Roaming Fees May Apply...

I just found this news story while sorting through my mail, and I guess we
should have expected nokia to get on the "me-to" bandwagon - but with
loudeye? Wasn't this the compnay that specialized in streaming media
production? One would think with nokia desparately trying to get their hands
into the entertainment business, that they would have selected a partner who
has more marketplace momentum, marketing, and brand awareness. Motorla
aligning with apple provides = software + content. This deal aligns a
manufacturer with digtial files - not as exciting. Will this deal mean
anything? Time will tell.

In the mean time, after conversations last night, I'm beginning to sense
what apple may have in store for us with their longer term ipod strategy.
With the motorola deal, this could be the first of "ipod-inside" devices.
Think about it, by the time the motorola phones ship, we could see phones
with approximately 1gb in memory..enough to hold 250 songs..we've certainly
seen that the ipod mini can sell with a 4gb capacity - providing proof to
the dirty little secret that most human beings are only listening to
hundreds of songs..not thousands...and that battery life and simplicity
matter..not capacity. So, in getting back to the point of this rambling, the
deal with motorola, combined with possible UMTS delivery could provide a
decent ipod music player, with a decent speed delivery of new music through
a mobile itunes store, in a device that everyone needs (a phone). Ipod
convergence with cell phones reduces the needs for multiple devices for
people who have low music needs.

Just loose, random thoughts, but im sensing something big from apple with
this deal.