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China first to get Motorola ROKR E2
The ROKR E2, which has been fermenting in Motorola's labs for a good six months is finally ready for public consumption, it seems, and China is the lucky first country to be blessed / cursed with its presence. On sale now at GOME outlets across the country, the E2's specs (QVGA, USB 2.0, 3.5mm jack) soundly put the E1's to shame, but with the E3 already in the pipeline -- not to mention the countless music phones available now from other manufacturers -- it's anybody's guess whether savvy Chinese buyers will give a hoot.[Thanks, CoreyTheGent]
Apple said to be working with Softbank on "co-branded" handset
Japanese news agency Nikkei is reporting that Apple and new Vodafone Japan owner Softbank are working together to develop cellphones capable of downloading and playing music from the iTunes store. Details are, of course, very slim at this point, as we don't even know whether to characterize this as a "true" iPhone, or simply a ROKR-like model featuring only software from the iPod manufacturer powering a non-Apple handset. However, Nikkei is quoting sources that say the phone, which may be released as early as this year (and which is definitely NOT pictured alongside this post), is expected to sport both Softbank and Apple branding, which may indicate that Cupertino will have a hand in developing the hardware as well. Whatever they're working on, we wanna know about it, and we won't rest until we have a ton of specs and pics for you.
Hands-on with the Motorola ROKR E3
Engadget Mobile is finally pulling its weight around here: we just posted up a bunch of exclusive hands-on shots of Motorola's unannounced new ROKR E3 musicphone over there. No iTunes, but if you look closely you'll notice at least one similarity to a certain well-known digital audio player.
Motorola ROKR E3 - Exclusive pics!
As usual, we can't divulge our super-secret source, but earlier this week we scored an exclusive hands-on session with the Motorola ROKR E3 (at least, we think it's called the ROKR E3!). As you've probably noticed, this is the very same mystery phone that was up on stage for a few brief moments during Ed Zander's keynote at MotoNow last summer. Motorola hasn't officially announced this phone yet, but we got further confirmation of its existence a few weeks ago when reader Adam W discovered a ROKR E3 skin in Moto's phone tools. We're still trying to figure out some of the specs for this one -- it was easier for our source to get their hands on the phone itself than on its spec sheet -- but near as we can tell the ROKR E3 is a GSM/GPRS/EDGE handset with 512MB of internal memory, Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera, a TransFlash memory card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and some multimedia software. No iTunes, and that round thing that looks like a scroll wheel is actually just four buttons surrounding a run-of-the-mill joystick. Oh, and the keypad wasn't very easy to use either.Anyway, enough talk, on to the pics!
iTunes phone upgrades only for non-U.S. phones with < 100 song limit
I hope no one ran out and bought a ROKR or slick new SLVR after last night's post about the ability to upgrade iTunes phones. Turns out it was more or less a false alarm - at least for those who already have a phone with a 100 song limit. Eddie Cue, iTunes' product manager, got in touch with Engadget to let them know that yes, the upgrade exists, but it's only for non-U.S. iTunes phones that unfortunately had a song cap set at less than 100. Apparently, some phones were set as low as 25 songs, so this upgrade was meant to bring everyone up to the same, yet highly limited, 100 song cap.I have to agree with Ryan's Engadget post though: if Apple wants to make any headway with this whole musicphone idea, that silly 100 song cap needs to go.
Apple removing the iTunes phone 100 song cap?
I can neither confirm nor deny the legitimacy of this, but TUAW reader Jake sent us a tip with an iTMS screenshot detailing an upcoming possibility of removing the 100 song cap on iTunes phones. From the screenshot it looks like Apple might soon offer the ability to purchase what I would assume to be a software upgrade to remove the software-based 100 song cap on the phone.Jake claims to have followed a number of code snippets he found in the latest iTunes update, version 6.0.3. Check out his post for the full details on the steps he took, and check out the actual page in the iTMS. For now, however, I don't know anyone with a ROKR who could take this one step further. If anyone can confirm this page in the iTMS is real, is brave enough to plug their ROKR in and click OK, feel free to sound off. If this is true, it could be a sign that Apple and Motorola are finally listening to the market and removing a silly limitation that should never have existed in the first place. One can only hope.
Motorola SLVR with iTunes now available from Cingular
Motorola has unleashed the SLVR with iTunes for Cingular, a slim new candybar style phone that borrows from their runaway-hit RAZR design. As Engadget notes, it's selling for $199 (better than the ROKR's initial $249) with a 2-year contract, comes pre-installed with a 512 MB card and that oh-so-loved ceiling of 100 songs. Once again, Motorola included a non-standard headphone jack, forcing buyers to use an annoying little adapter in order to be able to plug in a regular set of headphones.Even though the SLVR phone itself certainly seems to be a nice upgrade from the bulky and sluggish ROKR, it still doesn't strike me as a serious music phone offering. The many reasons and theories for this have certainly been discussed since the ROKR's introduction, so I'll spare you a rehash. While some might be quick to bash Motorola for breaking their promise that the ROKR 2 won't suck, just remember: this isn't technically the ROKR 2, so there's still hope. But what do you TUAW readers think of this? Is this the killer iTunes phone you'd sell your own dog to get your hands on? Or did Motorola and Apple miss the train again?
ROKR disappeared from Cingular's phone list
Being that my family just switched to Cingular over the holidays, I've been poking around their site to see what it all can do. To my surprise (and delight), I no longer see the ROKR in their list of available phones. Now this could just be an issue in my zip code, but I verified with a couple friends across the US and they don't see it either. What this means, I don't know. Coincidence? Stock shortages? Some kind of event going on soon? I'll let y'all decide on that one.
Engadget CES iTunes Phone coverage
Engadget is over at CES today / this week, so make sure you check over there for some gadget goodness. They currently have a few posts on some gadgets that were once known as iPhones: the Motoroa SLVR with iTunes and the ROKR E2. Check out both posts for a slew of cool pics, and check back later with Engadget for more details on all these devices and more.I, for one, don't like iPhones. Give me a Razr and an iPod and keep them away from each other so they don't cause interference, and I'm happy.
ROKR E2 dumping iTunes for an iRadio service?
MacRumors picked up on a New York Times report that the forthcoming ROKR E2 will be dumping iTunes in favor of a new subscription-based iRadio service, featuring over 400 channels of commercial-free radio. So basically: instead of a phone that can freely play all of your music, you can pay a reported $7/month for what is basically XM/Sirius in your phone. For those of you still waiting for an iTunes-based ROKR successor, the recently-announced RAZR v3i sounds like it won't dissappoint. In my opinion though, following up the less-than-stellar ROKR with a new version that doesn't even support playing my music is two steps in the wrong direction.But what do you guys think of this? Do you want a ROKR phone with a radio-on-steriods in it, or are you already yelling "I want my iTunes library!"
ROKR E2
Engadget thinks that the phone to the left might be the new ROKR E2, the followup phone to the not so successful ROKR 'iTunes phone.'Anyone out there have an orignal ROKR? What do you think of it?
