Motorola, the king of the four-letter phones, had dropped hints that it was in collaboration with Apple to release a portfolio of iTunes compatible phones; and the yet-to-be-unveiled ROKR will be the first. 
As Motorola's entry into the world of mobile digital music, Apple will allow ROKR users to carry a limited number of songs on their phones in order to protect its popular iPod portable music player business.
Conversely, competitors such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson have announced their own deals with online music services Sony Connect and Loudeye; allowing consumers to carry as many songs as they can fit into expandable memory cards up to 1 GB in size.
However, Motorola isn't worried. "We think we have time, plus we have the market leader (iTunes)," Motorola CEO, Ed Zander said.
And if there's one lesson Apple CEO Steve Jobs has learned the hard way, it's that being first rarely pays in technology markets. Part of the success of the iPod was exactly that it did not come first, and it is likely that Steve and Ed will play this game the same way; letting Nokia and Sony Ericsson release their music phone first.
No details have been released yet, however the ROKR will be officially announced sometime next month. It is rumored to contain a hard drive and be on store shelves by Q4 2005
