Finally The iTunes Phone

Kurt Hansons’s RAIN newsletter reports that according to the Wall Street Journal: "Apple Computer Inc., in an effort to extend its strength in digital music to a potentially large new market, has reached an agreement with Cingular Wireless to offer a Motorola Inc. cellphone that will play songs from Apple’s iTunes Music Store…

"Apple yesterday sent invitations to the media for an event in San Francisco on Sept. 7. The invitation, alluding to the invention of the iPod, states ‘1,000 songs in your pocket changed everything. Here we go again.’

"The iTunes phone… is part of an expected onslaught of music services from wireless carriers and handset makers. Apple holds a powerful lead with its iPods, but…company could face a threat if cellphones become a preferred method for listening on the go…

"Cingular, of Atlanta, is expected to make the phone available in time for the holidays. Some carriers have been reluctant to commit to the iTunes phone, preferring devices oriented toward their own music services. Most major handset makers are developing music-playing phones."