ROKR Price Falls, Far And Fast

It's not surprising to see the price of a mobile handset fall, but it is a little surprising to see the price of one as hyped as the ROKR iTunes phone take such a big cut so quickly: just two months after its launch, Cingular has slashed the price from $250 with a 2-year contract to just $150. Reports have said the phone isn't selling well, and others have said the phone is returned by customers six times more than normal for new phones. The cut may be an attempt to goose sales; another possibility is that Cingular's trying to clear out stocks before it begins selling another music phone, the Sony Ericsson W600i. It's a part of the company's line of Walkman-branded phones, which have been selling well and gotten a better reception from consumers than the iTunes phone. Motorola's not throwing in the towel yet, though -- apparently the forthcoming SLVR model has iTunes as well. It's basically the same phone (with the same 100-song cap), but in a slimmer and more fashionable body. Will those improvements be enough to win over buyers disappointed by the ROKR?

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