Strategy Analytics, a research firm, rated the Sony Ericsson W800i ‘Walkman’ phone as the best in class cellular music device in the USA, ahead of the Motorola E1 ‘ROKR’ and Samsung A970. The SEMC W800i achieved Best in Class status based upon superior style appeal and an above average rating for music feature quality.

The Motorola E1 ‘ROKR ‘ achieved the highest rating for usability, but failed to impress in terms of style and feature quality. At 144 grams, the panel considered the Samsung A970 too large for primary feature phone positioning. The Motorola device achieved an 8pt advantage over its rivals for Application Usability. Current iTunes users in particular indicated strong usability preference for the ROKR indicating that the iTunes interface is generating loyalty/preference dynamics similar to branded Operating Systems. However, the ROKR was rated lower than the Samsung and Sony Ericsson devices for Music Quality, a notable underperformance for Motorola given the branded and highly optimized iPod interface designed for music delivery