Motorola ROKR E1

The Motorola ROKR E1, marketed by Apple Computer as the iTunes phone, was the first mobile phone to be integrated with the iTunes. Launched on September 7, 2005 in San Francisco, California, the phone had been widely expected, with technology sites reporting on collaborations between Motorola and Apple as far back as December 2004.

Description

The ROKR E1 is a re-badged Motorola E398 candybar-style phone (originally called the E790) with Apple-licensed technology to play back music purchased from the iTunes Music Store. It features a music player with an interface similar to that of Apple's early iPod music players. Since hardware on Motorola E398 and ROKR E1 phones are the same, it is possible to crossflash Motorola ROKR E1's firmware to Motorola E398 using phone flashing software like flash & backup.

Even if equipped with a microSD memory card up to 1 GB, the phone's firmware allowed only up to 100 songs to be loaded at any time.^[1] The limit hurt the ROKR's appeal. Many users also discovered that transferring music to the phone was slow compared to dedicated players, due to lack of support for Hi-Speed USB, and the E1 lacked wireless transfer..^[2] The ROKR was also criticized for being too similar to the preceding E398. As a result, the ROKR E1 sold below expectations despite a high-profile marketing campaign.^[3]

Because of Steve Jobs' announcement of the iPod nano on the same day, relations between Motorola and Apple were strained and Motorola CEO Edward Zander later accused Apple of deliberately undercutting the ROKR.^[4]