iTunes Store
Latest
Apple lists top iPhone, iPad apps of 2010
As we reported earlier, Apple has highlighted the best of iTunes from 2010. Their showcase reveals their picks for the best movies, music, podcasts, audio books and apps for the last 12 months. For those of you who don't want to scroll through iTunes' rather cumbersome app navigation system, BoyGeniusReports has compiled easy to read lists of the top ten iPhone/iPod touch apps in the "free," "paid" and "grossing" categories, as well as the top ten iPad apps in the same categories. Unsurprisingly, some version of Angry Birds showed up in all but one of the six categories. Catch the full lists after the break and, once you've seen them, tell us in the comments how you think they match your top apps. Did Apple leave any stellar apps out?
HD Movies hit iTunes UK
Good news for Apple fans in the UK: Apple has finally added HD movies to the iTunes store. The selection seems to be rather limited for now. MacRumors notes that Twilight is among the more high-profile selections. Pricing works like this: movies that sell for £9.99 in standard definition are £12.99 in HD, while those priced at £6.99 for SD are selling for £7.99 in HD. Until now, HD movies were only available to rent in the UK. The Japanese market only received movies in iTunes last month (SD and HD) while in the U.S., Apple added HD movies to the iTunes Store in March of 2009.
The ballad of the Beatles and iTunes (and EMI, too)
After decades of bickering that's nearly as infamous as the Beatles' breakup, the actual deal that finally united Apple, Inc., Apple Corps and EMI was hammered out in July, the Wall Street Journal reported today. We touched lightly on this history yesterday, but the WSJ outlined the exact route that EMI and Apple Corps navigated since this summer to reach an agreement, which was then brought to Apple. In Cupertino, Apple began quietly reserving ad space in major publications with only the reassurance that they would deliver the ads to make press time. Meanwhile, Billboard magazine -- as reported via MacRumors -- revealed that much of the issue post-lawsuit wasn't between Apple Corps and Apple, Inc,, but rather Apple Corps and EMI. Apple and Google vied to be the first to host the Beatles, with rumors of Apple paying a "substantial advance" to EMI floating around. Regardless, Apple won the race and the Beatles now dominate the iTunes charts ... though none of the albums have yet to surpass the latest Glee album on the charts. The Beatles remain exclusive to Apple until at least January of 2011, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the digital tracks on Amazon shortly after it runs out.
The Beatles invade iTunes charts within 12 hours
It's been just over 24 hours since the release of The Beatles' complete back catalogue on iTunes and they are already dominating the album charts in a rather unusual way. In fact, as reported by MacObserver, within 12 hours of availability The Beatles had 15 albums placed in the Top 40 best-selling albums chart and 17 albums in the Top 100. That's a lot of albums to have in the Top 100 at any one time, let alone the Top 40. As of this writing, the numbers are even more impressive. The Beatles now have three of the top ten albums (Abbey Road is at number seven) and 16 of the top 50. Apple announced the release shortly before 10 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday morning, after a full-page takeover tease was displayed at Apple.com on Monday. Some have felt a tad let down by the announcement, following the hype and speculation that ensued after the tease appeared. However, ifoAppleStore.com notes that Apple is making the most of the announcement in its retail stores across the U.S. and Canada. Apple staff are being issued special name tag lanyards with the slogan "The Beatles. Now on iTunes" with the Abbey Road album cover just below it. The name of the staff member is printed just below that. Also, high-profile Apple Stores are replacing their current window displays with special Beatles promotional presentations. Other stores will replace the current FaceTime display with a picture of The Beatles looking out at shoppers.
WSJ: Apple bringing Beatles to iTunes after a seven year wait
It's not like The Beatles are lacking in legacy and cultural saturation, but we have to lament the generation of kids that have yet to hear the Fab Four in album form -- at least, in legally-obtained album form -- thanks to the group's conspicuous absence from the largest music retailer in the US . Now, a mere seven and a half years after Apple launched the iTunes store, with countless hopeful rumors in-between, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that The Beatles catalog is a lock for tomorrow's iTunes announcement. This is according to WSJ's "people familiar with the matter," and matches with what Billboard calls "the best bet" from what it's managed to scrounge up. Even with such an imminent announcement, WSJ's sources warn that plans could change at the last minute, and that the talks between Apple, Beatles reps, and EMI were taking place as recently as last week. Still, we just have to believe this is going to happen, cross our fingers, and wear our lucky socks tomorrow -- because really, who wants to wait another seven years?
Ping now available on iPad
iPad users may have to wait a little longer than they'd like for features like multitasking and folder support, but at least one new feature is available right now: the iPad now supports Ping, Apple's stab at a social media component to the iTunes Store. Via an update to the iTunes Store's servers, Ping functionality is now available in the iTunes app on the iPad. You'll find all the usual Ping features in a tab on the iPad's iTunes app: who you're following, who follows you, and so forth. Just like when Ping came to the iPhone in early September, there's nothing you need to do or download in order to get Ping working on the iPad other than open the iTunes app. For some of us, Ping is a somewhat more enjoyable experience on the iPhone than on the Mac, and the same may be true of the iPad. Let us know in the comments how it works for you, and if this makes you more likely to actually use Ping.
Apple TV ready to launch in Taiwan, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Portugal, and Belgium
9to5 Mac speculates that the second generation Apple TV is set to launch in Taiwan, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Portugal, and Belgium tomorrow morning. Last night, the night before the second gen Apple TV went on sale in Italy and Switzerland today, anyone who clicked on the original Apple TV link on the country's Apple Online Store were taken to an error message. Today, that error message is being replicated in the Apple Online Stores of Taiwan, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Portugal, and Belgium when shoppers click on the same Apple TV link. While this does seem to signify that the new Apple TV is set for imminent release in seven new countries, it's unknown if HD movie and TV rentals will appear in those countries' Apple TV iTunes store. We'll keep an eye out for official news that Apple TV is ready to launch elsewhere, and let you know when we hear more.
Twitter adds Ping functionality to user pages
Earlier today, Twitter announced that it has integrated Apple's Ping into users' home pages. Now, Twitter users can view each others' Ping activity, listen to song previews and link to/purchase music from iTunes directly from tweets posted to Twitter.com. Here's how it works: First, log into your Ping account and click the new "Connect to Twitter" button. A window pops up requesting your Twitter credentials. You'll receive a confirmation and a list of Twitter contacts who have also enabled Ping sharing. Then you're done! The new Ping information will show up at Twitter.com for you. Apple introduced PIng a few months ago, and has struggled a bit during its initial growth period. Steve Jobs recently met with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to discuss Apple's fledgling social network. That meeting was well-publicized, but we didn't know this Twitter collaboration was coming. Good luck to both companies on this joint venture. Now you can tweet your ping. Or is it ping your tweet? We're so confused.
Apple features "Hall of Fame" apps
In its continuing effort to present customers with the best of the App Store, Apple has published an "App Store Essentials Hall of Fame" page. It features many titles you've undoubtedly heard of, including Angry Birds, Evernote, Facebook and Epicurious. Fifty apps are featured in total. Apple calls this crop "the best of the best." Certainly some TUAW favorites are included. At the same time, some goodies that we depend on are excluded. Is your favorite on the list?
Apple informs labels that iTunes song previews will be 90 seconds long, hopes they don't mind?
It's all up there in black and white, but we'll be happy to spell it out again here -- it seems that Apple has decided to extend the length of iTunes song previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds. Sounds just fine to us, but not to the recipients of this letter, who are told the change is happening whether they like it or not and it's for their own good. "We believe that giving potential customers more time to listen to your music will lead to more purchases," the document reads, but without giving the music labels any way to say no. We don't actually know the origin of this particular document, so we're not saying this is a done deal by any means, but if the letter's legit you're looking at the world's largest online music store telling the labels to put up and shut up -- or else peddle their tunes somewhere else. Update: It's worth noting that CNET reported that iTunes song previews might double in length about two months ago.
iTunes song previews will be extended to 90 seconds in US store
Music site Symphonic Distortion reports Apple has sent word that song previews in the US iTunes Store will soon be extended to 90 seconds, up from the 30-second previews the store has featured until now. The only caveat is that songs must be longer than 2 minutes, 30 seconds in order to get a 90-second preview; shorter songs will stay at a 30-second preview. Makes sense. The extension in song preview lengths was reportedly supposed to happen earlier this year, but the complex state of licensing issues in the music industry reportedly held up the process. Either those issues have been resolved, or Apple has decided to play hardball -- the new licensing agreement basically states that by keeping their music on the iTunes Store, labels agree to allow 90-second song previews. Any label that doesn't want 90-second previews of its songs must withdraw its music from the iTunes Store under the new licensing terms ... and since doing so would do serious damage to the bottom line of most music labels, it looks like 90-second song previews are finally here, and hopefully here to stay. [via Mac Rumors]
iTunes restores Genius sidebar
The launch of iTunes 10 in September left a lot users disappointed for several reasons. In addition to the lack of a complete rewrite that many people were hoping for, the highly underwhelming Ping social network was added, and the subsequent 10.0.1 update replaced the former Genius sidebar content with Ping. Thankfully, despite Apple's insistence on tightly controlling the user experience (which is generally a good thing), the company has been willing to reverse course from time to time to restore functionality or designs that users preferred. Users that miss the Genius sidebar content will be happy to learn that Apple has made server-side changes to iTunes (meaning no software update is required on your end) so that we now have Genius recommendations back in the iTunes sidebar. The sidebar now combines the functionality of the Genius and Ping. Genius recommendations are always available, and if you use Ping your activity is also displayed. Recommendations now appear as soon as a song is selected, before it's even played. It's a step in the right direction; hopefully next year we'll finally get the ground up re-write that iTunes so desperately needs.
Ratings missing from the App Store?
A few readers have notified us that app ratings have disappeared entirely from the App Store in iTunes. The ratings still appear on the iOS App Stores and in browser previews of apps, but for the desktop iTunes view of the App Store, they are nowhere to be found. iTunes Connect was apparently down for a little while last night, but it's been down before and ratings have never vanished from the iTunes App Store. More likely than not, the ratings and reviews will reappear in the iTunes App Store soon; it's just odd that Apple hasn't sent a note out to developers about this.
NBC says no to iTunes rentals at 99 cents
With reports of credit cards being charged for Apple TV pre-orders, it's only a short time before Apple's hobby takes a rather serious step forward. But with only ABC and Fox having signed up to Apple's new $0.99 price point to rent television shows, it seems there's a lot hanging in the balance. Most notably, for Apple - and for those that purchase the Apple TV - whether other large television studios will follow suit and get on board with Apple's new strategy. Recently, we reported that Warner Bros. was not best pleased with Apple's new TV episode price point. And now NBC has chimed in, too. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Investor conference, Chief Executive of NBC Universal Jeff Zucker said, "We do not think 99 cents is the right price point for our content," and continued by saying, "We thought it would devalue our content." As reported by AppleInsider. But Apple's been at loggerheads with NBC before. Back in 2007, NBC decided not to renew its contract with Apple, resulting in NBC content being removed from the iTunes store, rather abruptly. NBC wanted the price point to be raised to $4.99 per TV episode, and that was three years ago. Eventually NBC came good with Apple, with NBC content being restored to the iTunes Store. Could history be repeating itself again? We're inclined to think so. Though Apple's new TV platform doesn't have everything going for it, it's certainly got a lot in its favor. And, as always, time will tell if Apple's going in the right direction, again. Be sure to let us know when your new Apple TV arrives at your door.
Sports Illustrated: Cost-cutting has hindered iPad app
If you're a regular reader of the Sports Illustrated (SI) publication for the iPad, you may have noticed something unusual / different in the latest issue. The SI iPad edition is now only viewable in landscape mode, no longer supporting portrait mode as it did in previous issues. If you hold your iPad in landscape mode and then turn it to portrait mode the message, "This page is intended to be viewed in landscape mode. (There's nothing wrong with your iPad -- just turn it horizontally.)" appears. Guest editor of the SI iPad edition, Josh Quittner (Time Magazine), comments on this change in his personal blog. Quittner says that he believes the optimal viewing experience for photo-driven magazines, like SI, is in landscape mode. He also adds that by not editing in two formats (landscape and portrait) some innovative new features have been introduced, like "Super Loooooong View" - bringing a "reveal" effect to photos "akin to centerfold, or poster view." Quittner points out that another advantage of a single format issue is its reduced size. Coming in about 30% smaller than previous issues, SI can be downloaded in under a minute. But Quittner points out that download time isn't the only consideration, here. With other magazine publications reaching and even exceeding 500 megabytes, Quittner asks, "Who wants to store media that big on a 16 gigabyte device?" Finally, Quittner does admit that economy comes into play, too. He says that by implementing the landscape-only format their work load is reduced by at least a third. "Why not add more designers?" Quittner responds, "Well, if we were able to build a real business, with subscriptions that offered our iPad versions to readers at a reasonable price, that would be a no brainer. But we can't yet, so the best approach for us is to experiment with the format, marshal our (human) resources and start building products on other platforms that will allow us to scale up as our business grows." You may remember this video from way back in December of 2009 demonstrating Time Inc.'s vision for a tablet-based version of SI - prior to the announcement of the iPad. Back then, Time Inc. would have users download the SI app from the iTunes Store, but pay Time Inc. directly for further issues. Naturally, Apple didn't like this. Currently, Apple doesn't allow publishers to offer subscription based content on the iTunes store. But if rumors of the iNewsstand are to be believed, it's going to be pretty interesting to see how all this pans out. [Hat tip to AppleInsider]
iPhone 101: Using Ping on your iPhone
Along with the desktop version of Ping, you can also utilize Apple's new social network on your iPhone. It's actually proven to be my favorite method of using the service. However, Apple does make it a bit difficult. At this time, you can't activate a Ping account from your phone -- it must be done through iTunes 10. Otherwise, you'll get the lovely message as seen in our screenshot gallery. Once you get Ping activated, it integrates nicely with the existing mobile iTunes. Read on to see Ping in action on the iPhone, or check out the gallery. %Gallery-101634%
Extended iTunes song previews delayed, licensing may be to blame
One of the things that was widely rumored to appear but ultimately absent from Apple's music event last week was an extension of song previews on the iTunes Store from their current 30 seconds to 60 or even 90 seconds. According to CNET, we can blame the Byzantine licensing arrangement of the music industry (surprise, surprise). Apple had a deal worked out with Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), all four major record companies, and a contract with American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) that never limited preview lengths in the first place. Apparently that still wasn't enough to increase preview lengths, because CNET says the National Music Publishers Association objected and basically said, "No, you have to make a deal with us, too." All of which just makes me wonder: how many different licensing associations does this cash cow industry need, anyway? The music industry giants gave up a lot of their power (and money) to Apple in the mid-2000s, and it seems they've learned their lesson. Unfortunately for us users, this obstructionism means we end up losing out on neat features. As CNET notes, the current mini-battle over song previews is likely just a warmup for the headliner bout: Apple's predicted music streaming service. Music industry execs already tried to get Apple to pay "performance fees" for its 30-second song samples; I can imagine Steve Jobs's response to that one was something like maniacal laughter followed by a hearty "No." If Apple does finally manage to get 90-second previews pushed through, it could be a good sign for its music streaming aspirations. [Via MacRumors]
iTunes 101: Share your Ping profile
Here's a tip about something that had me confused for a while, I hate to admit. After setting up Ping in iTunes 10 and getting my profile just so, I naturally wanted to tell the eager masses where to find me. After all, many of the folks I follow on Twitter were sharing URLs to their accounts. But where did it come from? The answer is quite simple. Log into your account, and right-click (or control-click) on the "My Profile" link. Then select "Copy link" from the contextual menu and you're all set! Paste that address in Twitter, email or where ever you want to broadcast your shiny new account. Another, more roundabout way of accomplishing the same task is to search for yourself on Ping, and when your name shows up under "People," right-click your avatar icon and choose "Copy link." We'll have more iTunes 10 tips and tricks coming right up.
In Brief: September 1 Apple event
As preparations begin in San Francisco (check out the Yerba Buena Center's new look) for the September 1 press event, here's a brief review of what's likely and unlikely to go down. iPods are a given, and likely to be the thrust of the event. Apple has refreshed the line every year in September since the iPod's introduction. We're guessing a more iPhone 4-like touch with a camera and possibly a retina display, perhaps on a higher-end model. Also expected is a new iTunes rental option for TV episodes. As of this writing, TV shows are available for purchase at US$1.99 each. Bloomberg has suggested that Apple will add a rental option for $0.99 a pop, with new episodes becoming available just 24 hours after their original air time. The wildcard is a new Apple TV (or iTV) running specialized apps on the iOS. It certainly doesn't fit the music theme implied by the invite, but who knows. Perhaps Steve has one more thing up his black sleeve. In any case, visit TUAW on the 1st for our complete coverage.
iTunes U breaks 300 million downloads
iTunes U lets students (or anyone, really) listen in on lectures, classes and other programs from the world's top educational institutions. In fact, more than 800 universities participate, and this week Apple announced the delivery of 300 million iTunes U downloads. Students can use iTunes U to find lectures and other materials related to their studies, of course, but really anyone with an interest in continued education can browse the store's contents for audio or video that meets their areas of interest. For example, here's a collection from the Stanford Historical Society, and another from Japan's Keio University. All iTunes U content is free. Congratulations to Apple and the participating institutions.
