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With 25-Song Capacity, iTunes Phone "May Underwhelm", Forbes Reports

Wednesday, August 31st, 2005 at 8:00 AM - by Staff

The much talked about, but still as yet un-announced iTunes-ready mobile phone, may turn out to be more of a disappointment, Forbes magazine warned late Wednesday.

In an online report, a magazine source who was said to have seen a functional version of the product said the phone will ship with limited memory and hold only 25 songs.

"While it should be possible to swap out the memory card on the new iTunes phone for one with more capacity, the person who has seen the handset says the phone's software appears to artificially cap song storage at 25 songs, regardless of how much memory the phone has," the report said.

The report warned that it was possible the source saw an early version of the product and that either an improved version or various versions might be in the offing.

The report also said the plan is to offer customers the ability to download songs tthey purchase over the air, rather than load songs they already own from their PCs. "People familiar with the...plans say prices will be upwards of US$2 per song," the report said. Apple's iTunes online service charges 99 cents per song.

It is expected Apple will announce the new device at a planned event on September 7.

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jimothy said:

member since 04 Jun 2004 with 612 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Aug 31, 2005 8:36 am

I've got a hard time believing this is really what Apple and Motorola have in store. Sure, the company has been known to hype just a little more than warranted, but I just can't imagine even Apple staging a special event just to announce, "25 songs on your belt clip."

Either the September 7 event will be more than just announcing this phone that everybody already expects, or this phone will be more than what these reports suggest. Perhaps it will have a 25-song capacity, but along with the ability to load, over the air, songs that you have already purchased (at no additional cost other than what your carrier may charge for data access), effectively giving it an infinite capacity.

I don't know what Apple has up their sleeve, but we can all bet it's more than what's being reported here. And remember, you heard it here first: iPod noggin.

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:16 am

I suppose it isn't impossible that you can only load 25 songs from your computer at any one time while being able to download a lot more direct. Could be the way that the telcos have been placated i suppose.

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Al Swearengen said:

member since 10 May 2005 with 339 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Aug 31, 2005 10:26 am

Maybe we should just wait for the announcement

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acdc1174 said:

member since 16 Apr 2004 with 723 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:15 am

Truthfully, the phone itself is a big yawn for me. large capacity mp3 storage on a cell phone is absolutely NOTHING new. However, the fact that there is an "iTunes Mobile" software behind it IS news. Personally, I do NOT foresee a cap of 25 songs in the production model...that is just silly. What WOULD be a great announcement would be a cross-platform iTunes mobile software available for download that supports J2ME, Symbian, and WindowsMobile.

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hughster said:

member since 17 Mar 2005 with 15 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:00 pm

Suppose it streamed from the Music Store for free? That way, the carriers get their bucks in packet charges, and Apple makes money when people want to buy the songs from the stores.

Just a thought?

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