Motorola cites Apple for iTunes phone no-show

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Motorola failed to unveil mobile phones designed to work with Apple's iTunes digital music service at the CeBIT conference this week because of the pair's differing approach to launching new products, executives from Motorola told Reuters. Motorola said it tends to display its products to the general public before they go on the market but Apple's Chief Executive Steve Jobs does not. "The first thing you're seeing here is a merger of two different industries with different ideas of launching products," said Ron Garriques, president of Motorola's mobile phone division, during a news conference at the CTIA U.S. wireless show in New Orleans. "Steve's perspective is that you launch a product on Sunday and sell it on Monday." Garriques said his company is on schedule to deliver two iTunes-compatible phones this year; one coming on the market in the first half of the year and another in the second half. He also downplayed rumors that the reason Motorola did not unveil the phones at CeBIT was because of a disagreement with mobile phone carriers. "I've got lots of carriers fighting to be the first one we go with," Garriques said.