New Android Market Trumps Apple’s iTunes Store

It’s the little things that go a long way. One tiny feature that can make a piece of software or a gadget infinitely better. Maybe it’s the way a Twitter app refreshes by tapping the top banner. Or how a music app automatically starts when you plug your earbuds in. It’s the subtlest attention to a small UI detail that causes a user to say, “Ah, that’s cool,” and other developers to say, “Ah, of course!”

And in moving its rough-around-the-edges Android Market to the web, Google nailed a big one. One so big, that it’s now arguably better than Apple’s iTunes Store.

Launching yesterday, the web-based Android Market frees the user from browsing apps on their phone. The third-market site AppBrain had done a commendable job before, but there wasn’t an officially Google-sanctioned site until yesterday. And not a moment too soon.

Similar to the iTunes Store in almost every way, the Android Market sorts free and paid apps into categories. Each app comes with its own linkable page and description as well as a user rating, version requirements, price, and developer information. So far, so familiar.

But what separates the Android Market on the web with the iTunes Store is the total lack of an extra program or wired syncing.

After a user logs in, the Android Market recognized the device and account of every Android user. Downloading and installing an simply requires selecting the appropriate device and clicking “Install.” From there, the app is automatically downloaded directly to your device and begins installing. Couldn’t be easier.

Compare that to browsing for an iPhone or iPad app from your computer. Accessing it requires iTunes to open up — which leads to a lengthy load time and many complaints about bloatware. Once it’s finished loading, download the app to your computer. Afterwards, you have to actually pull out the iPhone wire, physically connect it to your computer, and sync it to your device.

For a company heralded for its ease and sleekness, wireless syncing is a feature that’s way overdue.

Apple may hold claim to 100,000 more apps than Android’s 200,000, but with this recent update, it’s trailing the competition in a big way. Expect Cupertino to introduce wireless syncing shortly.

Here’s Lifehacker’s video of Google’s demonstration of the new Android Market:

Apple’s iTunes App Turns 10

From its humble beginnings as a simple music collection organizer, ten years later iTunes has become a killer app for playing and purchasing all kinds of media?and a major money maker, with over 10 billion songs sold.

January 9, 2001, marks the beginning of iTunes’ illustrious journey, when Apple released it as a Mac OS 9 application, built on the groundwork of the earlier SoundJam, which Apple purchased the rights to. It wasn’t until 2003,with version 4, that the real money-maker became part of iTunes?the iTunes Store.

No longer restricted to music on its tenth birthday, iTunes now sells and plays movies, TV shows, and even serves up college coursework with iTunes U. As recently as this past fall, it became a social network, too, with the introduction of Ping, and after that the heretofore untouchable Beatles music catalog became available.

A year after iTunes’ launch, it moved to Mac OS X and became the conduit for Apple’s fledgling iPod music players. Each time Apple has launched a new media-capable device?iPhone, touch, iPad?the software has been updated to match the new must-have gadget, and syncing to iTunes on either a Mac or PC is how users of those devices load their latest operating system versions.

The latest version of iTunes, 10.1, added support for iOS 4.2, which enables the company’s emerging AirPlay capability that allows wireless streaming of music, video, and photos throughout the home to compatible players and to Apple TV. And it’s likely that we’ll see yet another minor version bump for tomorrow’s big expected announcement of an iPhone that works on Verizon’s CDMA network.

As each version has added more features and capabilities, though, the software has gotten more and more bulky, with the current version weighing in at nearly 150 megabytes installed. We can only hope that future versions will go on a diet while remaining full-featured.

Yes, it’s a piece of software rather than a shiny gadget, but iTunes has been instrumental in Apple’s ascendance to tech domination?perhaps not in market share, but certainly in both mindshare among technophiles and in the company’s market valuation.

Hacked Apple iTunes accounts sell in China for pennies on the dollar

By Katie Marsal

Published: 09:00 AM EST A Chinese online store is selling hacked, illegal iTunes accounts tied to active credit cards, offering $200 worth of content from Apple’s service for as little as $30.

China’s Global Times this week revealed that about 50,000 illegal accounts are being sold through taobao.com, with prices ranging from just 1 yuan to about 200 yuan, or $30. Many of the sales are said to be stolen iTunes user accounts being re-sold by hackers.

“Potential buyers are promised access to music and movies through iTunes amounting to seven times more than the amount paid,” the report said. “The only restriction is that all downloads should be made within 24 hours of the transaction being completed at Taobao.”

A reporter for the publication tested the sales by paying $5 to a seller on Taobao. In return, they were provided an iTunes username and password which allowed access to an account complete with credit card details and a U.S. billing address.

Last July, it was revealed that iTunes account holders were being targeted in a number of fraud cases, in which some iOS developers used stolen accounts to boost their sales rankings of iPhone software. Apple quickly made a public response to the matter, suggesting that customers review their iTunes account for unauthorized transactions.

“Developers do not receive any iTunes confidential customer data when an app is downloaded,” the company said in a statement. “If your credit card or iTunes password is stolen and used on iTunes we recommend that you contact your financial institution and inquire about canceling the card and issuing a chargeback for any unauthorized transactions. WE also recommend that you change your iTunes account password immediately.”

In August, Apple also bolstered the security of its Apple ID accounts, which are shared by iTunes and store credit card information for purchases. Users must verify their account information when they log into new devices, and new iTunes account passwords must have at least 8 characters with mixed capitalization.

Compromised Apple iTunes Accounts Sell for Cheap Online

Roughly
50,000 active iTunes accounts are reportedly being sold online for as
little as 15 cents.

According
to China’s Global Times
newspaper, the accounts are being sold through taobao.com, a popular
Chinese-language online store, for between 1 and 200 yuanthe equivalent
of between 15 cents (USD) and $30 (USD). A reporter for the newspaper tested
the waters by paying $5 to a seller on the site, and in exchange was given an
iTunes username and password that permitted access to the account and
ultimately credit card and billing address information.

“Potential
buyers are promised access to music and movies through iTunes amounting to
seven times more than the amount paid,” according to the report. “The
only restriction is that all downloads should be made within 24 hours of the
transaction being completed at the site.”

According
to Global Times, thousands of such accounts have been sold during the past
several months. It is possible user account credentials were phished
or stolen through malware. It is also possible the accounts were
established using stolen credit cards.

“If
you think about it, there are cyber-criminals out there
who make money from stealing ‘virtual goods’ from online role-playing games
and sell them for hard cashso if they can make money from, effectively, ‘nothing,’
they can make money from iTunes accounts too,” Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant at Sophos, told eWEEK. “If people are prepared to
pay for somethingcut-price access to iTunesthere will be others who will try
and supply it.”

In
response to the report, Apple is advising users to take action if they suspect
their account may be compromised.

“We’re
always working to enhance account security for iTunes users,” an Apple
spokesman said in a statement. “If your credit card or iTunes
password is stolen and used on iTunes, you should contact your financial
institution about any unauthorized purchases, and be sure to change your iTunes
password right away.”

Amazon MP3 swallowing heavy loss-leaders in fight for iTunes market share

Amazon’s MP3 download ambitions continue to fall short of Apple’s iTunes behemoth, with even heavy discounts and loss-leading sales failing to claw away significantly at their rival’s market lead. According to the latest stats from NPD Group, Amazon clinched just 13.3-percent of the paid digital download market in Q3 2010, a 2.3-percent rise over the previous year, while iTunes’ share climbed three points to 66.2-percent. However, Amazon has been forced to stomach expensive loss-leaders in order to make that increase: while Apple negotiates wholesale prices to suit its download deals, insiders tell the WSJ, Amazon generally pays around $7-8 wholesale for music it offers at around the $3.99 price point.

Meanwhile, record labels – though anecdotally frustrated by Apple’s control over the market – suggest that Amazon is doing even worse than NPD calculate. Those the WSJ spoke to say Amazon may have only 6- to 10-percent of the market, versus Apple’s 90-percent. Amazon is refusing to release details on how much return business it sees, but the strong tie-in between iTunes and Apple’s iPod, iPhone and iPad ranges look to be keeping the company ahead of the game.

Beatlemania on iTunes set to buoy EMI profits

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:25 AM on 21st November 2010

EMI is set for a boost in profits after strong sales of Beatles songs on Apple’s iTunes download service, but the company has denied accepting unfavourable terms to sign the deal.

Beatles records are set to dominate the British and US single and album charts with 15 Beatles’ records, led by Hey Jude, expected to be in the UK Top 40 single chart when it is published today.

The music is available for download after a deal between the two surviving members and the heirs of the Fab Four and Apple computer company to sell the records on iTunes was finally reached last week. EMI, which owns the rights to The Beatles’ recordings, played a key role.

Fab deal: EMI owns the rights to The Beatles’ recordings

However, EMI denied suggestions in the music industry that it had accepted a significantly less favourable split in income from digital sales between the group and the company to get the deal done.

There has been speculation that EMI accepted substantially less than a half-share, with The Beatles taking most of the income. EMI said this was ‘absolutely not true’. The Beatles’ spokesman did not return calls.

Even with the profits boost, EMI is still expected to breach the terms of its bank loans in March without further investment.

EMI’s owner, financier Guy Hands, lost a court case against US bank Citigroup earlier this month over the deal and faces seeing ownership revert to Citigroup if the music giant cannot meet the terms of its loan.

In Britain, The Beatles’ compilation album ‘Blue’ (1967-70) is at number nine on iTunes, with ‘Red’ (1962-66) at number 14, while Sergeant Pepper is 17.

In the US, Abbey Road is number four with the White Album at number nine and Sergeant Pepper at ten.

Apple iTunes sees Beatles downloads rise in charts

Beatles has featured on Apple’s app store- iTunes. This move has surely affected music’s digital grounds and at the same time it speaks of the best music featuring in Apple.

Experts claim that in terms of digital music, Beatles were the holy grail, a band which although broke, but managed to sell the highest number of recordings in the music industry.

As the deal was publicized yesterday Australian time, the Beatles’ music began to feature as one of the best sellers in the world.

Indeed, the iTunes charts offer music fans an instant, virtual census on just what the most popular Beatles tracks and albums are present.

In case of Australia, for example, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club is presently the infamous Fab Four album, followed by Abbey Road. And follows the infamous songs like- Let It Be, Here Comes The Sun, Twist and Shout and Hey Jude, in that array.

In case of US, Abbey Road and The White Album are the two of the most selling LPs, with Here Comes The Sun, Let It Be and In My Life the most popular downloaded tracks.

UK music enthusiasts have also released the 31 Beatles tracks into their iTunes Top 200, and presently the most downloaded songs are Hey Jude, Twist and Shout and Blackbird.

The prices vary in all three regions. For example in case of Australia, The White Album is priced at $35.99, however in the US it’s just $19.99. Similarly, Abbey Road costs $12.99 in the US and $20.99 in Australia.

The famed bands absence from Apples music service was long considered a glaring omission. Apple Corps, which publishes the Beatles work, had long resisted delivering the Fab Fours work in an online format, preferring a series of CD releases over the past decade. I’m sorry, were you expecting congratulations here? Perhaps the most “unforgettable” element from today’s Beatles-available-on-iTunes announcement was the eyerolling on Wall Street: Apple’s share price was down five points at press time. Nearly a decade after Apple Inc. introduced iTunes, the digital downloading service finally has landed the Beatles. ITunes on Tuesday rolled out the Fab Four’s music for legal downloading for the first time, offering 17 albums encompassing all 13 of the group’s original studio albums, the double “Past Masters” collection of nonalbum tracks, two hits compilations and a box set including everything except the hits collections. On Tuesday, Apple Inc. said its iTunes store will start selling downloads of songs and albums from the group, in an agreement with the Beatles’ recording label, EMI Group Ltd., and its management company, Apple Corps Ltd. Apple’s news release only cites that concert film as an exclusive. “The fact is, this would have been a big deal three years ago,” says James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research . But the Fab Four’s work doesn’t show up on Amazon’s MP3 store , Apple’s main rival in the digital-download business. “Abbey Road,” the group’s 1969 studio album, quickly jumped into iTunes’ ranking of the top 10 hottest-selling albums Tuesday.

The first settlement came in 1981, when Apple Computer paid Apple Corps millions to keep its name, with the promise it would stay away from the music business.

Grooveshark used to offer Beatles songs until they began disappearing from the site through a simple search for “Beatles.” However some forum members have found that unique search terms, like “Beattles,” still draws a few results. We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks, Steve Jobs wrote in a February 2007 press release .

Apple has a 75% market share of the digital music market, McQuivey says. Just a year and a half ago, Apple banished DRM entirely from the iTunes Store’s music inventory. “iTunes and Apple Corps missed the revenue stream a long time ago. The songs have been available on numerous torrent sites for years.” What kept the Beatles’ catalog off iTunes for so long was a complicated web of legal entanglements. Tuesday, the Beatles finally ran out of excuses for not letting downloaders give them their money. Is there anybody left online who doesn’t already have all the Beatles MP3s they want? Several of those artists have cited their opposition to iTunes’ breaking up albums into individually downloadable tracks. Those years of legal action doubtlessly made the attorneys rich, but it may have slowed the Beatles arrival on iTunes. Apple is making the bands albums available for $12.99 each, with songs priced at $1.29, in addition to a $149 Beatles Box Set with the albums, mini-documentaries and other materials.

Nearly a decade after Apple Inc. introduced iTunes, the digital downloading service finally has landed the Beatles. ITunes on Tuesday rolled out the Fab Four’s music for legal downloading for the first time, offering 17 albums encompassing all 13 of the group’s original studio albums, the double “Past Masters” collection of nonalbum tracks, two hits compilations and a box set including everything except the hits collections. It has finally happened, but it wasn’t easy. Beatles songs are finally available in Apple’s iTunes store. But while the Fab Four might be the most notable iTunes holdout, they certainly aren’t the last. In the past, he’s stated he believes iTunes is “killing” music, and says he won’t give in until Apple offers variable pricing and will allow more album-only downloads. A dwindling number of artists are still resistant to joining Apple’s music download service.

Searches on iTunes for AC/DC, Kid Rock, Tool, Garth Brooks, and Def Leppard will return disappointing results: karaoke and cover tracks, not material from the artists themselves. AC/DC and Apple have an ideological agreement; the Australian band protests Apple’s policy that offers albums piecemeal. It marks the first time that Beatles songs have been available for digital-download sales. Finally, a digital destination to discover and consume the biggest group of all time.” Does it matter that Beatles are on iTunes?

How did the two sides get it right? That interminably long and inexplicably winding road has come to an end – long after fans who wanted the Fab Four’s songs already had them. “iTunes and Apple Corps missed the revenue stream a long time ago. After that it was very easy to cut a deal.” They code-named the initiative “Bastille,” as it coincided with Bastille Day. “They truly think that they’re saving music,” the singer said in a 2009 USA Today report . And I’m sure they’re just doing it all in the interest of making as much…cash as possible. Somebody buys “Revolver” on disc and passes it around. Mr. Faxon had previously served for many years as a senior executive at EMI’s music-publishing division, where he won a reputation as a low-key but effective executive, in an industry filled with outsized egos. Let’s put it this way, it’s certainly not for the…love, let’s get that out of the way, right away.” AC/DC’s most recent album was purposely kept out of Apple’s music stores. (Credit: Last. Until we get variable pricing, until we get album-only downloads, then they are not a true retailer for my stuff, and you won’t see my stuff on there.” Multiple sources said that with meandering anthems that overlap into one another, ambient rock band Tool has the same misgivings about iTunes. Professor Mnookin noted that he often tells his students, “Before you go into any negotiation, any party should ask, what are my interests, what do I care about, and what are my alternatives if I don’t make this deal?” It is not immediately obvious that the Beatles-iTunes agreement had to happen now.

Kid Rock and Bob Seger have also refused to cave in, like holed-up gunfighters. The Beatles have partnered with Apple Inc.’s iTunes service, ending the most prominent holdout and finally bringing one of music’s most popular catalogs to the online store. As long as the Beatles and Apple have co-existed, fans of both have wondered: when are these crazy kids finally going to get together? But the iTunes generation, comprised of those kids you bump into on the subway or the sidewalk, the ones who bounce their heads gently to a beat so as not to dislodge their earbuds, had been denied. If they wanted to hear “Dear Prudence” or “Lovely Rita,” they’d have to do so the old-fashioned way: file sharing. Searches on iTunes for AC/DC, Kid Rock, Tool, Garth Brooks, and Def Leppard will return disappointing results: karaoke and cover tracks, not material from the artists themselves. And now, 32 years later, the two are ready to do business , with Apple selling Beatles singles and albums on iTunes. That interminably long and inexplicably winding road has come to an end. AC/DC and Apple have an ideological agreement; the Australian band protests Apple’s policy that offers albums piecemeal. “My hat’s off to them. Formed about 50 years ago, the Beatles have remained a top-seller, with customers buying more than 30 million albums in the last decade, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Finally, a digital destination to discover and consume the biggest group of all time.” ‘Dancing’ semifinals prove semi-predictable Jennifer Grey’s still leading the pack, Bristol Palin is still dead last and Brooke Burke still has nothing new to add to the show. Apple last year began selling songs for 69 cents and $1.29 aside from the normal 99 cents, though album-only downloads are still discouraged. And where did they go wrong? In 2007, the company and Apple Corps Ltd., the entity that handles the Fab Four’s business affairs, settled a trademark dispute about the apple name and logo. “They truly think that they’re saving music,” the singer said in a 2009 USA Today report . Single albums cost $12.99 and double albums are priced at $19.99, Apple said.

Until we get variable pricing, until we get album-only downloads, then they are not a true retailer for my stuff, and you won’t see my stuff on there.” Multiple sources said that with meandering anthems that overlap into one another, ambient rock band Tool has the same misgivings about iTunes.

Kid Rock, whose new album “Born Free” was released Tuesday, has said he’s resistant to the pack mentality and is suspicious of anyone who tells him that he “must” be on iTunes. Yet marketing is all about drawing consumers closer to the product. You can download his full albums only from Amazon.com and the Rhapsody MP3 store. “Because I remember being a kid when I heard a song that I liked, I would jump on the bus, ride to Detroit, get a $2.50 transfer and walk a mile to the hip-hop store to buy the new Eric B. & Rakim record. That age group grew up with iPods, and they don’t go to stores to buy CDs. In 2007, Kid Rock’s sixth album “Rock ‘n’ Roll Jesus,” debuted at number one on the Billboard top 200 chart, despite its absence from iTunes.

Tool: Another group that doesn’t want its songs sold off piecemeal, the L.A.-based prog rock band has kept its music from the clutches of Apple’s online empire. EMI is in dire financial straits and trying to fend off Citigroup, to whom it owes a considerable amount money. So the Beatles on iTunes is a good move for turning on the next generation to the Beatles’ music.” Will other holdouts follow suit? Prince’s music is available from the online retailer, but he dismissed iTunes and the Internet altogether earlier this year. “The Internet’s completely over,” Prince told the Daily Mirror.

The Beatles have come to iTunes.  After a decades long back and forth between Apple (the computer company) and Apple Corps. (The Beatles’ multimedia company), the two appear to have come to an agreement. The music of The Beatles went on sale in the iTunes store Tuesday morning, FoxNews.com has confirmed.  The page selling the Fab Four’s tunes went live about 20 minutes before the official announcement at 10 a.m.

Purchasing the entire Beatles back catalogue will cost £125. “We love the Beatles and are honored and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes,? said Apple CEO   Steve Jobs in a statement. If you are one of the rare people who is both a huge fan of the group, but somehow doesn’t actually own the music, you can buy the entire back-catalog at once for $150. “We’re really excited to bring the Beatles’ music to iTunes,” said Sir Paul McCartney. The Beatles have been notable absentees from the digital music revolution, and it was initially thought that a trademark dispute between Apple Inc, the technology company, and Apple Corps, the Beatles’ label, could be to blame, though that legal wrangle was settled in 2007. Each album comes with iTunes LP, which features additional content including lyrics, photos, and album art. The update came in advance of what Apple had promised would be a 10 a.m. “It’s a symbolic milestone.” While the Beatles music has been available for four decades on vinyl, cassette, 8-track and CD, its migration to iTunes makes it more easily available to those who don’t own the songs in those other formats. Even if you don’t want to buy the White Album yet again, you should head over and spend the morning checking out the freebies. Until now, to listen to Beatles songs on iPods, a fan needed to obtain a CD and “rip” a digital version of it or find someone who already has done so. Also available are the two-volume “Past Masters” compilation and the group’s “Red” and “Blue” collections. There are enough videos to keep you distracted from work for a chunk of the day, including TV ads, a documentary of The Beatles first U.S concert at the Washington Coliseum in 1964, and a great highlight reel. Fans can also purchase individual songs and a digital box set featuring live concert film an iTunes exclusive, according to the release.

The length of that deal is unknown. Such a service would allow users to stream content over a network onto various devices, but analysts said Apple still needs to line up agreements with music labels, whom the company has repeatedly clashed with the over the years. That being the case, the past few years had seen rumor after rumor that the Beatles were finally going to arrive on iTunes. “It has been a long and winding road to get here.

“Have you ever downloaded something you were pretty sure you had somewhere else? “I am particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes,” said Ringo Starr.

Apple Premieres Movies on the iTunes Store in Japan

TOKYO—November 11, 2010—Apple® today announced that movies are now available on the iTunes Store® in Japan giving customers an incredible way to enjoy movies on their iPhone®, iPad™, iPod touch®, Mac® or PC, or with the new Apple TV® on their HD TV. Starting today, there are over 1,000 movies to rent or buy in high definition and standard definition from major international film studios including 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures and top Japanese studios including Asmik Ace Entertainment Inc., Fuji TV, Kadakowa Pictures, Nikkatsu, Shochiku Company Limited and Toei Company Limited.

With iTunes’ legendary ease of use, discovering and watching movies is as simple and easy as buying music on iTunes® has always been. Movie fans can choose from many top-rated movies in Japan, including Hollywood blockbusters such as “Toy Story 3” and “Sex and the City 2,” as well as Japanese favorites including “Ototo,” “Gekijôban Kamen Raidâ Dikeido: Ôru Raidâ tai Daishokkâ” and “Odoru Daisousasen THE MOVIE 2.”

With iTunes Movie Rentals, once a movie is rented, it starts downloading from the iTunes Store directly to iTunes or Apple TV, and users with a fast Internet connection can start viewing the movie in seconds. Customers have up to 30 days to start watching their movie, and once a movie has been started customers have 48 hours to finish it—or watch it multiple times. In addition to renting movies on the iTunes Store, many movies are available to purchase in HD and SD.

The new Apple TV started shipping in Japan this week and offers the simplest way to watch HD movies on an HD TV and users can also enjoy millions of YouTube videos, more than 200,000 podcasts, 4,000 Internet radio stations and personal photos from MobileMe? and Flickr, while music, videos and photos can be streamed from Macs and PCs. Users can control Apple TV with their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch using the Remote app, available now as a free download on the App Store?, or with the upcoming availability of AirPlay® users will be able to stream music, photos and video from their iPhone, iPad and iPod touch directly to Apple TV.

Pricing & Availability
iTunes 10 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Store and is available as a free download from www.apple.com/jp/itunes. iTunes movie purchases and rentals require a valid credit card with a billing address in Japan. iTunes HD movie purchases in Japan start at ¥2,000 for catalog titles and recent releases and ¥2,500 for new releases, and SD versions are priced at ¥1,000 for catalog titles, ¥1,500 for recent releases and ¥2,000 for new releases. iTunes HD Movie Rentals start at ¥300 for library title rentals and ¥500 for new releases, and SD versions start at ¥200 for library title rentals and ¥400 for new releases. Apple TV, which comes standard with an aluminum Apple Remote, is available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of ¥8,800. Apple TV requires an 802.11b/g/n wireless network or Ethernet network, a broadband Internet connection and a high definition TV capable of 720p.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Press Contacts:

Takashi Takebayashi
Apple
[email protected]
+81 3 5334 2430

Nao Yanagisawa
Apple
[email protected]
+81 3 5334 2430

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple?s PR website, or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iTunes Store, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, iTunes, MobileMe, App Store, AirPlay and Apple Store are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

7digital To Take On iTunes

Popular music download service 7Digital is planning to compete with Apple’s iTunes on its own turf by submitting its application for approval on the App Store.

The service, which is already available on BlackBerry and Android devices, will allow iOS users to download music on their devices, access them offline and even sync wirelessly, a feature which is yet to arrive on iTunes.

The UK-based firm also announced that it would be powering the music download service of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab Android-based tablet device.

Ben Drury, CEO of 7digital, said in a statement: “Our partnership with Samsung in the creation of the music service on the incredible new GALAXY Tab illustrates the flexibility of 7digital’s open technology and geographical reach.”

“The deep integration of our APIs within the GALAXY Tab music application, combined with our extensive catalogue of MP3 music, provides a fantastic user experience that makes it simple to discover and purchase music.”  

7Digital’s service will also feature on Toshiba’s upcoming Folio tablet device as well.

Tags: 7Digital, itunes

Apple iTunes 10

Apple’s iTunes, the default music player for over 160 million people worldwide, continues to expand with new features that give it a leg up over the competition. iTunes 10 adds Apple TV integration, 99-cent TV show rentals, Apple Airplay support, better app management, and a few cosmetic changes. The real meat of this update, however, is Ping, a Facebook-like music-oriented social network that lives inside the media player software. Whether you want another social network or not, iTunes is still the media organizer to beat.

iTunes is jammed full of extra features?far too many to detail in this review. Genius playlists and Genius mixes are a great example of this. They automatically create playlists based on song styles and moods. iTunes LP is another, giving you liner notes, photos, and video to go along with an album. Its DJ feature lets you create a live mix in which friends can make requests and vote on songs. This is in addition to what other players give you?an equalizer, Internet radio, and podcast subscriptions. See our previous reviews of iTunes for more on these features. In this review below, I’ll mainly concentrate on iTunes 10′s new features.

Setup and First Impressions
iTunes is, of course, available for Mac OS X (version 10.5 or later), as well as Windows XP (SP2 or later). If your PC is running a 64-bit version of Vista or Windows 7, you’ll need to download the separate 64-bit installer. By default, the installer makes iTunes your default player for audio files, though you can uncheck this if you also like to use Windows Media Player, Winamp, etc.

After you install the software on a Mac, a setup assistant asks you questions that help it customize your installation. The Windows version asks you whether you want to add all songs, audio, and convert and add Windows Media Audio (WMA) files. You can also have iTunes organize your library by renaming files and moving them to the folders that match. A final privacy check asks if you want the app to download album art.

After you first launch iTunes, you’re offered nine tutorials that cover topics ranging from the new Ping service to iTunes U; these offer a good, simple way to get you started with unfamiliar features. A nice new view in addition to the list, thumbnail, and Cover Flow of previous versions, called “Album List” view, shows the album art instead of repeated album titles, for a more skimmable view on your library.

Apple doesn’t add new file format support with this release, and while its companion QuickTime player does offer a good assortment of media files, you’re more likely to be able to play that difficult file in the excellent VLC (Free, ) media player, which supports over 20 video formats alone, compared with iTunes’ seven.

Ping?The Walled Music Social Network
The biggest news in iTunes 10 is the Ping music-focused social network. Ping lets you follow (in the Twitter sense) performers and other iTunes users, meaning you’ll see which songs they “liked, purchased, or commented on.” It also lets users indicate concerts they plan to attend, and offers to find you tickets, too. Really, it’s just a direct link to TicketMaster’s page for the event. The activity stream looks a lot like Facebook’s, down to the blue theme.

You’re very limited to what you can post to Ping, as compared with Facebook?no photos, links, or videos, and the lack of a Web version means that Ping lives strictly within iTunes’ walled garden. Sure, Apple claims over 160 million iTunes users as potential Pingers, but do users want to open a particular app to take part in a vertical social network, when vertical social networks have pretty much fallen by the wayside anyway? Gmail has more users than iTunes, but Google Buzz is still having trouble getting off the ground.

Privacy is well handled in Ping. You can choose to manually designate which actions to share with your followers, require your approval before anyone can follow you, or not allow others to follow you, if you just want to see what other musicians and fans are up to. If someone you want to follow has protected their posts, you’ll get a request-to-follow message box.

A few other drawbacks are that you must use your full name on your Ping page, you can’t see “friends”‘ libraries (let alone stream them), and there’s no way to find Ping friends from Facebook or Twitter. In the end, Ping seems more of a marketing tool than a social network, with nearly every post including a buy link. Web-based alternatives like Last.fm (Free, ) actually let you listen to your contact’s music in full, rather than just the first 30 seconds iTunes’ preview restrict you to. That way you can just buy your MP3 from Amazon.com or whatever other online store you like and still have it noted in your social music net. Ping is a decent service?but whether or not it succeeds will depend on the extent to which iTunes’ vast pool of users adopts it. For more on Apple’s new social network, read my Apple iTunes Ping: Hands On.

Apple TV Support
If you buy one of the new Apple TV devices, you’ll need iTunes running on a Mac or PC so that saved content can play through it. But even if you don’t have an Apple TV, you can still take part in the 99 cent TV show rentals, and even play them on your big-screen TV with the right connectors (preferably HDMI). But when I tried this with a middling power Windows 7 laptop (2.6-GHz Core 2 Duo with 3GB RAM and Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS graphics), the 720p HD size stuttered in playback. On a better desktop machine, the playback was smooth and sharp?though not quite Blu-ray sharp, of course.

The selection of TV shows was pretty rich, including HBO hits like Curb Your Enthusiasm and British imports like Skins. You just can’t this depth of content choice in Windows Media Center. And the same goes for music?the iTunes store is well organized and massively stocked. I only wish previews transcended the 30 second limit, as was speculated before this version release. Another ding that we seem to repeat every review is the lack of a subscription music service, like that offered by Zune and Rhapsody.

AirPlay
AirPlay is Apple’s answer to Windows 7′s Play To feature, which lets you stream music to other compatible audio devices in the home. Unfortunately, I was unable to test AirPlay, since the devices it works with are not yet available. By comparison, there are already over 8,000 devices on the market compatible with DLNA, the open standard used by Windows Play To. What’s more, DLNA can handle video streaming and photos, which will require an Apple TV to work with iTunes’ AirPlay. Apple’s iTunes mini-site suggests that deals with the consumer electronics makers are in place, however: “AirPlay wireless technology will be fully integrated into speaker docks, AV receivers, and stereo systems from companies such as Bowers & Wilkins and Denon.”

Simpler Syncing
When I synced the iPhone to my MacBook, iTunes 10 did a couple of things better: it displayed a clear bar indicator of how much memory was being used by songs, images, and apps. iTunes let me drag any of my 99 apps to any iPhone screen from within the app, and disable or enable them. It definitely makes iPhone apps more pleasant to work with in iTunes. But I still wish you could simply plug any iDevice into any computer with iTunes and drag a few songs back and forth, especially now that all music you buy is DRM-free. The ability to sync an iDevice with more than one PC and more easily switch users would also be welcome.

Should you Ping iTunes 10?
When it comes to CD ripping, music organization, and playback, Windows Media Player is just as good as iTunes, but iTunes adds goodies like Genius, DJ, and using an iPhone as a remote. Windows Media Player does have the advantage of letting you Play To a lot of existing devices and can make your media accessible over the Internet. And as far as playing the most types of media, don’t forget the free VLC. But it’s really all of iTunes’ extras and Apple’s enormous content offerings, particularly HD video content, which hurdles it past the competition and earns it our Editors’ Choice.

More Music Software Reviews:
?   VLC media player 1.0.5
?   Zune Marketplace (September 2009)
?   Napster (Spring 2009)
?   Winamp 5.55
?   Last.fm (Winter 2009)
?   more

Ping Is Apple’s iTunes For Everything

What do you get when you connect your customers to each other? If the customers like your product (and I’d say 10 billions songs sold shows definite positive bias) you get more sales. This echo chamber is what everyone – from Facebook on down – is trying to create and while I don’t believe Apple will pull it off, I think Ping is the first step in the right direction for online sales.

First, take a gander at what El Gruber has to say about Ping. He notes: “One way or another, though, if Ping proves popular, it shouldn’t remain focused solely on music.” He comes at the Ping question from a usability standpoint – shouldn’t there be a separate Ping app? Something completely disconnected from iTunes? In this way, Apple can add books, movies, apps, and the like to Ping and separate it from the lump of code called iTunes.

Ping isn’t perfect. I’m surprised its so clunky right now. However, it does point to better things down the road.

While Apple’s decision to stick Ping into the iTunes app is fairly elementary – it essentially traps users into the Ping way of thinking and when they see the tab they become curious, potentially signing up (I’m john at crunchgear dot com, BTW. Add me. I’d like to see what music you all like) – what we are really seeing is the first social shopping app that disguises itself as a social network inside a dedicate istore. It’s very meta.

Apple is great at co-opting concepts and tweaking them to maintain allegiance to their products. Take Genius Mixes, for example. Genius Mixes are, in short, a sort of Internet radio for non-connected devices. Genius Mixes constitute themselves out of your own music, some of which you probably haven’t listened to in months or years, and give you a new way of “discovering” artists. Genius Mixes work best on big libraries and where do those libraries come from? iTunes purchases or CD ripping or, dare I say it, piracy. But once Genius digs Cory Chisel out of your library to remind you that you like soulful singer-songwriters, you could go back to iTunes and buy more goodies. That’s the thinking, anyway.

But it’s easy to see the problem with Genius Mixes – they never send you back to iTunes. Instead, you orbit around your own collection. But along comes Ping and you’re now depending on friends for your new music discovery from within Ping and now Apple is guaranteed a sale.

So extrapolate a little and we see Ping for Apps, Ping for Books, Ping for Laptops, Ping for… Shoes? Perfume? Monkey Chow? I think the thought experiment here is how Apple can expand the Ping concept to other products and then how competitors can create similar networks around already existing sales systems. Note that Ping is bolted onto an e-store and not the other way around.

I doubt Apple will start selling monkey chow, but I’m sure its in someone’s interest to grab iTunes customers as quickly as possible. Could we see Katy Perry’s candy bustier for sale next to her latest hit? I dread the thought, but welcome the opportunity to see how many of my friends buy one.

Comments are kind of dead right now, so feel free to tweet your comment with hashtag #pingit

Live Nation Gains; Powers New Concert Listings In Apple iTunes
By Eric Savitz

Live Nation (LYV) shares got a lift in Wednesday’s regular session from news that the company is providing the concert listings that are now being included on the Apple (AAPL) iTunes music service.

“We are thrilled to power the concert listings feature on iTunes and deliver this new and simple way for millions of iTunes users to purchase concert tickets at Livenation.com and Ticketmaster.com,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said in a statement. “Our partnership with Apple is a key part of our strategy to empower fans with the greatest access to live entertainment.”

LYV today jumped 62 cents, or 7.2%, to $9.26.

Los Angeles rock band The 88 are excited to announce the upcoming release of their new album, simply titled The 88 on 88 Records, via Rocket Science, which will be available exclusively through iTunes for two weeks starting September 14. The record will be available at retail and through all digital Read more below

Source

Licensing Proving Troublesome For Cloud-Based iTunes? [Apple Rumored To Be …

When digital music downloading was first made available through illegall venues like Napster, it was a godsend. Prior to these times people had never experienced what it had felt like to acquire music quickly and efficiently from the comfort of the own home. Sure, some users were slapped with some hefty lawsuits and the service saw its demise only to be reopened later as a legal service but there’s no question about it: Napster dropped us into the high paced digital downloading society that we’ve come to know and love today.

Back then, downloading MP3s was a perfectly fine alternative to buying physical CDs. Like I said about it was face, efficient and above all, easy. However, not a days with so many devices all featuring their own storage drives, keeping everything in sync ash proven itself to be a bit troublesome. Lucky for us cloud based music services like Pandora and LaLa have emerged to give us on-the-go music consuming folk easy way to consume our music.

While Napster rules the airwaves back in the day, Apple’s iTunes has enjoyed the top spot in terms of virtual music sales for quite some time now. This can largely be attributed to the fact that Apple’s entire lineup of iDevices (iPad, iPod, iPhone) feature out of the box compatibility with iTunes.

If you’ll remember, not too long ago we let you in on some rumors that after acquiring streaming music website LaLa, Apple would go on to create a cloud-based iTunes. This would allow users to not only stream songs (for a price, presumably) but also sync up their entire line of devices wirelessly making it much less of a hassle.

Well, while this rmor hsa yet to be confirmed we have some additional information regarding its release. Apparantly, the reason we have yet to see a cloud-based iTunes is due to some licensing issues that have come up between Apple and those who own the music.

Let’s hope they get this sorted out soon as syncing by iPod’s music library over WiFi would be quite useful. What are your views on the matter? Would you use a cloud-based iTunes? Let us know.