Steve Jobs on iTunes Phone and Carriers - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Steve Jobs on iTunes Phone and Carriers

AlwaysOn posts a transcript of an interview with Steve Jobs from this year's D: All Things Digital conference.

The transcript provides insights from Steve Jobs about his opinion of the current cell phone market and Apple's positioning.

Of note, the first generation of Motorola iTunes enabled phones will simply provide an iTunes music player interface and allow you to transfer songs from your Mac or PC. The iTunes music store will not be directly available on the phone itself, so songs can not be purchased wirelessly. Jobs notes, "Maybe we'll do some over the air stuff later, but we don't think that that's going to be where the action is."

Jobs goes on to criticize wireless carrier's current plans to charge $2-$3/song on their own music networks and doesn't think it will work:

Well, it's going to be a lousy buying experience, and the music is going to cost two to three times as much as if you buy it on your computer. It's hard to imagine that customers are that stupid.

When questioned about the lifespan of the iPod and why the functionality won't eventually move into the cell phone, Jobs answers, "I'm going to leave the answer to our actions in the future"

An earlier transcript interview of Steve Jobs details reasons he feels a Video iPod would not work.

Related Forums: iPod touch and iPod, Mac Apps

Popular Stories

macOS 27 on MacBook Pro

Apple Says macOS 27 Won't Be Compatible With These Macs

Wednesday June 3, 2026 8:29 am PDT by
During WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that macOS 26 Tahoe would be the final major macOS version for Intel-based Macs. macOS 27 will be compatible with Apple silicon Macs only, meaning that you will need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip in order to install the software update. Apple will unveil macOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote this Monday, June 8, and the...
MacBook Neo on Yellow Feature

MacBook Neo is So Popular That Apple Reportedly Doubled Production

Wednesday June 3, 2026 9:24 am PDT by
On an earnings call in late April, Apple's CEO Tim Cook said that customer response to the MacBook Neo was "off the charts," and the popularity of the laptop has reportedly led the company to significantly boost production. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo this week said he believes that MacBook Neo shipments to Apple were doubled from an initial target of 5 million units to 10...
iphone 18 pro blue%402x

iPhone 18 Pro: Dark Cherry, Light Blue, and Dark Gray Chassis Leaked [Update]

Thursday June 4, 2026 5:18 am PDT by
Update: Since publication, new information has come to light suggesting the images have been AI-manipulated and are not in fact iPhone 18 Pro chassis parts. The original article follows. The color options Apple is reportedly planning for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max have appeared online today in the form of images of chassis parts of unknown authenticity....