The Boy Genius Report recently posted up another series of screenshots supposedly from the upcoming iTunes 9 release that's coming down the pike. The part most people are noticing is that it will integrate social media like Facebook, but Philip Berne of infoSync just made the smartest Tweet I've seen today:
People are burying the lede on this iTunes 9 story. The big news, if true, is 3rd party device support. If you can't beat 'em, sync 'em.
Yes indeedy - the screenshot you see above from BGR shows a "Samsung YH-J70JL Black" as a full on device within iTunes. That would be a Samsung MP3 Player and we can't help but notice that it's not an iPod.
Of course, the history of the Palm Pre and iTunes is storied, to say the least, but the latest round included Palm's complaint to the USB-IF about Apple's policies of blocking USB devices by Vendor ID. That goes against the policy of openness surrounding the USB spec, but Palm is of course not pure in this situation either as they're spoofing Apple's own vendor ID on the Pre. The full story is here, if you're interested.
It obviously goes against every assumption we have had about Apple to assume that they'd buckle to the USB -IF and Palm by opening up iTunes as a result of Palm's letter. Maybe the fact that iTunes is now responsible for 25% of all US music sales has Apple feeling magnanimous. Either way, if this pans out, we're going to chalk it up as a big win for Palm, even if it's not fair to say they're directly responsible for it.
Update: MacRumors has an update: "We have good reason to believe these screenshots are fake." More if/when we get it.
Comments
you know they will take credit for giving us peons this feature.
*picking jaw up from the floor*
Can we get some Dieter verification on this epicness? I'm not one to get 100% behind BGR. Ever.
palm 1 apple 0
How is this a win for Palm?
Think of how much more money Apple is going to make in additional music sales...
apple makes their money on hardware, not songs, this is one reasons they didnt allow 3rd party hardware to hook directly into itunes.
its a win for palm because this is one less speed bump from ppl getting a pre, now they can "easily" put their music on a pre.
i wonder if palm gets a cut from amazon for the mp3 ppl buy through the pre.
I'm convinced... go Palm
There is limited margin on hardware as Apple pushes into the mainstream. Content is automated and lacks exposure, this is a big boon for Apple to pick up more users for Itunes. Its just money flooding in the front door with no effort expended. If there is little money in song downloads, why in the world would Amazon give Palm a cut. Get your logic straight before giving others business lessons.
Are you kidding? Yes they make hardware money but they charge a dollar per song. The make millions on those downloads. Only part of that goes to the label/artist and the rest goes to Apple. Do you think it costs that much to host this stuff? Sure, it costs money but Apple really has been raking it in since the launch of the ITMS.
Also, fuck em. A selling point of the Pre is that it is not locked into that glorified shopping cart. Get Doubletwist or some good program that is designed to work with everything, not just those with one company's blessing.
Because iTunes is a barrier to entry of switching from iPhone to Pre with a huge iTunes library. An official support for this will eliminate this barrier once and for all.
doubletwist
Maybe Apple will license out that third-party access - pay their per-unit fee, get official access.
Or maybe this is another junk rumor.
Too bad (for Apple) that, due to the last time they broke the Pre iTunes sync, I just finished converting my DRM music from iTunes to mp3 just last night. I have no further use for Cupertino.
I would imagine Apple's Itunes resistance was giving momentum to efforts to circumvent their software (like Doubletwist) and threatening their stores growth potential down the road.
With out Palm they wouldnt be doing this. Go Palm!
You're an 1D10T .. These are faked screen shots. Don't "buy" something as news just because the website says "Palm" and "Pre" on it's front door . LMAO
This is going to be funny, because if iTunes does this it will go down in the books that Apple folded because of Palm.
I'm glad you folks don't have iPhones. I wish Apple/iTunes could limit your introduction of DNA into the gene pool.
These are FAKED screen shots. This has been proven! LMAO
Apple won't fold .. Palm will "fold" because of Palm
Taking down "the man"! Power to the people!
Hmm I see this as a win for palm because apple didn't want to play this epic game of cat and mouse. So we win
My concern is the fact that when I transfer music from itunes to my pre or into songbird the artwork is always screwed up or missing all together. If this is not fixed I don't see the point in going back to apple. But agreed, it's nice to see palm win a battle with a giant.
I'll believe it when Apple releases iTunes 9. A lot can still happen before then.
It's most likely a fake screenshot:
http://www.macrumors.com/2009/08/19/more-purported-itunes-9-screenshots-...
Rajiv
Perhaps it's time for precentral to "update" their article.
Maybe, maybe not. The source of the screenshots has already responded, and there doesn't seem to be a source for the "proof" that it's a fake. Also, keep in mind that the "proof" offered in the thread that it's a fake -- the ability to rip DVDs -- doesn't really prove anything, if the DVD and iTunes were both released for the U.K.
Well, it will be interesting to see what actually pans out.... but until then.... :-D GO PALM !!!! :-D ♥ LOVE YOU PALM ♥
-Silversuperman
- plus it will give us something to talk about on Monday during the next palm cast! - ;-P
I am waiting for Apple to introducing special discounts for IPOD, ITOUCH, and IPHONE only users.
They can't do that. They will became sued if they do that.
Why? How? Who's going to sue? What is the law being broken? Apple users can be a club with a discount being a club privilege.
I'd not pop the party booze out just yet... until iTunes 9 releases. Several posts on other sites are saying these screenshots are faked. /sigh
Apple may have done for several reasons, but niceness to Palm wasn't one of them. Let's see hmmm:
1) To avoid a regulatory agency in the EU or somewhere else in the world, or the DoJ in the US from harassing them about it and causing way more trouble than simply adding limited 3rd party device support (e.g. Microsoft with IE)
2) To avoid more bad press from Palm's tantrums or to avoid bad press if they accidentally screwed a device pretending to be an ipod
3) Because they don't consider Palm a threat to their hardware sales anymore
4) Steve Jobs saw Palm's ads on TV, called a board meeting and decided to cut Palm some slack
5) Because there are other related or unrelated legal / trademark issues that could turn this whole situation ugly for both companies if this escalated
6) Because the ipod is synonymous with portable music players; its a household name and 3rd party device support wont dent any its sales
as nelson from the simpson would say....HA-HA.
isnt it funny how Apple zealots take time out of their day to troll this website?
if that doesnt reek of insecurity then i dont know what does.
I'm not a zealot .. I come here for pure humor. Pre users make some of the funniest comments ever .. rah rah sis boom bah .. take down the man, Palm! Apple won't give us credit for this .. and so on.
These screen shots of "9" are faked - pure and simple. Pre users will still be waiting for ..... name your poison.
These screen shots of "9" are faked - pure and simple. Pre users will still be waiting for ..... name your poison.
What makes you so sure about that? The only plausible evidence I've seen presented concerns DVD ripping in iTunes 9, and the inclusion of DVD ripping is pretty easy to explain away. There are several different scenarios which would allow DVD ripping:
1) The first, and most obvious, is that the screenshot is from the UK version of iTunes. In this case, the DCMA wouldn't come into play, as any U.S. laws would be inapplicable.
2) The iTunes software with the DVD ripping could be Mac-only. That would probably render the DMCA moot, as you wouldn't need to circumvent the copy-protection (at least, on the Simpsons DVD) to copy the disc. The copy protection on that DVD is Windows-based.
3) Apple could design iTunes to only rip DVDs without copy-protection technology. Want to make a copy of your trip to Cancun on iTunes 9? Go for it. Want to make a copy of your Batman Begins DVD? Uh, no.
I would assume that option #3 is off the table, considering the fact that the Simpsons DVD (which does have copy-protection) is the one used in the screenshots. That wouldn't necessarily prevent Apple from saying that their intention is only to allow copying of unprotected DVDs, though.
As far as the whole syncing with third-party media devices goes, I don't see that as an impossibility, either. If Apple changes the way iTunes blocks other players using the USB-IF (e.g., by blocking by PID, rather than VID), they run something of a risk of creating incompatibilities where they don't want them. As others have noted, it could also be a legal problem for them. When the DOJ is already investigating your activities, why tempt fate? They might simply have decided it's easier to give in and increase the iTunes Store revenue than to fight a battle they'll lose eventually, one way or the other. Either they would have to open up to third-party syncing, or they would be subjected to the same hack by other vendors (and even consumers, if the firmware for their devices was open enough to do it).
I really see this as something that Apple has little choice in, in the long run.
People are still buying individual songs for 99 cents each? Weak.
Yes .. and people are still ripping their CDs into a nice application that their hardware developer developed just for them. Is Amazon allowing you to rip your music to their servers now?
If this is true, Palm won't be so special anymore. Sure it'll make things easier for them, but they won't really be able to advertise the hack anymore.
If this is true, Palm won't be so special anymore. Sure it'll make things easier for them, but they won't really be able to advertise the hack anymore.
Sure, I guess you could look at it that way, but I think that's downplaying the importance, for Palm and for Apple.
For Palm, it would mean acces to iTunes, free and clear, with no (or, at least, very little) chance that the solution would break in further updates to iTunes. This leaves them free to more fully develop the rest of the OS. (Granted, I think the whole iTunes sync thing was a major distraction for Palm that they should've never gotten into in the first place, but this at least removes that distraction.)
For Apple, this is probably more of a mixed bag. It potentially innoculates them from antitrust/anti-competition attacks, and that's good for them. It also allows them to get more people into the iTunes Music Store, which is also a plus. If they open up iTunes to everyone, the music part of their business might start paying for itself, which, to the best of my understanding, it doesn't now.
On the other hand, what iTunes giveth with one hand, it taketh away with the other. There's some chance that opening up iTunes to other players will take the shine off of the iPhone/iPod halo.
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