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iTunes Radio now rolling out in iTunes 11.1 update, brings Spotify-like streaming to the desktop
The release of iOS 7 is undoubtedly the big Apple news of the day, but there's another new product rolling out with it as well: iTunes Radio. The Spotify-like feature, which was announced during Apple's iPhone event last week, is part of the new iTunes 11.1 and allows users to create custom radio stations based on their personal music libraries or musical proclivities (e.g., genre, artists, track, etc.). Naturally, the service, like its competitors, is freemium, so you'll have to pony up $25/year for iTunes Match in order to keep the hits coming sans advertisements. The update should be hitting all Macs running OS X 10.6.8 and up now, so while you're frantically hitting refresh on that iOS update, you may as well check for this -- or head to the source below for the download link.
iTunes 11.0.3 released with enhanced MiniPlayer, multi-disc albums
Cutting through all the Google I/O news is this update from Apple: today, Cupertino released iTunes version 11.0.3. This isn't just an incremental refresh, as several new features are on board, including an improved Songs View and the ability to view multi-disc albums as a single album. The update also brings enhancements to the MiniPlayer, such as a new album artwork view and a progress bar. Of course, those changes are accompanied by the usual performance improvements and bug fixes. You can get iTunes 11.0.3 now through Software Update.
iTunes Match rolls out to international community, makes music lovers flinch
Thought you'd have to wait until 2012 to snag an international iTunes Match account? Think again. It seems Apple ended its negotiations with British record companies earlier than expected, as the outfit prematurely launched the music matching service on Wednesday, pulled it and refunded early subscribers, and finally relaunched a fully functional Match to the international community on Thursday. Users from the UK, Australia, Canada, France, the Czech Republic and other countries are now reporting that the service is live, appearing in the iTunes Store and fully functional. If the US rollout was a little late, we certainly don't mind the international debuting a tad early.
iTunes Match goes live: sync up your entire music collection for $24.99 a year
It's a tad later than Apple's original "end of October" launch window, but the company has now officially rolled out its iTunes Match service to everyone with the iTunes 10.5.1 update. That will let you sync up your entire music collection with iCloud -- including songs and albums you've ripped from CDs -- which you can then listen to on any compatible device (i.e. an Apple device or a Windows PC with iTunes). In the case of songs already offered through iTunes, your music will simply be matched up with the tracks already available, and anything not offered will be uploaded, with everything offered in the usual DRM-free 256kbps AAC files. As expected, that convenience comes at a cost -- the service will run you $24.99 a year. You're also limited to 25,000 songs, although iTunes purchases don't count against that limit. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Apple releases iTunes 10.1.2 with support for 'CDMA model' iPhone 4
The description in Software Update may only say that it brings a "number of important stability and performance improvements," but Apple's just-released iTunes 10.1.2 update also adds another fairly important feature: support for the Verizon iPhone 4. That detail is tucked away in the "before you install" document included when you download iTunes from Apple's website (rather than Software Update), and actually only refers to the "iPhone 4 (CDMA model)," which you can read into what you will.
Moment of Truth: iPhone Software 1.1.1 is out
Earlier in the week, Apple's press release about how future software updates might well brick SIM-unlocked iPhones lit something of a fire - especially as the release stated "Apple plans to release the next iPhone software update, containing many new features including the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, later this week."It's now later in the week, and the moment of truth for those who chose to unlock their SIMs, as the 152MB v1.1.1 update is now available via the iTunes Auto-Update. If you were one of the adventurous ones, the general consensus is to hold off from upgrading as the iPhone Dev Team have promised a re-locking tool within a week that should prevent your iPhone becoming an overpriced paperweight and allow you to enjoy the new iTunes Wi-Fi Store (and more) on your iPhone.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Will we see iTunes 7 tomorrow?
The rumors are swirling, as they always do before his Steveness mounts a stage. Tomorrow, in case you aren't completely Apple obsessed, Apple is hosting a special event titled "Showtime" in San Francisco. The media has been invited, the rumormills are churning, and the Apple faithful are in a tizzy.We've heard a lot about movies in iTunes, and other rumors, but one thing that hasn't been mentioned is the possibility of iTunes 7. Apple launched iTunes 6 almost 11 months ago to the day of this event. Remember what the big feature of iTunes 6 was? That's right, TV shows in the iTunes Music Store.If I were a betting man I would put money on iTunes 7 making a debut tomorrow. Please note that I have no insider information, I'm just looking at the available facts and building a theory.So, if this does come to pass what features would you like to see in iTunes 7? I, personally, don't need any whizbang features, I would just like video playback to be improved.
