I recently mentioned the VH1 interview with Dave Ulmer, Motorla director of marketing, that took place at the Music Player Live! event last weekend. Once it's aired, I'll have a full scoop ready.

For those of you that don't want to wait for the Top Twenty Countdown to hear the Dave-ster talk about Motorola iRadio, check out this Engadget interview that took place back in April.

Six months have passed...I wonder if everything he said still holds true, or if any iRadio plans have changed?

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So, here's a little randomness to spice up your morning. Recognize the folks in the picture?

Why, it's Dave Ulmer, director of marketing for Motorola Media Solutions, being interviewed by (and given a ride by) Aamer Haleem, the host of VH1's Top Twenty Countdown.

According to a source close to the iRadio team, VH1 stopped by the Music Player Live! event to get the skinny on iRadio. Some new product info will be revealed during the show this weekend -- I will be sure to tune in to pass on a full report.

Note the official Motorola iRadio-mobile -- it doesn't look anything like the iRadio Hummer they haul about for most demos. Ah well. From the pic, I can only assume the latest iRadio gear is in Ulmer's palm (photo below), though it's a little too blurry to make out well.

UPDATE: The interview was finally aired a couple days ago.

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Motorola iRadio set up camp at the Music Player Live! summit last weekend. The gang was at booth #6, displaying the ever-famous remote control iRadio Hummer, plus a series of cryptic displays paying homage to to the soon-to-be launched music service -- note the "Radio, Mp3 Player, and Other" bullets. (click on the pic to enlarge)

iRadio also made waves by launching the iRadio "Get Heard Network". Pretty cool.

Did you attend the summit and have interesting news or photos? Let me know at mike[at]iradiowaves[dot]com!

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The Motorola Razr is tearing up the mobile space.

Motorola profits more than tripled in the third quarter of 2005, mostly due to the spectacular performance of the ultra-sleek ‘n’ sheek Motorola Razr. The exact tally? Try a profit of $1.75 billion in the third quarter of 2005, compared with $479 million in the same quarter of last year. Wow. (That represents an increase from 20 cents per share to 69 cents per share, for all you Motorola stock holders)

Mind you, this is in the face of a disappointing start for the Motorola Rokr. However, CEO Ed Zander qualified the disappointment, pointing out that the phone exceeded their expectations by selling 250,000 units in the first month.

The Razr;’s success will help establish a strong foothold within consumers’ mindshare, which in turn will help Motorola iRadio launch to an attentive audience.

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Does the e1 Motorola Rokr have a chance?

One must wonder, with Motorola focusing on its iRadio service, and Apple focusing on an iPod nano launch.

Sales may have been better if the launch had not been delayed in March, and momentum had not been lost. Or perhaps the phone's just sub-par..?

It's interesting to note that development of iRadio took place in Tempe, AZ, to reduce the influence of other Motorola divisions. Will the Rokr and Motorola iRadio ever share a future? Or is iRadio stand-alone, secret weapon?

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Motorola iRadio will unveil the Get Heard Network at this fall's music consumer summit, Music Player Live! (MLP!), October 21-23 at the Crowne Plaza Times Square in New York City.

I have to hand it to the iRadio team, launching the iRadio Get Heard Network is an excellent strategy for generating buzz about the music subscription service. MySpace achieved ubiquity through similar means -- by making the platform a channel through which bands can market music. If they can make iRadio-generated stations easier to listen to than podcasts, they could potentially capture a piece of the time-shifted radio market.

According to the press release:

The service will offer hundreds of channels of personalized commercial-free music and talk stations, pre-programmed and ready to rock. Through the iRadio Get Heard Network, independent labels and artists shall have the ability to create their very own radio stations that will be made available to broadcast nationwide on one of the most ubiquitous personal technology devices around – the mobile phone.

iRadio is still expected to launch during the first quarter of 2006.

UPDATE: The Get Heard Network launched!

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More mentions of the Universal-Motorola iRadio deal, but nothing new.

The iRadio-Universal story was picked up at ABC News and BetaNews, and CNET, as well as blogs VOIP Blog, TMCnet, OpenJar, among many others.

It's great publicity for a yet-to-be recognized brand. Motorola will have to Motor (pun intended) to prepare for iRadio's January launch.

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Motorola is now collecting contact info to use for the big iRadio launch splash.

You can sign up for the iRadio alert here.

A sexy voice, gives a 10-second iRadio teaser on Motorola's site here.

(via Paste)

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Motorola iRadio struck a deal with Universal Music Group, allowing the label's music to be made available through the iRadio subscription service.

Motorola also announced that it is moving the iRadio launch to January of next year, at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. iRadio will launch on a phone that will have storage for roughly 70 hours of music.

Motorola spokesman Paul Alfieri explained that iRadio could compliment wireless music download services planned by U.S. wireless phone companies, and that further, Motorola would be open to offering any content through the iRadio portal, including satellite radio, terrestrial radio, and internet radio programming.

In case you've forgotten what iRadio was all about, here is a page including links to several iRadio demo videos.

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"iRadio v1.4.0.402" was the second most popular keyword combination in involving "iRadio" in August, according to the the Overture Keyword Selector Tool. It received 422 searches out of 1134 searches conducted for iRadio in general.

iRadio v1.4.0.402 has absolutely nothing to do with Motorola's mobile music offering, but the functions sound astoundingly similar. "iRadio is a new way of capturing and collecting music from radio stations over the Internet."

With Motorola iRadio set to launch in Christmas of this year, it will be interesting to see iRadio-related searches begin to dramatically increase closer to product launch. We'll see what happens...

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