Motorola Inc. plans to unveil its long-awaited iTunes-capable mobile phone Sept. 7, said an analyst familiar with the company’s plans. The device will sell through Cingular Wireless L.L.C.
Roger Entner, vice president of wireless telecom with research and consulting firm Ovum, said the phone will allow users to listen to digital music from Apple Computer Corp.’s iTunes music download service. He did not provide specifics about the phone or the service.
Cingular and Motorola officials were not immediately available for comment. Apple recently announced a media event scheduled for Sept. 7. However, Motorola also scheduled a media event for Sept. 7, promising “the `device formerly known as the cell phone’ is ready for its next act. Please join us for an evening of fun, music and evolution.”
Motorola chief executive Ed Zander is set to give speeches at two different financial analyst meetings Sept. 7, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Both meetings are in New York. Motorola’s media event is also in New York, scheduled to start in the evening. Apple’s media event is scheduled for the morning of Sept. 7 in San Francisco.
Industry has been awash in speculation on the iTunes phone since Motorola announced an iTunes partnership with Apple last year. Apple’s iTunes service works with its wildly popular iPod digital music device.
Motorola had planned to unveil its iTunes phone earlier this year, but delayed the announcement. The delay sparked rumors that wireless carriers would not sell the phone because the PC-based iTunes service essentially would cut them out of the music revenue stream. However, Entner said Cingular apparently sees a benefit in selling the device, which could garner significant attention from consumers and the mainstream press. “I think they (Cingular) see more upside than downside,” he said.
Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. are planning to offer their own branded music-downloading services, and most mobile-phone makers are in the midst of introducing a variety of music-capable devices.
