iTunes phone song capacity may be upgradable (updated)
The 100-song limit on Motorola's iTunes phones appears to be enforced strictly by software, which may be upgradable to allow for additional capacity at a later date.
"Want more music on your mobile phone with iTunes?" the page asks. "Upgrade now." The page instructs users to connect their iTunes phone to their Mac or PC and click an "OK" button to proceed. However, the feature does not appear to be fully-functional at this time and neither ROKR E1 or SLVR L7 iTunes phone owners have had success in updating their phones.
The 100-song restriction on Motorola's first iTunes phone, the ROKR E1, is one of the most common gripes users and reviewers have shared as a sources of dissatisfaction with the device. They also complain about the phone's clunky user interface and bulky industrial design.
According to at least one report, which dates back prior to the ROKR's introduction, Apple had considered limiting the phones to only a couple dozen tunes and imposing upgrade fees on users who wanted to unlock more storage capacity.
Update: Apple's Eddie Cue has confirmed to Engadget that the upgrade screen exists for non-US customers, some of whom initially had caps as low as 25 songs.
9 Comments
Sp: impose ON not impose to
Now that the limit is confirmed to be software based, let's find someone who can hack the song limit!!!
I thought it was a given that it was a software limit, because the phone memory could be expanded but not allow more tracks. Some markets had a 25 song cap? Lame. I would consider it almost useless. It would probably be OK with a daily refil though, I don't want to deal with artificial caps like that.
Ya that would undermine Apple if it was seriously considering trying to create a phone. Why give current hardware makers like Motorolla such an advantage? Since they have 4 GB cellphones emerging that would hurt not only the nano but any attempt to grab part of the market considering the fact that we are talking about iTunes software which is a lot of what makes the iPod so appealing to people.
Ya that would undermine Apple if it was seriously considering trying to create a phone. Why give current hardware makers like Motorolla such an advantage? Since they have 4 GB cellphones emerging that would hurt not only the nano but any attempt to grab part of the market considering the fact that we are talking about iTunes software which is a lot of what makes the iPod so appealing to people.
That's kind of a lame limitation considering the complaints about the rest of the phone.