Sony and Apple, what could have been…

A Japanese newspaper is reporting that Apple CEO Stevie Jobs offered Sony CEO Noboyuki Idei a chance to get in on the iTunes Music Store at a game of golf in Hawaii this past January. No joke, it could have been the Walkman iTunes Music Store, and you get one guess at who turned it down. So, of course, instead Sony turns around and launches Sony Connect, their music download service that only serves up ATRAC3 files (surprised?). While we're totally sure this business decision had a lot to do with the proprietary format clash that would have ensued (Apple and AAC vs. Sony and ATRAC3 is one brawl we wouldn't want to see go down), we can't say we're not surprised. Seriously Sony, this is getting
real old now.

[Thanks, Lars]