I'm sure it was a way to get phone-building experience at Apple without the risk of tarnishing the Apple brand with an inferior phone. Note that as well as any

I'm sure it was a way to get phone-building experience at Apple without the risk of tarnishing the Apple brand with an inferior phone. Note that as well as any fundamental design flaws the phone might have had, the ROKR also had some superficial, Apple-imposed design flaws such as the hard 100-track limit; no doubt intended to ensure the ROKR wouldn't compete with any official Apple products.