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

Apple Event Logo

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces. The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
imac video apple feature

Apple Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever This Year

Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014. This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019. Q.ai...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Twelve Changes Coming to Apple's Next Flagship

Thursday July 30, 2026 3:43 am PDT by
We're less than two months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a dramatic change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year,...

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors