Originally published May 29 2005
Cell phone mp3 players could be the "iPod killer"
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The concept of a cell phone that plays mp3 music files has some calling the idea an "iPod killer." While the technology is already in use in Japan and South Korea, so far the U.S. has only seen the Sony Ericsson "Walkman" phone, which can play some mp3s and tunes into some radio stations. While some companies see the device as the future of conversion between the devices, some consumers feel it's too much in one package.
"Everyone's talking about 2005 as the year of the MP3 phone," says Peter Rojas, editor-in-chief of Engadget.com, a Web log that monitors high-tech consumer products.
First you got a cell phone with a color display screen.
The music phone -- half cell phone, half iPod.
Already available in South Korea, Japan and a few other countries where wireless technology outpaces the United States, music phones will be rolling out here in the fall and will probably start hitting critical mass next year, analysts say.
Pick a Name "Everyone's talking about 2005 as the year of the MP3 phone," says Peter Rojas, editor-in-chief of Engadget.com, a Web log that monitors high-tech consumer products.
Motorola CEO Ed Zander told analysts in a conference call last week that a new phone that will hook up to Apple's iTunes online music site will be introduced in the next few months.
There may be a great deal of confusion at first, and incompatible methods, because both the phone manufacturers (Motorola, Nokia (NYSE: NOK), etc.) and the service providers (Cingular, Verizon, etc.) want to dominate, and they may not play well together.
Diana Choe, a sophomore from South Korea, said friends back home already have music phones -- 2.3 million MP3-enabled phones were sold there in 2004, about 9 percent of total sales.
But she's content with her iPod mini, which she carries in her hand while she listens to music, and her cell phone, which stays in her pocket when she's listening to her iPod.
The W800 will play MP3 music files and some FM radio (FM radio stations heading to cell phones is another, slightly smaller Next Big Thing), and Sony claims a battery life of 15 hours.
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