Cell Phone news from Sprint, Motorola and Apple. . .
Apple Computer and Motorola could soon show us the mobile phone they are developing to play music purchased from Apple's iTunes online music store. Apple announced its intentions to bring music from its iTunes Music Store to Motorola mobile phones on July 26. Via video conference at Motorola's suburban Chicago headquarters. At the meeting Apple made sure to point out that the phone would not compete with Apple's popular iPod music player, but should viewed as an iPod accessory. You will be able to carry 12-15 iTunes on your phone at a time.
The companies said they plan to release a phone that will connect locally to computers running Microsoft's Windows as well as Apple's Macintosh computers using a cable or a Bluetooth wireless connection. The direct PC connection would likely bypass wireless data networks owned by large wireless carriers such as Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless. Consumers wouldn't be required to pay network fees to download music.
That fact has raised concerns among some industry observers that carriers, eager to convince consumers to boost their usage of expensive data networks, might object to phones that don't need a network connection to download music. Those carriers, who are generally very picky about the phones they sell in their retail stores and what features they support, can easily veto a feature they don't like.
Industry Observers predict that the iPod phone will make its debut at the MacWorld Conference in January 2005.
In other cell phone news, Music Choice and Sprint are launching a music service that allows mobile phone users to view short videoclips and listen to radio-like programming on their handsets. The service, Music Choice Today, will offer Sprint subscribers streaming access to Music Choice audio channels via their cell phones. For $5.99 per month, users can listen to a range of genres and formats, including R&B/hip-hop, pop, country and rock. The service also features music news and daily video snippets of artist interviews and performances originally produced by Music Choice.
The Music Choice offering is part of a larger multimedia programming push for mobile handsets by Sprint. Earlier this year, the company announced Sprint PCS Vision Multimedia Services, which delivers streaming audio and video content at up to 15 frames per second and features content from NBC, CNN, ABC News, Fox Sports, the Weather Channel, Discovery, E Entertainment, mFlix, Twentieth Century Fox, AccuWeather, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Comedy Time and 1KTV.
Music Choice Today represents the first dedicated music offering on the platform. A limited-access version of the service -- featuring select news and videoclips, but no streaming audio -- also comes bundled in a package of news, sports and entertainment services, called Sprint TV, for $9.99 per month. You can contact your local Sprint store for more information.
