July 17, 2007 4:00 AM PDT
Before there was the iPhone, there was the iTunes-enabled Rokr cell phone from Motorola--but Apple would probably rather that you, in the words of Tony Soprano, fuhgeddaboutit. Unveiled alongside the original iPod Nano in September 2005, the Rokr was a partnership between Apple and Motorola to create a cell phone that could play songs purchased from the iTunes Store. It even had a slick name inspired by the runaway success of Motorola's iconic Razr cell phone.
Unfortunately, the original Rokr--which could hold only 100 songs--frankly kind of blew. Customer complaints soared and the device sold poorly. Luckily, Apple didn't replicate the embarrassment with the iPhone.
Photo by Motorola
