Telecom companies are eager to take on Apple and replace the iPod with a cell phone

One-fourth of the world's population already owns a cell phone, compared with the 10 million who have purchased iPods, so the market is already in place. However, Apple is gambling that its iPod and iTunes service will keep the computer on top in the music downloading industry.

Share

• His friend whipped out his LG mobile phone, tapped a couple of keys, and presto, the melody wafted into the air.
• Wireless operators around the globe are working with music studios, phone makers, and artists such as Sean "P. Diddy" Combs in a sweeping effort to turn the mobile phone into a go-anywhere digital jukebox.
• With innovative services and snazzier phones, the telecom players figure they can swipe a chunk of the digital music market that Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) cracked open with its iconic iPod.
• Perhaps most important, wireless technology could provide access anytime, anywhere to millions of songs.
• Some 20 years ago it lost its lead in the personal computer industry by insisting on complete control over its technology.
• It opened up its iTunes store to people using computers with Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) operating system and let partner Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) distribute its own version of the iPod.
• If that happens, the carrier would not build its own music store and instead send its customers to iTunes.
• Operators want customers to download songs over the air, directly to handsets.
• "As long as the primary point of a cellphone is to be a good phone, any entertainment component will be somewhat lacking," says Jonathan Sasse, president of iRiver, a leading maker of MP3 players.
• In early April, 1973, to much fanfare, a Motorola researcher made the first reported call using a handheld wireless phone.