Motorola and Cingular executives have acknowledged that the iTunes-capable ROKR cell phone unveiled in September "was a bit of a blunder," but they plan to rectify that mistake with a new version of the device due to ship in the first quarter of 2006. Roger Crockett reported the news for BusinessWeek.

Mr. Crockett cited a comment from American Technology Research analyst Albert Lin that the ROKR is "being returned at a faster clip than the average phone," but Motorola disputed that claim. The company said it has shipped 500,000 of them worldwide, a number that Mr. Crockett said is equivalent to what the popular RAZR sold during its first couple months of availability.

The new phone, according to Mr. Crockett, will sport a one-megapixel camera, the same 3.5 millimeter earphone jack used by the iPod and enough capacity for 1,000 songs. The reporter noted that sources knowledgeable about the device's development said that the revamped ROKR will also use "an elegant slider format," rather than the bulky form factor employed by the first one.

However, iTunes compatibility isn't certain, although Ron Garriques, who runs Motorola's phone division, told Mr. Crocket: "We will definitely do an iTunes version if that's what Cingular wants."

Regardless of iTunes support, Motorola "plans to rip a page out of Apple's playbook," wrote Sinead Carew in a Reuters article, "and begin selling [new] phones the day after announcing them -- rather than announcing them well in advance, as it has up to now."

Mr. Garriques told the reporter that he saw "no reason to tip your hand to your competitors," citing improved business conditions. Earlier this year, Motorola and Apple reportedly encountered some friction when the former wanted to unveil the ROKR months ahead of time, as it formerly did with all its cell phones, and the latter clamped down with its typical veil of secrecy, insisting that the product remain under wraps until right before its launch.

iLounge reported on both these stories earlier today.