Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, iTunes
ROKR aimed at the kiddies?
I was listening to the Inside Mac Radio podcast (iTMS link) that brought up a great point about the ROKR that might put its less-than-spectacular introduction into perspective for anyone, like me, who just might be over the age of roughly 20: it might not be meant for us.I think it was their #12 or 13 episode, but Inside Mac Radio basically cited a survey they found (as factual and reliable as surveys are) that a large amount of teenagers are after a mobile phone that includes a music player. Now I know mobile phones are blowing up for teens right now, and apparently device convergence is all the rage with the kiddies these days. In many ways I don't blame them. But this all seems to add up to the possibility that Apple and Motorola whipped out the ROKR for the specific but large demographic of youngins who just gotta have both a hot mobile phone, and their music, all on a tight budget.
Any TUAW-reading parents out there care to weigh in? I'd love to hear people's thoughts on this one, as the ROKR, in my mind, seems like a great concept that could simply use some evolution lovin' to become a tad more appealing to an even larger audience.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tony Ward said 8:27AM on 9-16-2005
Well, a) that would explain the TV spots, which didn't move this 30-year-old fart very much, and b) it makes me even sadder to think about the short, anti-social "conversations" the subjects of the TV commercial had on their ROKRs. (Lord, did I just say that?!) It also means that the CEO of Cingular is a bigger dork than we thought.... I know I rolled my eyes at his presentation.... imagine how a 15-year-old would have taken such patronizing bullpoop. "Whatever."
Anyway... I think Apple's on to something with the ROKR; although its current incarnation has been a dud for our demographic, I agree, David; tweak this baby (with iCal/AB/handwriting technology?) and you've got a really useful device!
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PaulH said 8:27AM on 9-16-2005
I have to disagree with this being for kids. It's too expensive for one. As a product designer for a mobile company here in the UK, most young users that we have in for user testing seem to be on PAYG and have older nokia handsets with replaceable covers. Yes, this is a generalisation.
To buy the ROKR on PAYG in the UK is 210. It's free on a monthly contract, but how many young users have the disposable income to pay 30 a month or 210 for a handset. Unless Daddy pays the bills.
I just don't think the ROKR is aimed at kids and I'm finding it difficult to understand who would actually want this phone that isn't really a great looking phone and only plays a 100 tracks. Jeez, for the money, buy a 20GB iPod, or even buy a Nano and buy a RAZR and strap it to the back! [probably been said before!]
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Ben Poole said 8:34AM on 9-16-2005
I think it might be. The phone technology used is hardly cutting-edge (pretty old hat actually), and it has kiddie-friendly music features (pulsing lights / vibrates to the music). 30 / month is nothing for many teens.
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akatsuki said 8:36AM on 9-16-2005
So they put out a mediocre product and then stated it was for kids?
Like kids are going to accept a 100 song limit.
I am closer to 30 than 20 but I would love a phone that had an iPod scroll wheel. Hell they could just glue a nano to the back of a phone and call it done and it would be a better product.
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PaulH said 8:52AM on 9-16-2005
"akatsuki - I am closer to 30 than 20 but I would love a phone that had an iPod scroll wheel."
A scroll wheel on a phone would not be very usable [what was shitty little nokia with tiny scroll wheel...eeuuww!], and a keypad would also be needed. Imagine trying to sms or dial using a scroll wheel. I think the only way this would happen is if they used the Flip pad as seen on the P900/910 and integrated a Scrol wheel onto that. So that you can use the scroll wheel for iTunes and then flip the pad to use the keys for phone functions.
But then again, I can't imagine a decent looking phone with this on.
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RobS said 12:55AM on 9-17-2005
I doubt it's for the kids, too as I work for Cingular and that doesn't seem to be the way the ads read (at least the ones on our side that I have seen).
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Mike said 9:08AM on 9-16-2005
Not a chance. It doesn't have interchangeable covers, Motorola phones have the worst UI in the phone business, it's not got the cool factor of other offerings from Nokia and Sony Ericsson (or even Motorola's own RAZR), it's not pretty, it's too expensive, and kids that want an iPod can get one anyway - why combine it with a rubbish phone?
When you can get a cooler Nokia for around 100 less (and don't forget that practically every teenager already has a phone, so you could even factor this price out of the equation) and can still buy an iPod shuffle (or splash a bit more out for a nano) with the remaining cash, the teenage market is savvy enough to realise that the ROKR is overpriced, overdue, and underperforming.
I can't see it taking off in this country (England) at all, not only because of the poor nature of the ROKR, but also because of the poor reputation Motorola have for their complete lack of menu intuitiveness.
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Nick Bray said 9:53AM on 9-16-2005
I'd love to see a mobile phone with a scroll wheel that emulated the old rotary phone dialing system. Not that i'd buy one, of course, it would be a big step in the wrong direction and a disaster. I'd just enjoy seeing it for the novelty factor.
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Jimmie Geddes said 10:49AM on 9-16-2005
I read Walt Mossberg's review of the ROKR, Apple definitely had to have Motorola cripple it by using USB 1, unlike all their iPods using 2,he said it took over an hour to put the 100 songs on it. Apple must want itunes to be on phones, but not enough to hurt iPod sales.
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E-Rock said 10:56AM on 9-16-2005
I think many of you may be too plugged into the Apple way of doing things to realize exactly how the Rokr is going to be useful. I've been using a flash-based player for years because I don't need or want to haul around 20,000 songs with me. For my needs, the IPod is actually underpowered. I love having a player that has a built in mic, an FM tuner, and the ability to hold three or four albums/playlists. I simply don't need to have that much music on me all the time. It's not like I'm going to get stranded on a desert island.
There are some things that could've been done better. It could've used USB2, for instance. All in all, though, if it holds 100 songs, allows me to place calls, and has a good browser (I'm all about the WAP, these days); then that sounds good to me. I'll wait a year and try to get it on the cheap from the cell phone company.
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DerekJ said 11:26AM on 9-16-2005
Well,
I'd say I'm still technically a kid...21
And I can definitely agree that the ROKR is for people younger than me.
A couple years ago, it was the cameraphone, Apple is just following a trend.
Btw: How many of you "oldies" (Good god, you know, I still feel your guy's age, like 32-33) bitched and whined until you got a nicey nice cameraphone.
I know I did. Granted, it was $100 with a plan, and $50 of that was paid for by trading up and the other $50 by me...but consider the fact that I (an exceptionally poor person from a middle class white family) am willing to shell out $50 that I don't have.
There are a lot of spoiled kids out there. More spoiled than me, and don't believe for one second that their sugar daddy isn't going to buy them a RAZR or a ROKR, or whatever damn stupid phone they want.
...just a thought.
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Steve said 1:46PM on 9-16-2005
This appeals greatly to my 16 year old son and not at all to me so I'd have to concur - this one is for the kiddies.
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Adam Wyss said 12:25AM on 9-21-2005
i personally think that it is directed at people my age (i am 17) and i think that it is a pretty nice looking phone. i just wish i had the money to get one, i would have to pay full retail since we just started our cingular contract in december.
also, people concerned about the 100 song cap, there are probably people over on howardforums.com and motomodders.net working on a seem edit (moto hack) to get rid of that song cap so that we can upload more than 100 songs and utilize all of the storage space on that half gig card that is included.
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Anthony said 2:27PM on 9-16-2005
I was trying to wait for the itunes phone, but it's such a disappointment and not worth the money. Right now I have an SE t637 and I need an upgrade. Ideally it would be the w800, but $500 is way too much. Does anybody have any experience with the SE s710a? My only concern is how thick it is.
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RP said 4:08PM on 9-16-2005
Well, I'm 16. And no one in my school wants a ROKR cuz we've got iPods. And everyone has a cell.
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Anonymous said 3:57PM on 9-16-2005
I am not lying, but I am 12. I got a nano, and to me this phone is a piece of crap. What kind of kid has 100 songs? And also, the phone is SO UGLY. If I were to buy a[nother] phone, then it would atleast be a nice phone.
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BrightBOX PVR said 5:12PM on 9-16-2005
This phone is positioned for "tards".
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Claire said 5:36PM on 9-16-2005
I'm a senior in high school, and I can't imagine that this will be very popular among teenagers. Based on my experience, anyone whose parents will buy them a $250 cell phone (or can buy it themselves) got a full-sized ipod a while ago.
"Does anybody have any experience with the SE s710a? My only concern is how thick it is."
I got a Sony Ericsson s710a a couple of weeks ago. It's big, but I've loved it so far- the screen in incredible, the UI is the best I've seen, and the camera is surprisingly crisp in good lighting. The swiveling keypad is pretty impractical, but thanks to voice dialing you can do nearly everything with it closed. You should check the reviews at phonescoop, they're right on par with my experience.
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r janszen said 7:14PM on 9-16-2005
Well, my two daughters are teens, but they find the ROKR ugly and it doesn't hold enough songs for them. The ROKR is absolutly not a girlish device. They both have an iPod mini and their phones are clamshell types.
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Wheels said 12:04AM on 9-17-2005
"Now I know mobile phones are blowing up for teens right now..."
Why are mobile phones blowing up for teens? Good God! Quick, somebody call the Consumer Product Safety Commission ... Batuman ... Underdog ... anybody! I noticed a lot of teens with no hands recently, but I never knew that this was the reason - their hands are getting blown off by their cell phones! Oh, the humanity! Who would be maniacal enough to have mobile phones blowing up for teens! Somebody do something!
Sorry, David, I couldn't resist. :)
Seriously though, I don't know what demographic the ROKR is aimed for; it's outdated looking, over priced, holds only 100 songs that can't even be downloaded off of ITMS from Cingular's network. What's not to hate?
Just as long as the ROKR doesn't blow up for teens, I guess that'll be a plus ;).
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