Critics slam iTunes phone

Motorola brings iTunes to the mobile phone

Technology analysts have reacted unfavourably to the newly launched iTunes equipped Motorola Rokr mobile phone. 

The handset is available now in the US from Cingular at $249.99 with a two-year contract. It is scheduled for release in the rest of the world later this year. 

Ralph de la Vega, chief operating officer at Cingular, told vnunet.com that the operator is selling the device without any subsidy.

It is uncommon for US operators not to offer rebates on their handsets. The idea behind selling the equipment at a discount is to attract consumers and make up the losses through monthly subscriptions.

"[Cingular, Apple and Motorola] have deluded themselves into thinking that this is such a hot product. When people look into the features, they will find out that it is not that great," said Ken Dulaney, vice president of mobile and wireless at analyst firm Gartner. 

"The linking of the phone to iTunes is the sexy part. But the implementation sounds a little weak to me."

At $249.99, the device is priced similarly to smartphones. Cingular sells only two phones on its website that are more expensive than the Rokr: the PalmOne Treo 650 and the Siemens SX66, a Windows powered smartphone with built in Wi-Fi support.

"Cingular pretty much collapsed its market right there," said Dulaney in reference to the price, adding that the device primarily targets teenagers and children who are unable to afford it.

The Rokr caps the number of songs that the owner can play at 100. Although the included memory chip can be replaced with a larger version, the software will not support the additional songs.

Gerry Purdy, principal analyst at MobileTrax, agreed that the limited storage size is a setback, pointing out that a standard mobile music player today holds at least 1,000 songs.

"One hundred tunes seems minuscule when the standard minimum today is 1,000. If you buy the phone as your primary music player, you will be disappointed," he told vnunet.com.

Purdy expects that Motorola and Apple over time will increase the number of songs that the phone stores.

Consumers looking to play digital music on their mobile phones today are better off buying a phone that runs Windows Mobile, according to Dulaney, because they do not limit the number of songs that can be played.