Would you buy an iTunes capable phone?
The Mac community is eagerly awaiting the special media event Apple has planned for July 7th (or is it today?), as well as what might be announced there. One rumor is that the much discussed (but as of yet still unreleased) iTunes capable phone will finally be formally announced by Steve, or even released. My question to all of you is, would you use such a device? My iPod does a great job of playing my music already, and I certainly don't need two devices in my pocket that perform this function. I know that, of course, a phone does more than play back music, but I can't see plugging headphones into my cell phone so I can listen to music. Like I said, I already have something that does this very well. Unless it has features that really blow me away, I won't be getting an iTunes capable cell phone.What's your take? Am I missing the big picture? If my phone and my iPod can both play back music, what place does the iPod have? Certainly a phone would be superior to an iPod as it has greater functionality. Of course, an iPod has greater storage capacity. So, what's your opinion on an iTunes phone and would you use one? TUAW wants to know.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Brian said 11:09AM on 6-28-2005
I would buy one the moment that they are released. The music would be nice, but even more then that I would hope that all of the other syncing would work awesome with address book, ical, etc. And if they bluetooth features are completely unlocked it would make me buy it even faster.
I guess I'm trying to say that I would buy it quickly because I anticipate that it would play nice with Macs.
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tim said 11:08AM on 6-28-2005
This just feels like Step One in the ultimate convergence of iPod, phone, PDA and, maybe, radio.
Why carry three devices, when you can carry one?
Phones and PDAs are converging already. Now we need someone like Apple to moosh the whole mess together and - here's the important part - make it easy.
That's exactly what they did with iPod. They stepped into an existing market (music players) and introduced simplicity and good design. I believe Apple's eventually going to do that in the phone category.
This thing next week, though, is just a very early one-off. It won't be Apple-branded and it won't be a true, integrated Apple phone.
But I believe such a beast is coming. And I believe Apple will do for smart phones what they did for music players - make them work for people.
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Oliver said 11:12AM on 6-28-2005
I can already play most of my music (and videos) on my mobile phone. I don't really do it, though, because i have an iPod as well. But there are a LOT of people who don't have iPods, and for most of those people a mobile phone would always be more important.
I think it is imperative that Apple moves into the mobile phone space, and forging deals with other phone manufacturers is probably the best way (as opposed to making their own phone). But that also means more than just moto...
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Brian said 11:20AM on 6-28-2005
The one down side is if you wanted to use the ipod feature on a plane. Even in airplane mode, the airlines are terrified of that.
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Ruju said 11:20AM on 6-28-2005
Currently I would say that I would not purchase an iTunes phone. This is not due to a dislike of iTunes or anything else, but moreso because I am of the opinion that an all-in one-copier does a lot of things crappy, as opposed to just a copier that copies well but doesnt do much more than that.
Same is the case with an iTunes phone I know that currently I cannot live without my 3G 20GB iPod. I also cannot live without my Samsung e715. However, even though I am now on the verge of purchasing a new phone (most likely a RAZR or similar), I know that current technology prohibits me from combining my iPod and cell phone simply due to the fact that I could never decide what of my 20 gigs I wanted on my phone. Could just be me but it is for that exact reason that I couldnt bring myself to purchase an iPod Shuffle.
I think that a lot of people share this opinion (at least those that I have talked to about the subject), and I therefore worry about my stock on July 7th. However, in Apples defense, 1 gig on a RAZR would severely cut my allegiance to Samsung cellphones. Prove me wrong Apple, prove me wrong.
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Chuti Prasertsith said 11:20AM on 6-28-2005
I would buy one if it has the Sync feature via BT (songs and address book.) I already have an iPod but I notice more and more that my iPod stays in my car a lot. Might be good to have another device to take with me with just the songs that I like (iPod Shuffle-like).
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narco said 11:20AM on 6-28-2005
I am perfectly happy with my iPod, but I will buy an "iPod phone" anyway. I'm just hoping Apple has a decent amount of control over the design, so basically I could care less if it plays music, I just have hopes that it'll look really cool.
But as far as the iPod phone is concerned, I think it's mainly being released to corner that area of the market. Other companies are releasing phones with mp3 capabilities, it's best to do this now while the iPod name is still hot.
Plus I am hoping for flawless Mac integration. I would REALLY love to check my .Mac account through this phone, but that's probably just wishful thinking.
Fishes,
narco.
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Damien said 11:26AM on 6-28-2005
A few quick points:
1) The iPod shuffle has been a great success, but I know personally I'd rather have the same functionality in my phone.
2) Apple and Nokia are working together on the browser, and have said that they would be working on other stuff in future
3) About two months back, Nokia announced a new phone with a 6gig hard-drive and built in MP3 player
What I'm saying is, an iTunes compatable phone would be both usable and popular, but that there could well be an even bigger offering along the lines of a Nokia iPod Mini style device. Chances are, Apple's had enough of dealing with Motorola.
Just my $0.02.
damien
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Melis said 11:28AM on 6-28-2005
I currently have a treo650 and its a pretty good product. Not great, but good. The convergence of the PDA and cell phone is done better than I've seen from RIM Blackberry. The thing is the music player sucks and you need a SD card for music. Considering how psoiled I am by a hard drive based iPod, I doub't it will have the right capacity for me. Also, I like my iPod the way it is, and I like my cell phone the way it is. The whole convergence thing is still in its way early stage and I don't see an iTunes phone being worth getting for at least a few years.
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Damien said 11:28AM on 6-28-2005
Sorry, it's four gig, and a 2 megapixel camera. Still the same as an iPod mini though!
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/27/2011219&tid=215&tid=198&tid=100&tid=137
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Guille said 11:33AM on 6-28-2005
I'd buy it. I don't always have the option of carrying my iPod, and a few tunes could come in handy sometimes.
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RP said 11:38AM on 6-28-2005
As a long time mobile phone hold-out I would defiinitely purchase such a phone but only if it had Apple's high standard of design, ease of use, and compatability with my Mac. I don't think an iTunes enabled phone would replace my 40 GB iPod but it would most probably kick my shuffle to the curb.
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Thomas Chai said 11:39AM on 6-28-2005
Nah...to me a phone is a phone, maybe I don't mind some PDA functions like calendar or task, but I will leave my musics in my iPod. Having multiple functions on a phone will only spell problems and more reboots.
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arkowi said 12:55PM on 6-28-2005
i think the key to this whole argument is are we talking about an "iTunes Phone" or an "iPod Phone". Big difference. An iTunes Phone, to me, means a phone that can play iTunes music. It says nothing about the interface, design, styling, or quality of the experience. iPod Phone...means quality interface, size, styling, notes, cal, photos, lots of things...Almost every resonse to this post has talked about the "iPod Phone", we are not there yet, we are just at "iTunes phone".
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_victor said 5:15PM on 6-28-2005
I wasn't really aware of these things when I was a kid, but when they started making casette players for cars, did people say, "nope, I just listen to my music at home."
Of course, we're talking about 2 devices in the pocket (or purse, or if you're a real geek like me, on the belt)...
I'd get one to listen to podcasts. I can pretend I'm talking back to Adam Curry.
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Andy said 12:36PM on 6-28-2005
I would buy it for aforementioned reasons - the music playing functionality is not to-die-for, but I would think it would work very well with Macs and Bluetooth. That's why I would get it.
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Finius Lamp said 12:36PM on 6-28-2005
Truth be known - I'd rather listen to my music in peace. It's like going to a nice place to eat dinner. I turn my phone off to get away from it all. When I ride the train to work I use my Ipod to get a little of the same feeling. Watching the world go by to my own personal soundtrack really is great.
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Scott Gardner said 12:38PM on 6-28-2005
I will buy one the moment it's released, so long as it's true to Apple/iPod in functionality and design/appearance. If it is a Motorolla-looking/functioning phone that just-so-happens to be able to read ACC music, no thanks. I've been there with the Treo (not ACC, but integrated devices), and went back to separate devices for separate needs, primarily because of the iPod.
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Tom Edwards said 12:37PM on 6-28-2005
I will only buy one if it is a proper make like Sony or Nokia. I've used and broken Motorola phones. They feel tacky, cheap and badly made - the complete opposite of what Apple is about.
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christine said 1:17PM on 6-28-2005
if the device is made by motorola, i absolutely will not use it. if it's nokia, i'll consider it.
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