The iTunes Phone

Billboard via Reuters: Cingular Considering Launching iTunes Phone

Hmmm.

The RAZR's been an undisputable hit for Motorola, though CEO Ed Zander told the Wall Street Journal last week: "In terms of the bottom line, sure we sold a bunch of RAZRs in the second half of the year. But in terms of the overall number of cellphones sold worldwide it was a very small fraction of it. What it really did do though was get Motorola in the minds of a lot of people around the world for being cool again.

This means that there's a lot of critical mass to be made before a $500 phone replaces the iPod and your current phone and iPod. Because right now, this is another paradigm jump for consumers. Oh sure, it makes sense to reduce the number of gadgets by combining them. But with a high price point, unproven reliability/useability, we're kind of in Apple Newton territory here.

Look at it this way: what competitive advantage does Apple, Motorola, and Cingular get out of this? Or more importantly, what is the replicability of that advantage?