iTunes Mobile 1.0 slated for June, iTunes 4.8 Mac/Win expected soon

Thinksecret ^ | 04/20/2005 | Ryan Katz

[r5boston]

Apple is currently on track to finish up the first version of its iTunes software for mobile phones by June, sources have told Think Secret. The software, which is currently named iTunes Mobile 1.0, has been in development since last year, when Apple and Motorola announced a joint partnership to develop an iTunes-compatible phone.

The Motorola phone is scheduled for release in the second-half of the year, Motorola and Apple executives have both said, but the companies have reportedly faced difficulties finding service providers who will carry the device. Cell phone companies, including Verizon, Cingular, and Sprint, are planning on rolling out music download services later this year, according to a recent BusinessWeek story, and want to charge $2 to $3 a song, justifying the premium over Apple's normal 99-cent price by the convenience of grabbing a tune whenever one pleases. Apple instead wants customers to copy purchased songs from their computer to the phone for playback, and does not favor direct purchases over a cell phone provider's network.

Regardless, iTunes Mobile 1.0 will be ready in time for Motorola to show off the finished product of the joint effort to potential customers by late summer, sources said. Its unknown at this point how international cell phone providers have responded to the iTunes phone. The U.S. has traditionally lagged behind Europe and Asia in adopting the latest cell phone technology

[anonymous_user]

*sniff* Smells like lawyer again...

[6SJ7]

Remind me again why I would want to download iTunes on a mobile phone? Is this feature for those poor souls I see who have a mobile phone permanently fused to their ear?

[Astronaut]

Who the heck wants to listen to music on their cell phone? An iPod is the perfect device for mobile music. Why do the cell phone companies want to turn phones into cameras, iPods, etc...? (Rhetorical question. The answer is profit.)