Motorola ROKR

By Shawn Willis

n iTune-pumping mobile phone, the ROKR, is the ambitious effort of Motorola and Apple and is set to make its official debut this month.

ROKR (pronounced “Rocker”) will be the world's first cell phone with iTunes, enabling music enthusiasts to transfer up to 100 songs from the iTunes jukebox on their Mac or PC to their phone.

Modeled after the Motorola E398 design, the ROKR measures 108 x 46 x 20 mm, and weighs 107 g, about the size of an iPod Mini. Using standard cell-phone functions, the ROKR adds new menus, navigation and playback, and the ability to switch from listening to music to using the phone - with the push of a dedicated music key.

Despite the union of two wildly cool brands, the ROKR is a bit plain compared to more avant-garde Motorola models. But, still the ROKR is a dynamic unit that features a colour display for viewing album art, and headphones that also serve as a mobile headset with microphone.

With iTunes on the ROKR, the music collection lives alongside your contacts. A key just below the phone's display activates the player, and music stops when you receive a call. Hang up, and your tunes pick up again from where you left off. You can also arrange your songs by playlist, artist, and album - the player even comes with a shuffle mode.

Sound quality is superior for an MP3 phone, with the polyphonic stereo speakers and the stereo headset. The Bluetooth transmitter lets you use wireless headsets, although you can't transfer music wirelessly. The built-in stereo speakers handle speakerphone calls, and sounds good playing music when you don't feel like using the earbuds.

Aimed straight at the hearts of the under-25 set: you can set up the phone's edges to pulse with colored, neon-style lights, blinking in sync with sound. And putting your music on the ROKR is as easy as syncing to iTunes, the world’s best digital jukebox. Just connect the ROKR to your Mac or PC, then choose the songs you want to sync or let iTunes choose them for you — autofilling your phone with a random selection from your iTunes music library.