Cingular Considering Offering iTunes Phone

[Kent Pribbernow]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2005-06-24T224906Z_01_N24186017_RTRIDST_0_TECH-TELECOMS-CINGULAR-ITUNES-DC.XML' target='_blank'>http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2005-06-24T224906Z_01_N24186017_RTRIDST_0_TECH-TELECOMS-CINGULAR-ITUNES-DC.XML</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Cingular Wireless, the No. 1 U.S. mobile service, is considering selling a Motorola Inc. cell phone that can play music using Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes music service, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. "Motorola and Apple have been talking to Cingular about it using the iTunes phone," according to one of the sources, who asked not to be named.</i><br /><br />Hey, that's great...just dandy. Now tell me..WHERE THE HELL IS THIS PHONE!?!? Why oh why is it taking Moto and Apple so long to deliver this phone? I mean, it's starting to become an Urban Myth.

[RenesisX]

Why? Because they made a fatal mistake of not involving their customers in the design process.

Now, you might think the customer is Joe Public, but the customer is the networks who will be buying these phones by the crate.

The phone has been ready for months but the networks won't buy it. It cuts out their revenues which they make on selling ringtones if you transfer all your music onto the phone. If the networks won't buy it you can't pay to make it.

Nokia and SonyEricsson on the other hand knew the networks needed to make money from every track sold onto these devices and included that in their plans.