According to a report in The New York Times, the phone is to be unveiled next week. The new device will be made by Motorola and includes the iTunes software used to download and manage music and power an iPod.
The move would put Motorola in competition with Nokia, which recently unveiled its combined phone and personal music player called the N91, described as a "mobile jukebox" by the company. It can hold 3,000 songs, take pictures and make phone calls, and is due in shops by Christmas, with an estimated price of 拢450.
It will also let users download songs while they are on the go, instead of only when they are connected to a computer -- a feature that may not yet be included on the Motorola/iTunes version, according to reports. Nokia's version will not run iTunes software.
Ericsson has also been getting in on the portable music market, signing a global deal with music download brand Napster to provide the technology to let mobile phone networks provide music downloads for their customers across numerous different brands of handset.
Apple is due to make a major announcement -- beleived to be the new phone -- on September 7. Motorola has already said in the past it was working on a phone that incorporates iTunes, and that it will be part of its range of music phones, called Rokr.
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