[Eug Wanker]

So is Thursday finally the release date for the iTunes phones? If so, it will be interesting to see what they offer.

I will replace my Sony Ericsson K700i this year likely, but I've been thinking of the SE W800. However, if Motorola can wow me with the iTunes phone, maybe I'll get one of those.

The most important features for me though are:

1) iSync Bluetooth support. This has been a major issue with previous Motorola phones.
2) Good quality camera. Preferably it'd have autofocus and 2 MP, and reasonable image quality. I don't expect it to be anywhere near as good as a dedicated digital camera, but it should be a big step up from most current phones.

I'll probably wait 6-9 months before I buy anything though.

[osxisfun]

3) Not look fugly. (like that prototype (that was not the prototype) looked like in the slide show)

[Naplander]

(4.) Have an intuitive interface. Motorola phones are a nightmare to use, really difficult to figure out.

Nokia seem to have this aspect really sussed.

[DigitalEl]

5) Not cost $400

6) Be available w/more than just one provider

[Eug Wanker]

Click the link for the full Newsweek article.

The company is also hoping to get an early beat on the newest competitive arena for mobile phones: music. This Thursday, Motorola is expected to announce the first handsets that will carry Apple's popular iTunes music software. CEO Ed Zander, the former president at Silicon Valley's Sun Microsystems who joined Moto early last year, forged the alliance with his old pal Steve Jobs. Zander can boast that 2004 was the company's most profitable year ever and says new designs and mobile-music efforts will help invigorate its stock price, which has remained flat since he took over. "We got this company out of hospital and got it jogging," he says. "Now we want to get it running."

Originally posted by osxisfun:
3) Not look fugly. (like that prototype (that was not the prototype) looked like in the slide show)

Originally posted by Naplander:
(4.) Have an intuitive interface. Motorola phones are a nightmare to use, really difficult to figure out.

Good points. My SE phone is OK for navigation, but it could be improved in that dept.

Originally posted by DigitalEl:
5) Not cost $400

6) Be available w/more than just one provider

I'd pay $400, and I usually get unlocked versions of the phones anyway, since Canadian providers are usually very slow to adopt the new phones.

[k2director]

I would GLADLY pay $400 for a small phone that worked perfectly with iSynch, and Apple's iApps (including iTunes). How hard could it for a Sony T or K series phone to properly synch up Company entries from Address Book? Apparently, pretty hard, because this has been a problem for Sony phones since the t68. I'm sick of those kind of glitches...

Sadly, my gut tells me that the new Motorola phone will play iTunes songs, but the rest of its interactions with a Mac will be pretty uninspiring. I hope I'm wrong, though...