Stakes are high for computer firm, partner Motorola
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff | September 7, 2005
High-tech industry analysts say Motorola Inc. and Apple Computer Inc. are likely to introduce today the first cellular telephone that can double as an iPod portable music player.
"I think it has a chance of being a major product," said Roger Entner, wireless phone analyst for Ovum, a Boston research firm. "It just adds another tool to that Swiss Army knife we call wireless phones."
Entner said he has spoken to executives familiar with the new device. Longtime Apple-watcher Tim Bajarin, of Creative Strategies Inc, in Campbell, Calif., said he also has heard about the new product from his contacts at cellular telephone service provider Cingular Wireless, which is expected to be the first cellphone company to market the new device.
Development of the iPod phone is no secret; Apple and Motorola unveiled plans for such a device in July 2004. The stakes are high for both companies. Apple's iPods are by far the most popular portable music players, renowned for their beauty and ease of use. One-third of Apple's third-quarter 2005 sales of $3.5 billion was generated by iPod. But rivals continue to unveil products, including cellphones with music players.
Meanwhile, Motorola of Chicago, the world's number-two cellphone maker, is enjoying a rebound. After years of sluggish performance, Motorola chief executive Edward Zander has rejuvenated the company by launching a line of stylish cellphones like the wafer-thin Razr. Adding an iPod phone to the Motorola stable could help the company gain ground on cellphone leader Nokia of Finland.
Apple last week invited journalists to a major product unveiling set for today in San Francisco, but the company has maintained its usual strict secrecy about what it will say.