn't this happened with any of the legal download music services?

[Ian @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I don't konw... could Apple be making iTunes exclusively for Motorola Q which runs Windows Mobile 5? Since Apple and Moto have iTunes partnership, this might be possible.

[Klaus @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

It is fake, a two years old T-Mobile MDA II with Windows Mobile 5.0 ?

[Steven J Freitas @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Quite probably fake.... Same site (Technology Ninja) from 9/23/2005. Ran a story about "WifiTunes" which has the beginnings of this "iTunes" already working then. http://www.aspecto-software.com/WiFiTunes/WiFiTunes.htm Wouldn't take much to add the scrollbars and the new search bar....

[Cashmore @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Definitely fake. And if it isn't, they must have tried really hard to make it look that unrealistic.

[Calroth @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Yeah, my Palm can do this too: http://www.pocket-tunes.com/skins/players/iTunes4_v3.shtml

[Craig @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

'it looks like a legit apple app from here, and there would be no reason not to release it.'

what are you... an idiot? apple would not release a free program that would undoubtedly cut into ipod sales.

[Wengero @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

a little weird how all the tracks have iTMS links next to them(little arrow)

[Jyap @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

even if there is. will there be a 100 tunes caps again?

[marcellimo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

my opinion? most definitely fake.

the design is very tacky. from a basic usability standpoint, the top buttons with shuffle/equalizer/repeat are *way* too big for a mobile screen and having them at the top suggests that they're frequently used, which they're not. take a look at PC/Mac iTunes -- they're tucked away at the bottom. if anything, they'd go in that gargantuan amount of empty space where the search bar is.

apple would do much better than this hack of a job.

[Mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I think it is fake but it makes sense for Apple to at least have this application ready for eventual release. As someone pointed out, it would only hurt shuffle players due to memory cost in smartphones. Remember, the carriers want you to re-buy your songs from them (at least Verizon is holding on to this dream). If they can cut into Apple's market (even with $2 downloads), Apple would need to respond. We all know negotiations with the carriers was fruitless for Apple. The Cingular RoKR phone is a joke. This is Apple's ultimate end run. All phones have some application ability and the carriers have less control over Windows smartphones because MSFT would kill them if they tinkered with it like Verizon did with my V710.

I see Apple supporting WinMobile and possible others. Like iTunes, they will support the biggest platform first and work back wards. Maybe they will find time to thank the carriers for their 3G network expansions! :)

[Angawi @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I don't think there would bea iTMS link button on each of the songs.

Also, @ #7, T-Mobile is a German company.

[Angawi @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Sorry, bad grammar...I don't think there would be an iTMS....

[Sean Murphy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

It could be a fake for sure, it could be real, who knows. Don't let the MDA with WM5.0 be your deciding factor though, there has been a leaked WM5 ROM out there for months so there are MANY MANY of those devices kicking around.

[sendai @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

THIS is REAL! And so is Santa Clause, and scratch proof NANO'S!

[Terere @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Is a faque, the way to tell you is the aqua interface, the check box and the scroll are aqua, not windows mobile interface.
I think Appla should have a version of iTunes running on their labs for every OS systems, so in case they want a market that is not related to any OS.
I want a Symbian compatible iTunes... just to have on my phone, I know I wont used becouse I have a Nano and photo ipod, bbut will make my phone cooler...

[Eric @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

This is most definately a fake. I am a professional graphic designer and I took that pic into photoshop and blew it up and examined it. If you look at the bottom of the top blue bar it blends in with the gray interface. What I mean is that the left bottom side of the blue bar fades into the gray and as it gets toward the middle its not transparent. Then on the bottom right side it starts to blend again. If you can understand what Im saying you should be able to see it. It is a good idea though...

[Gordy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Unless WM5 will adopt Aqua, it's clearly a fake. Nice try though.

[sheeldz @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

No reason to be fake - most important reason that amkes it vwery convincing is the change in the time - it is continous, going from 5.32 to 5.33 which is clever faking, or real.

But, above is correct - a micro drived 4Gb version of Winodws pocket woukld destroy the IPod. It woould need to be very limited, say to the Moto Q ROKR Model...

Hmmm...

Maybe Moto wil make a Windows Mobile 5.0 Smart phone other than the Q?

[Michael @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

#33....sheeldz

Why would a 4gig kill the ipod? most people won't buy a PPC for that reason, it's still not as portable as the ipod itself OR as easy to use, so it wouldn't kill iPod sales, most people do not want the PPC AND IPOD in one, why would they? more hassle, less battery life? Just not going to happen, in terms of killing ipod sales.

[Sasquatch @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

33: Kind of strange that the only two pics of it have the same songs...

[Samuel Lago @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Can't you lot just get a life over this Apple nonsence, so what?!!!!

I have iTunes for Windows and all it does is crash all the time

[DAN @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I like the little apostrophe after the time on track 5. FAKE FAKE CHOCOLATE CAKE!!!!

[Alex R @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Chipping in with all the rest, this is most definitely fake. Just look at that button towards the top left � show source list? sidebar? does PPC even have that sort of thing? (I don't think it'd work too well on that size screen). Why's its aspect different to the rest of the buttons? Based on what I've seen of Apple's iApps, these buttons are always wider than tall. It's the 'show album art' button from iTunes, rotated and with the gradient changed. Sloppy.

[nerdacous @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

its fake you would be hard pressed to find a photo of a screen that good

[Alexander Turcic @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

It's WiFiTunes slightly modded. Compare

http://www.schrankmonster.de/content/binary/IMG_3540.jpg

to

http://www.schrankmonster.de/content/binary/parekh-20050922-WifiTunes.gif

[Nick @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

OMFG GOT WM5 AND ITUNES WORKING ON MY M500!!

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/1762/itunes2yq.jpg

[Zeno @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Nick (#45), that's exactly what I meant when I created that mockup...thanks for using it! :-)

[Matthew @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Who cares? iTunes is crap. There are already many better WM apps. out there that do as good a job or better than iTunes.

[Daniel Ross @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I can't believe people don't understand why Apple would have a reason not to make Windows-Mobile iTunes.

Yes, they make a desktop iTunes for windows. This, however, is for a very simple purpose- it expands the iPod market from Macs to all desktop users (with the exception of Linuxers, but then, they/we probably wouldn't buy anything without Ogg anyway.) If you think it's to sell tunes, remember that they flatly admit the music store's purpose is to sell iPods.

On the other hand, if you put iTunes on a mobile device, it would have the exact opposite effect- rather than a place to synch an iPod, you have a REPLACEMENT for the ipod. It's small. It's got a battery, it plays tunes. Maybe it's not quite as sexy or tiny, but its enough you won't want to shell out another $300.

So-
iTunes + Windows(Desktop) = Bigger Market
iTunes + Windows(Mobile) = More Competition

Simple, eh?

[jake @ Dec 25th 2005 6:19PM]

It is fake the pic on top is a pocket pc not a psp