Apple, \"Rokr\", FileMaker

This week Apple' CEO Steve Jobs to "MacTel" won't be as easy as Steve Jobs might like developers to believe.

The highly anticipated "Rokr" iTunes-capable mobile phone was first rumored and is now expected to debut at the September 7th Apple special music event in San Francisco. Apple might also launch a series of Apple-branded mobile phones, according to one Analyst. Motorola apparently completed shooting for a ROKR iTunes phone television ad yesterday, starring Madonna, Little Richard, Bootsy Collins, Sum 41, Mya, Lil' Jon, The Pussycat Dolls, The White Stripes, and Billie Joe from Green Day.

Competition remains strong for Apple, as Creative Technology won the patent for a user interface for digital music players. Just two days later, Creative accused Apple of violating that patent, and said it would consider every option available to defend it, including possible legal action. HMV and Virgin both are preparing to launch music download services that will compete with each other and Apple's iTunes music store, even as Verizon announced it would delay the debut of its mobile music service until the first quarter of 2006.

FileMaker released a new version of its popular desktop database software with new ways to work faster, share and manage information of all types, and be more productive. A new Business Productivity Kit designed to let small businesses become instantly productive was also made available for free with the 30-day demo of FileMaker Pro 8. MetaCommunications also released its FileMaker Pro SDK (Software Developer Kit) for Digital Storage Manager that includes tools, reference documentation, sample solutions, and more. WorldSync announced that it will begin shipping SyncDeK 6.0, which is compatible with the FileMakerPro 8 product line, on September 6 following the conclusion of the FileMaker DevCon Conference.

by MacNN Staff