Apple says iTunes syncing only for Apple devices, looks sternly at Palm
By Nilay Patel 
posted June 16th 2009 8:08PM
posted June 16th 2009 8:08PM
Apple does not provide support for, or test for compatibility with, non-Apple digital media players and, because software changes over time, newer versions of Apple's iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players.Here's where it gets interesting: since the Pre identifies itself to iTunes as a bog-standard iPod, Apple would have to actively code in a USB node check to actually block syncing, which is just a little bit more aggressive than the "software changes over time" mentioned here. We'll see if Apple decides to engage in a cat-and-mouse with a company now run by the former head of the iPod division -- we've got a feeling this could get messy.
[Via Daring Fireball]
bring it crApple!
hehehehehehe love it ;)
Wow, how creative. Did you think of M$ too?
So Nilay is like Gizmodo's Jesus Diaz. The resident Apple wire services monitor. There isn't a bowel movement at 1 infinite loop not newsworthy enough.
Work on your own software Palm!
Well Apple can show good example by removing iPhone Exchange and OSX bootcamp.
Apple...you first!
We used to call it that in 1983 when the "flame wars" on BBSs were for Commodore 64 vs Apple IIe
@Walt,
I hated those smarmy C64 users with the Sprite graphics... APPLE //e forever. Why did they hobble the //gs... WHY?
Isnt that what they always say?
OMG, Palm just opened Pandora's box. But, its not an iPod, not using the iPod name or intelletual property of Apple nor is it using Apple code so i say it's pretty fair game.
Wouldn't it be a shame if iTunes accidently wipes Palm Pre devices that connect.
Would it be a shame when Apple gets sued for destructing/losing the property of 1,000's of users?
Wouldn't it be a shame if we all just got along?
NO!
Apple is just pissed that other products on the market rival theirs and also have more compatibility.
Here's an idea. Why doesn't palm just build a good competitor to iTunes? This is something every other company seems to be missing and where Apple excels. I was using iTunes for years before I ever bought an iPod. How many people can say the same thing about a lot of the crap software companies bundle with devices.
@Michael:
Two words:
iTunes Store.
iTunes has enormous amounts of traction. Palm doesn't want to get into the desktop music library/store business.
Everyone already has iPods and iTunes. Palm is never going to eclipse that with a smartphone.
Here's an idea. So long as Palm, or anyone else, isn't infringing on any intellectual property... why can't people use the hardware and software that they want to use??? Why is it right that there is any lock in between iTunes and specific hardware? Obviously, not the DRM stuff. But for DRM free... why not?
Hahhaha Springboard phail. Apple's upset their OS is garbage compared to Android and especially WebOS
@Jon
The world isn't ending tomorrow. People don't have to make their final choices right now. The game isn't over. It will never be over. Who knows, 20 years from now Palm could be as big as Microsoft and Apple could be a dying company. Things change. Just because someone has the market cornered right now doesn't mean someone else shouldn't try.
The Pre is a great start and shows that palm has some ideas and can make a decent competitive product. Maybe they could carry that same fight over to PMP's or even laptop/desktop computers.
@Michael: Palm needs to leech from the iTunes Store for now as they are lacking resources to build their own one for a little while. Rubinstein did say it'll be a long road ahead for Palm before it fully recovers.
Palm can do this because apple is using some of its patents in a round about way, trust me apple doesn't want to go this route
No biyatches allowed to leech from iTunes. Keep it strictly for the elite crowd of iPhone and iPod users. Palm Pre users should not be allowed to suck Apple's juice unless Palm pays Apple a percentage. Go hook yer Pres up to Windows Media Player or something.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Next thing you know, Palm will be trying to stick a mirror-image Apple logo on it's products just to fool people into thinking Palm products are somewhat Mac compatible.
Apple should do something simple to discourage Pre iTunes leeching like making the Pre play all the tracks in reverse or inserting voice-over on each track announcing the Pre is an unauthorized device or maybe just lopping ten seconds randomly off each track.
If by leech from iTunes you mean give Apple more money.
Yeah, I'm sure that's what you meant.
It doesn't matter how malicious apple is being its their product and they certainly shouldn't support competitors.
If I were them I'd allow syncing but make it completely wonky, like copy 5 copies of every song over, or make volume way too loud.
It's so rude of palm to think they can use Apple's software and get away with it.
lol @ blurmagic. yeah 1,000 users is about accurate
well, if you ever read those EULA's that everyone agrees to, there is a specific line in pretty much every single one that says, basically, "we are not responsible for your data, and you can't sue us if it gets erased. Even if it's our fault"
Add on top of that the fact that the Pre is "unsupported" hardware, and Apple could technically wipe the Pre clean, including the Operating System, and there's nothing anyone could do about it.
Of course, that would be P.R. suicide, but it could be done.
The thing that is probably pissing apple off is that itunes is one of the biggest selling points for the ipod. It makes purchasing and transfering music easy for even non technically inclined people. So by allowing its competators to sync with itunes, they are making it easier for people to switch away from apple hardware and pick up something like the pre.So, based on this explanation, I wouldn't be surprised at all if apple were to disable pre syncing in itunes.
I'm going to assume most of you are forgetting that Apple has a legal obligation to keep tight wraps on songs, videos, and other things that have DRM. If they are being synced with a non-Apple device, they have no way to insure that the device is breaking the DRM. Apple itself could be sued if they don't patch up the problem.
@Lazarpander Stop being an idiot. They identify the Pre as an iPod, iTunes thinks its an iPod, there is no harm done to anyone except Apple worshippers who believe this is some sort of sacrilege.
@John It can't sync DRM'd music because Palm didn't try to reverse engineer anything related to fairplay. It will just copy non DRM'd music to the Pre, so this is not a problem.
Holy crap people. Stop jumping to conclusions. Nowhere does it say "We will not allow unauthorized third-parties to interface with our software."
Apple's quote suggests that although the Pre is compatible with the syncing features of iTunes, they will not help out users who can't get it to work properly, nor will they attempt to make sure things will always work properly in the future.
Now if Windows would only block iTunes ...
They have to say that - otherwise some Palm Pre users will sue them when compatibility breaks.
That said, if the Pre behaves like an older iPod, Apple will have to keep supporting it - I don't think Apple will force users to update iPod firmware. As long as Apple doesn't break compatibility with older iPods, Pre should be safe.
If Apple did actually block it, couldn't they be sued for anti-competition and trying to keep a monopoly with their closed ecosystem?
I mean, not actively supporting it is one thing, but actively blocking attempted at making compatible devices, that must be bordering illegal.
why does the pre want to be an iphone so bad? .. get your own application
@ BlurMagic
havent you ever read the terms of sale and terms of service for apple products ... "not responsible for data loss" but you can try to sue if you want the army of lawyers
Where's the European commission when u need them?
Yeah I'm First!
So Palm Pre iTunes Sync may not work later?
Either you were not taught the meaning of the word "First" or you have some major network latency issues...
Either way, FAIL!!!
yeah you will be the first that will fade away !!!
I dont see the need to sync my pre with itunes anyways,
If you sync your Pre with iTunes, and then get a new computer, does the new iTunes try to delete all of your stuff just like it would off of an iPod?
@alex itunes interacts with the pre exactly as if it were interacting with an older model ipod...
for my own contribution: apples not going to cut off those potential music sales... but they are just giving themselves lee-way if they botch something up and it no longer works. apple wants zero responsibility to support those devices and customers
when you move to a new computer, just copy the iTunes folder and put it at the folder on the new computer, will work as if nothing has changed! You just have to tell iTunes where to find the Music on the new Computer.
AS for syncing with pre, just don't update your iTunes... easy as that.
Maybe Apple can just make it part of the software licensing agreement (the thing that you always click yes to) that you don't use deception to sync a device with the software, i.e. devices have to be identified as what they really are. Then Palm would be in violation of the software licensing terms or at least be instructing others to violate the terms.
Well the Pre itself isn't going to iTunes and saying, hi my name is iPod. It's just some "shear coincidence" that iTunes is thinking its an iPod :D Ha, good for Palm to stick it to the big A.
Actually, the Pre IS going out and saying it's an iPod. It's using the vendor and product ID's of a real iPod to fool iTunes into syncing. Meanwhile, it's not like this is an open standard they're using - it's reverse engineered, and quite likely to break as Apple further upgrades the platform.
No, iTunes syncing was a bad, bad idea on Palm's part.
If apple is reading this and they saw that, we could be in trouble!
You want vendor and product ID's, look in the Details tab in your Device Properties window when you view a device in Device Manager, public VID and PID's galore.
i can sync my nokia with iTunes. [it thinks its a shuffle]
Really? What model is your Nokia phone?