Nosce te ipsum

From the fine folks at the Mac Observer comes a bevy of first hand experiences with the new ROKR phone from Motorolla, which until last week was one of the most highly anticipated new products on the horizon.

As I wrote here a days ago, this ended up being a totally lack luster story from the get go and anyone who watched the video from the Apple event instantly knew who the real star of the show was. It seems like Motorolla got just about every single detail of this phone and what it was designed to do wrong. I think you'd do much better just to go get yourself a sleek new black Razr phone and attach a black Nano to the phone (and it would still be thinner than the existing Rokr phone!

From the article:

For the past few days, TMO reporters and editors have visited Cingular retail stores across the U.S. to play with the ROKR E1 phone and to say we are unimpressed with this phone and its capabilities is an understatement.

This phone is a watered downed version of something that could have been so impressive and really left Apple's mark on a new line of products and services. Instead, Mr. Jobs has stolen what could have been a great customer experience for consumers.

Heck, this phone won't even sync with my Mac to keep my phone numbers and names! What could it have taken to have done something as simple as that?! I even would have considered buying it if it had that functionality and I know a lot of other Mac users would have too!

This reporter played with the new phone for 45 minutes Friday at a Cingular store near Alexandria, Virginia. It wasn't something that got me excited. It wasn't something I looked at and said, "Apple was really Thinking Different" on this product." I could have easily walked away from this product, and yes, I did.

When I asked the store manager if he had sold any of the new phones yet, he chuckled and said "not a one." When I asked him how many customers had looked at it in the last seven hours that the store had been opened, he told me "about 10." He then told me that the majority of people told him they either already owned an iPod, or "didn't think it was worth the price to store just 100 songs when they can store so many more on even just an iPod shuffle."

High-Power Transceiver Sends/Receives Wireless More than a Mile

Yes please! Overnight delivery would be just fine. Thank you very much! I'm certain that they really need someone in the Mile High city to do a little testing for them.

WICHITA, Kan. --09/12/05-- Imagine sitting three or four blocks outside the office and still getting into the AirPort wireless network there, with signal strength to spare. That's the kind of power that these new Transceivers offer Apple PowerBoook and iBook users. It is powerful, but also very easy to use, requiring no extra software or extra steps. This 500mW/27dBm high power comes at a relatively low cost of only $200 USD.

This small Transceiver is not much larger than a antenna, clips onto the PowerBook or iBook case and is easy to travel with and easy to pop on and use, where ever mobile Mac users go. It connects to the 'Book through the AirPort card, already installed on the Mac - just like an antenna. It's ideal when trying to get a full-speed connection at large public areas such as airports, college dorms, expansive offices, hotels, outdooor commons, and can't seem to connect at any tolerably fast speed.

It comes with a power converter when working near a power outlet, and can also be powered from a FireWire port on the computer. Specifically, these Transceivers work with the following Apple computers:

Rick Estes, president QuickerTek, Inc. stated, "Our new Transceiver for the PowerBook and iBook user is just a wireless powerhouse. You can sit down almost anywhere and not only get a signal, but get a fast connection - that's where the rubber meets the road. A few products can pick up a weak and unusable wireless signal, but making a high speed connection is the real challenge, and this new Transceiver has that and more," he continued.

If nothing else, congrats on what appears to be a most interesting product for iBook and Powerbook users.