Apple Computer Inc. launched two new products- ROKR, the first mobile phone to hold iTunes, and iPod Nano, a pencil-thin iPod, on September 7.
The mobile phone, ROKR is the result of a collaboration between Motorola and Apple Computer, Inc. With ROKR, users can enjoy iTunes music through the included stereo headphones or speakers without missing phone calls. The ROKR does not, however, allow users to purchase music over cellular networks. Instead, music must be downloaded through iTunes onto a Mac or PC and then uploaded onto the ROKR.
The ROKR contains many features, including side lights that synchronize with games, ringtones, music, 3D surround sound, a color screen that displays album art while music is playing, integrated digital VGA camera with 4x digital zoom, downloadable ringtones, wallpaper, screensavers and text messaging. Also available are the following options: video clip playback, photo caller ID, full screen viewing for video clips and photos, and photo phonebook. According to Apple, Inc., most ROKR phones come with 512 MB flash cards which allow the user to store about 100 songs.
The ROKR is available through Cingular for $249.99, but a two-year contract is required.
The iPod Nano is a new version of the popular iPod with an even smaller design than the iPod mini. Apple CEO Steve Jobs indicated at a press conference last Wednesday that, "Nano is the biggest revolution since the original iPod. It's impossibly small -- It's thinner than a No. 2 pencil."
The Nano weighs only 1.5 ounces and can hold up to 25,000 photos, full-color album art, 14 hours of battery life and synchronized calendar and contacts. Nano also features a color screen, unlike earlier versions of the iPod.
Two models of Nano will be available for retail -- a four gigabyte (1000 songs) Nano for $249 and a two gigabyte (500 songs) version for $199.
Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal writes that, "I have been testing a nano for the past few days, and I am smitten. It's not only beautiful and incredibly thin, but I found it exceeds Apple's performance claims. In fact, the nano has the best combination of beauty and functionality of any music player I've tested -- including the iconic original white iPod. And it sounds great."
What's most remarkable about the Nano is its miniature size. Mossberg writes, "the nano is not only small, it's stunningly skinny -- about the thickness of five credit cards stacked on top of one another.
That means it can be carried easily in even the snuggest of clothing and the smallest of purses, and worn comfortably during exercise. You could even carry it in a wallet, if you were sure you wouldn't sit on it."
The response to the ROKR phone, however, hasn't been as positive as the response to the Nano. In Macworld, Jim Dalrymple writes of trouble getting a Mac to recognize the ROKR "When first plugging the phone into my PowerBook, iTunes popped open as expected, but nothing else happened.
The ROKR was lost somewhere between the cable and my iTunes application. I had already downloaded and installed iTunes 5, so it should have been just a matter of plugging the phone in and transferring songs. I wish it were that easy." Dalrymple indicates later that many others are experiencing similar difficulties with the ROKR, according to posts on Apple's Message Boards.
The ROKR's and Nano's small design and battery life are facilitated by Apple's use of flash memory chips instead of hard drives, like earlier iPod's. According to a report by ABC news, flash memory is cheaper and more stable than hard drives.
