Motorola SLVR with iTunes now available from Cingular
Motorola
has unleashed the SLVR with iTunes for Cingular, a slim new candybar style phone that borrows from their runaway-hit
RAZR design. As Engadget notes, it's selling for
$199 (better than the ROKR's initial $249) with a 2-year contract, comes pre-installed with a 512 MB card and that
oh-so-loved ceiling of 100 songs. Once again, Motorola included a non-standard headphone jack, forcing buyers to use an
annoying little adapter in order to be able to plug in a regular set of headphones.Even though the SLVR phone itself certainly seems to be a nice upgrade from the bulky and sluggish ROKR, it still doesn't strike me as a serious music phone offering. The many reasons and theories for this have certainly been discussed since the ROKR's introduction, so I'll spare you a rehash.
While some might be quick to bash Motorola for breaking their promise that the ROKR 2 won't suck, just remember: this isn't technically the ROKR 2, so there's still hope. But what do you TUAW readers think of this? Is this the killer iTunes phone you'd sell your own dog to get your hands on? Or did Motorola and Apple miss the train again?
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
May said 2:44AM on 3-31-2006
I bought this phone for $199 with a 2 year contract, but I found it at CompUSA for $99 with a 2 year contract. Cingular couldn't match the price, however, they offered to put a $100 credit on my first bill. Pretty awesome of them.
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Robert said 3:09PM on 1-31-2006
It costs HOW MUCH? A Contract? For TWO YEARS? There is NO WAY I would EVER pay that much for a FREAKIN' phone.
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Tan The Man said 3:11PM on 1-31-2006
I think it looks great for all those who hate flip phones.
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Mac Diva said 3:16PM on 1-31-2006
It looks edible.
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Aron T said 3:21PM on 1-31-2006
It seems more suited to fly with the RAZR crowd rather than the gaggle of folks pining for an iTunes phone.
=aron=
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bt said 3:25PM on 1-31-2006
It's a nice-looking phone. I might prefer that over the honking huge brick I carry now (Nokia 6620). Depends on how friendly it is with the bluetooth.
Also of note, it's not yet on Apple's list of supported phones that work with iSync. Doesn't mean that it won't work, but it doesn't mean it will either.
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fra said 4:01PM on 1-31-2006
You can get that phone here in the UK for months but, I'm not sure it ships with iTunes
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Jules Galagarza said 5:05PM on 1-31-2006
Actually the ROKR E2 (ROKR 2) will be out this year. It will NOT sport iTunes.
http://promo.motorola.com/ProductPreviews/ROKRe2.html
BTW the SLVR will also continue sport the "blazing fast" USB 1.1 for iTunes music transfer.
http://direct.motorola.com/ENS/Web_full_specs.asp?Country=USA&language=ENS&productid=30340&strPrimaryOption=FS&lSecondaryOption=-1
Peace, Love, and Mac.
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Ben said 5:33PM on 1-31-2006
What annoys me is that this phone only comes with a 'MP3 Player' built-in for the UK market and no iTunes software.
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Joe Ego said 11:55PM on 1-31-2006
Given the size and features (bluetooth!) of this phone, $200 with contract is a decent price. Nokia charges about $280 in the same situation for the 6682, which is plenty larger though also Series 60.
As for iSync support, Motorola specifically lists SyncML support and Apple has support for every Moto SyncML phone so far.
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Dylan said 3:05AM on 2-01-2006
I got this phone in England a few weeks ago, it was free with a 12 month Orange contract (20 per month with 200 inclusive minutes) plus a 50 rebate. Unfortunelty no iTunes software, just a Motorola skined MP3 player interface. Still, I would not give my iPod up for a phone, not just yet anyway.
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Tommy said 5:42AM on 2-01-2006
Quite ironically, I bought this phone and an iPod (30 gig with video, white, naturally!) within the same week as each other. It's a nice little phone for 160 pounds. The girls love it ;)
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chrisjur said 11:45AM on 2-01-2006
I purchased this phone yesterday. Timing was good because my Moto V635, which I loved, crapped out on me this past Monday. I had some "loyalty" discount for Cingular and picked it up for $150 with 2 year contract extension...not a big deal for me, as my company pays for my cell charges, anyway, and I'm happy with their service.
I did not buy it because I plan on listening to lots music on it, or replacing my iPods. (Does anyone buy it for this reason?) It has a pretty robust feature set for $199, it's a nice design and has a very sturdy , well-built feel to it. Most importantly, it uses the same Bluetooth code as the RAZR 3, which gets me full compatibility with my BMW X3 in-car bluetooth system. It's only been a day, but I'm quite happy with it so far.
Some observations about the Cingular kit:
1. It does indeed come with wired headphones, which can be used to listen to music or as a wireless headset (there was some rumors that it had no headset jack, thus you had to use some sort of bluetooth headset to listen to music). These connect via the RAZR-style power jack on the side. They are a bit bulky as far as hand-free adapters go.
2. It comes with a stereo mini-plug adapter that allows you to attach a "normal" set of headphones if you're really going to listen to music on the thing.
3. 512MB flash card is pre-installed.
4. iTunes still has 100 song limitation. Still has USB 1.1 (slow) transfer speeds. I moved 15 or so songs onto it...wasn't too bad.
5. USB Cable included. Phone can charge from the USB cable via your computer. Also comes with regular wall charger.
6. Connects to iTunes right out of the box (using latest version of iTunes).
7. No issues at all using iSync. In 2 minutes, my phonebook was loaded.
8. Paired fine with my BT Moto headset (can't recall model number right now). Paired fine with my BMW X3 factory Bluetooth kit.
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Chris von Eitzen said 1:04PM on 2-01-2006
"forcing buyers to use an annoying little adapter in order to be able to plug in a regular set of headphones."
Yeah, It comes with that (as aslo stated by #12 / chrisjur)
I have it. I love it. It's not perfect. It's a phone with itunes, BT, and it's sleek. I only want USB 2.0 / minimum of 1gb / a2dp Bluetooth support / EDGE (For God's sake... It's 2006... Include EDGE...)
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