Motorola and Apple Bring iTunes® Music Player to Motorola’s Next-generation Mobile Phones

[Mac Reporter]

ROSEMONT, IL and CUPERTINO, Calif – 26 July 2004 -- Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) and Apple® (NASDAQ: AAPL) today announced they are partnering to enable millions of music lovers to transfer their favorite songs from the iTunes® jukebox on their PC or Mac® , including songs from the iTunes Music Store, to Motorola’s next-generation 'always with you' mobile handsets, via a USB or Bluetooth connection. Apple will create a new iTunes mobile music player, which Motorola will make the standard music application on all their mass-market music phones, expected to be available in the first half of next year.

“We can't think of a more natural partnership than this one with Apple, the brand synonymous with easy-to-use, legal music downloading, and Motorola, the innovator in mobile technology,” said Ed Zander, chairman and CEO, Motorola. “Being able to transfer songs you’ve purchased from iTunes to Motorola mobile handsets expands the market reach for both of us and drives new revenue for customers, delivering an amazing music experience to millions of wireless users.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Motorola to enable millions of music lovers to transfer any of their favorite songs from iTunes on their PC or Mac to Motorola’s next-generation mobile phones," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. “The mobile phone market -- with 1.5 billion subscribers expected worldwide by the end of 2004 -- is a phenomenal opportunity to get iTunes in the hands of even more music lovers around the world and we think Motorola is the ideal partner to kick this off."

Motorola Mediacenter Release

[PatrickGaerlan]

Why the sad face? I think this is good news because it, at the very least, increases Apple's mindshare and visibility.

[subtleclarity]

wow! just bought a k700, a SONY k700...no itunes for me then...

[yoyomar]

"All good things come to those who wait."

[Arel]

Then again, it's a non-exclusive agreement so still hoping that Apple & Sony Ericsson shake hands on something similar very soon.

Originally posted by PatrickGaerlan
Why the sad face? I think this is good news because it, at the very least, increases Apple's mindshare and visibility.

[berniej]

@Arel: If that doesn't push through, then I hope that the upcoming Moto mobiles will be as Apple-friendly as SonyEricssons.

[winZu]

Sony coming out as Apple's competitor (with such feats as the Network Walkman and Sony Connect), the Apple-Sony relationship will get even blurry in due time. I won't bet on a Sony Ericsson + Apple handshake for now.

W

[Edited on 7/28/2004 by winZu]

[Edited on 7/28/2004 by winZu]

[Eric]

Why Motorola and not SE? IMO, Apple probably chose Moto because they use Windows Mobile. Its much easier for them to port a stripped-down version of iTunes on a stripped-down version of Windows than to port it on a totally new and different OS such as Symbian or Palm.

iTunes for SE and Nokia? Maybe, maybe not.

[dude_funk]

Originally posted by yoyomar
"All good things come to those who wait."

So I have to wait for a Nokia - Apple tandem, then?

Seriously, Nokia has been acknowledged as the innovator with regards to user-friendly user interface. Sounds familiar as it is also the reputation of Apple OS - for those who know/appreciate the difference with a Windows OS. It's not too far fetched to imagine that both companies have compatible design philosophies.

I'm hoping for even a glimmer of _true_ Mac software support for Nokia phones.
:beer:

[caloysam]

Well, I'm a SE user right now, but having used Nokias before, I would have to agree with dude_funk on this one.