Cost | What to Enjoy | Features | News & Updates | Sales Info | Press Releases | Buy
Cost: iPod Classic = $249 (120GB) | iPod touch = $229 (8GB) | iPhone = $199 (3G S)
iTunes
iPods come packaged with the ability to sync video along with your music, giving you the ability to take your favorite music and movies wherever you go. At the heart of the operation is iTunes, Apple’s media player that is compatible for both the Mac and PC. Use iTunes to copy your entire CD library to your iPod, as well as download new music and movies through the iTunes Store. Simply sync your iPod up and you’re ready to enjoy it all on the go.
iTunes opened its music store in 2003, and in the years since, has gone on to sell over 6 billion songs. In 2008, iTunes surpassed Wal-Mart, becoming the number one music store in the United States. Along with music, you can rent or buy audiobooks, music videos, movies, TV shows, games, and the very popular apps. iTunes 9 has made great strides in better organizing the store, including easier browsing and navigation, app management, as well as new products: iTunes LP – download full albums + artwork and liner notes; iTunes Extras – DVD bonus material (audio commentary, deleted scenes, etc.) packaged into movie downloads. iTunes comes with an add-on, Genius, which turns your playlists more into a radio station by playing similar songs based on the artist or genre.
Movies and TV shows are available for rent or purchase, and can be synched over to iPods, the iPhone, as well as Apple TV. Movie rentals last for 30 days, and must be fully watched within 24-hours of it being started. Most content is available in SD, however there is a growing library of HD content, currently priced at $19.99. TV content can be bought as single episodes, or as a season pass, giving you access to each new episode as it comes out.
Third-Party Features (via the iPod touch & iPhone):
The iPod touch and the iPhone further enhances the mobile movie-going experience. The iTunes Music Store app allows you to make purchases and rentals directly through the device, saving the extra step of “synching.” There are also many apps that you can download, giving you the ability to stream live via a Wi-Fi network, manage your Netflix queue, and even allow you to control your set-top box remotely.
News & Updates:
Mashable (09/09/2009): Apple Announces iTunes 9 – “Today is Apple’s Rock and Roll keynote, where the company is expected to announce a range of new products and software upgrades. One of new products has leaked a little early though: iTunes 9. While iTunes 9 is not yet downloadable, we were able to gaze over Apple’s promotional feature list.” {Read more}
BBC News Magazine (06/29/2009):Giving up my iPod for a Walkman – A 13-year old boy exchanged his iPod for the Sony Walkman, comparing the modern portable media player to it’s now 30-year-old grandfather. {Read more}
Variety.com/Technotainment (04/20/2009): Forget Apple TV… the iPhone is becoming Apple’s set top box – The Apple TV has, to be blunt, been something of a dud. Not that many people are willing to spend $230 to get all the TV show, music, and movies they download from iTunes onto their television. {Read more}
Sales Info & Figures:
Mercury News (09/28/2009): Apple: 2 billion ‘apps’ downloaded by iPhone, iPod touch owners – “iPhone and iPod touch owners have downloaded 2 billion “apps” from Apple’s iTunes App Store, the Cupertino company reported today. More than 85,000 software applications, or apps, are available for downloading, Apple said in a statement. Some of the apps can be downloaded for free, and others for a fee.” {Read more}
CNN Money (05/18/2009): iPod sales headed for their first decline analyst – Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster puts a positive spin on it, but his analysis of retail data issued Monday afternoon by the NPD Group suggests that the Mac, whose sales declined year-over-year last fiscal quarter for the first time in nearly six years, will be joined next quarter by the iPod. {Read more}
Latest Press Releases:
06/22/2009: Apple Sells Over One Million iPhone 3GS Models – Apple® today announced that it has sold over one million iPhone™ 3GS models through Sunday, June 21, the third day after its launch. In addition, six million customers have downloaded the new iPhone 3.0 software in the first five days since its release. {Read more}
04/16/2009: Apple Premieres Movies on the iTunes Store in Germany – Apple® today announced that movies from major film studios including Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), The Walt Disney Studios, Sony Pictures Television and independents including Universum and Shorts International are now available on the iTunes® Store in Germany for purchase and rent. {Read more}
