Radio Motorola's Way

Like many companies, Motorola has its own subscription music service. But iRadio does music in a different way.

You start by going to the iRadio site on your PC. You can choose from 435 channels of different music genres, much like you do on a satellite radio. Within the interface, you add your favorite channels. Then, while you're not looking, iRadio goes out and grabs a bunch of musical content based on your channel choices. The next time you sync your iRadio-capable phone, the service loads up the content it's downloaded, picking evenly from among the channels. The application will load up as many songs as your memory card will fit. Later on, as you listen to your music (which remains organized by channel), you can tag a song you like--this places the tune in your wishlist (on the PC), and allows you to quickly purchase it.

The service will initially work with the upcoming ROKR E2, a follow-up to the so-called iTunes phone. The ROKR E2 has lots of upgrades: dedicated play buttons, a true headphone jack (cell phones tend to use a smaller-format headphone connector), and USB 2.0. However, there's no sign of iTunes. A Motorola rep said that she wasn't able to comment on whether iTunes would appear on the final unit.

iRadio is a "turnkey solution for carriers." Translation: Motorola wants to shack up with some carrier on this and have them integrate it into their service.

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