iTunes phone delay

As indicated by other reports, Business Week says a lack of support from such giant cellular operators as Verizon and Cingular was from Motorola. "Behind the clash are two very different views of the future of music on mobile phones. Motorola and Apple would let customers put any digital tune they already own on their phones for free. That would help Motorola sell more phones, and it would help Apple expand its dominance of digital music ... Verizon, Cingular, and other wireless operators want customers to pay to put music on phones. They think getting a full song should be like getting a ring tone." The carriers have "no interest in conceding the booming digital-music market to the tech companies." "When carriers see this future, Apple is front and center," says Andrew Cole, head of wireless at A.T. Kearney. Apple is "a competitor not to be embraced, but to be rejected." Even if Cingular and Verizon won't sell the Motorola-Apple phone, some believe smaller rivals like T-Mobile may peddle it to gain ground on the industry leaders.

by MacNN Staff