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More CES: Motorola Unveils New Cellphone/Radio Converenge To Threaten Satellite Hopes -- iRadio
While HDRadio released large new revenue projections and satellite radio announced a total of nearly 10 million current subscribers to both XM and Sirius combined, Motorola, the world's No. 2 cell phone maker, is creating buzz at the CES show in Las Vegas from its Tuesday announcement of the upcoming 435-channel "iRadio".
Planned for a FALL 2006 service launch, it'll feature terrestrial radio content using digital technology fully portable wherever you carry your cellphone. And offer "more choice and higher audio quality than satellite radio." The mobile phone-based radio device is crammed with 435 commercial-free radio channels (for a monthly fee). Content would easily transfer from handset to home stereo to car stereo using Bluetooth wireless technology.
Their press release states "700 million mobile phones were sold worldwide in 2005, making the mobile phone a ubiquitous hub to distribute music, talk and other digital content. Motorola iRadio unifies content that has historically been segmented across different devices and mediums, such as traditional radio, MP3 players, Internet radio and car audio.
Using Bluetooth® wireless technology, a user’s customized choice of content moves automatically from the phone, through the car stereo, across the home stereo system or on-the-go."
Quietly hidden in the announcement, the iRadio will replace Apple's iTunes on Motorola's ROKR phones.
Mobile network operators (like Sprint and Verizon) are developing services such as mobile music downloads and seeking to improve wireless coverage at home by adding short-range home network links to cellular phones.
The iRadio service, in some respects, puts Motorola in competition with XM Satellite Radio Holdings and Sirius Satellite Radio, which sell radio subscriptions for car and home radios.
full story
Motorola press release
posted by Unknown @ Friday, January 06, 2006,
