Motorola’s Carson Schmidt said the ROKR is “the first phone in a series of phones that we will be launching over the next year. You can expect an announcement on a quarterly basis for new phones in the range. A 3G model would be the obvious progression.”
A Japanese tech news site has already dismantled one of Apple’s new iPod nanos. See the destruction here if your stomach can handle it.
Synaptics, which supplies scroll-touch technology for full-size iPods, wasn’t tapped for the new iPod nano. “We believe its uses an alternative solution,” Synaptics Chief Financial Officer Russ Knittel said.
Merrill Lynch said it was disappointed with the new ROKR phone. “We do not expect that the ROKR will contribute meaningfully in the near term,” the firm said, adding that it is a “poor compromise” and has “an outdated look and feel.”
Engadget has posted a roundup entitled “The iPod family cemetery” of all of the discontinued iPod models over the years.