Meanwhile, not to be boxed out of the cell phone frenzy, Apple and Motorola already offer the ROKR, a cellular phone that can play songs from iTunes, where consumers can find songs for 99 cents. These songs must be downloaded first to a computer and then transferred to the cellular phone. What Sprint and Samsung have going for them is few wireless telephone carriers offer the capability to download music directly to the cellular phone.
Napster LLC also in June reported an agreement with Ericsson to launch a mobile music service where users can download music either direct to a cellular phone or computer in Europe next year. The service will expand to the United States shortly after.
Some 75% of those who purchased an iPod for its “cool factor” are interested in owning a multimedia phone, and 36% would purchase a multimedia phone, the Diffusion Group survey said. About 59% of iPod owners are interested in owning a multimedia phone, and 26% are actually likely to purchase one, the survey said. Reports results are from a survey conducted online in August of more than 2,000 U.S. cellular phone users between the ages of 15 and 50. The random participants had to personally use a cellular phone, responded to questions about mobile media from portable media device ownership to online and digital music service subscriptions to preferred television networks and interest in access to these networks using a mobile phone.