Apple launches iTunes Match cloud music service

After months of waiting, another massive piece of Apple’s cloud giving has finally been released to the public: iTunes Match.

You might keep in mind the name from approach back at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference 2011 in June, when then-CEO Steve Jobs announced the service as a part of Apple’s iOS five operating system. in conjunction with iTunes within the Cloud, iTunes Match permits users access to their music wherever they're, with the employment of many completely different devices.

Unlike Google Music or the Amazon Cloud Player, each streaming music services where users upload their actual music tracks to a cloud server and then stream them back to numerous devices, iTunes Match includes minimal actual uploading. Instead, iTunes scans users’ music libraries and “matches” all the tracks that are contained in Apple’s servers. something you bought from iTunes goes in automatically, and the rest is matched by the system to convey you a high-quality 256 kilobits per second version of the track, notwithstanding whether or not your copy is of a lesser quality.

Anything from your library that Apple doesn’t have in its iTunes servers and can’t match gets uploaded to Apple’s cloud servers, that still provides you access to your tracks notwithstanding you didn’t purchase them from iTunes. And with iTunes within the Cloud, you’re capable of seeing each track you’ve purchased with the service and might redownload it at can (instead of simply streaming with iTunes Match). As Mashable found out in its review of the service, you'll be able to produce playlist and sensible playlists on your iOS devices, and iTunes within the Cloud can share them along with your different devices, like your computers (and vice versa).

According to laptop World, however, there are still some limitations on the iTunes Match service. in contrast to Amazon or Google’s cloud music services, iTunes Match doesn’t nonetheless support massive music libraries – users are restricted to twenty five,000 songs apiece for his or her $25 per year price of entry. However, something you get from iTunes doesn’t count toward that total; it’s solely tracks that you simply haven’t purchased through Apple. Also, a minimum of for currently, iTunes Match is barely offered within the us.

The and facet is that iTunes Match permits die-hard iTunes users a cloud various to the services offered from the likes of Google, Amazon and players like mSpot. Services offered by iCloud mean that Apple users don’t need to keep plenty of music tracks stored on a machine for all eternity: New cloud-based services mean that if you’ve got a reliable web association, you may presumably ditch all of your stored copies of songs and simply stream to your heart’s content.

Apple’s iCloud service and every one the items that keep company with it are the newest iterations of its MobileMe service, however despite their similarities, it looks Apple has rethought how it handles the cloud when the relative failure of the MobileMe service. Whereas that service handled countless various things like calendars, tasks, email and thus on (many of that are still handled by iCloud), when it involves a subscription service, Apple is streamlining its approach all the way down to simply music and maybe another items of purchased content. during this approach, it looks that Apple are ready to (hopefully) avoid service interruptions and keep customers happy as they transition to the cloud. It’s possible that iTunes Match are a well-liked service if Apple has learned from its mistakes and runs iTunes Match also because it sounds like it'll.

Apple is Removing Cloud Music Apps from the App Store

In the latest example of Apple’s worry of competition, the corporate has removed a third-party app from its App Store that permits individuals to access music stored on Amazon’s Cloud Drive.

Amazon’s Cloud Drive could be a direct competitor of Apple’s iCloud service, that stores a range of content — music, books, photos, contacts, calendars, and a lot of — related to a person’s Apple ID account and pushes it to all or any their iOS devices.

While Amazon doesn’t have a Cloud Drive iOS app, development company Interactive Innovative Solutions (IIS) has developed an application, known as aMusic, which will enable iOS device house owners to access Amazon’s service. However, the aMusic app was recently removed attributable to legal problems with the music business, in keeping with a report from Evolver.fm.

Unlike each Apple’s iCloud and Google’s Music Beta services, Amazon’s Cloud Drive doesn’t catalog all the licensed music in a very person’s account. however cataloging is vital to music labels as a result of it allows them to require a cut when individuals upload copyrighted music to their account. Since Amazon isn’t lucrative for the music labels, the labels had no drawback contacting their buddies at Apple to urge any Cloud Drive app or service removed.

Normally, i might simply blame the music labels for this mess, however Apple is additionally delaying an update to IIS’ Google Music Beta app, gMusic. “I submitted it two weeks ago. each different update I even have submitted at intervals the two weeks has been approved in beneath eight hours. thus undecided what the deal is,” said IIS’ James Clancey in a very statement to Evolver.fm.

I can’t entirely blame Apple for its behavior, since it clearly has no incentive to permit its customers to use a competitor’s music service like Music Beta or Cloud Drive on iOS devices. Doing thus would provide individuals a reason to not register for Apple’s iTunes Match — a $25-per-year music service that has legal access to any songs currently in a very user’s iTunes music library.

At identical time, it's obtaining slightly ridiculous for Apple to stay removing all potential competitors within the streaming media front out of worry that it'd take business away. Yesterday, I reported on the ridiculous lengths Apple has gone to to prevent iOS customers from viewing streaming video service Hulu on a tv set.

I highly doubt Apple’s hardcore fan base goes to prevent using Apple services simply because there are competitors obtainable. maybe a number of them can, however not enough to create a big impact on business selections.

Apple iOS5 vs iCloud

Apple iOS5 vs iCloud

Considering that Apple has been talking concerning iOS five for many months currently, and developers are testing it out and showing it off for nearly that long, I’m not reaching to concentrate on it an excessive amount of. I too are employing a developer build of iOS five for months, and it's while not question a worthwhile upgrade. If you've got an iPhone 3GS or iPhone four, you fully have to be compelled to download it immediately (starting when it’s obtainable tomorrow). With the iPhone 4S, all the new options merely run faster and somewhat bit a lot of smoothly.

The best addition to iOS five is that the revamped Notifications system. Yes, it’s a little just like the system that Android and webOS have had for a jiffy, however once more, Apple took their time to form certain they did this right. Gone are the annoying blue pop-ups that may stray when another notification came in. currently you've got a full-on notification center to stay track of everything you miss when you’re aloof from your phone or just not within the mood to ascertain it. Again, having used it for some months currently, I’m spoiled. there's no means I might return to the previous system.



Other key new options of iOS five we have a tendency toll as|together with} Twitter integration (which we talked concerning a lot of in-depth here), the new iMessage (SMS killer), Reminders (an Apple-built to-do list), and a faster version of the Safari net browser.

But the largest modification of iOS five is also that you simply will currently setup and manage your iOS device while not having to use a laptop or a Mac in any respect. after you boot up a brand new device, a brief tutorial walks you thru the way to enable the services you would like to use, and activate your phone. It’s fast and painless.

You can additionally currently use iCloud to keep a copy your phone and for the don’t-call-it-syncing of your information. iTunes within the Cloud and Photo Stream are nice additions for folks that merely don't need to manage content through the iTunes desktop software. Apple comes nearer to an “it simply works” system than something I’ve seen previously. Regular folks are able to use this.

Source: Apple iOS5 vs iCloud

Apple Inc. co-founder and chairman Steve Jobs death

Apple CEO Tim Cook addresses employees after Steve Jobs Dead

I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve(at)apple.com.

No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.

Tim

Source:
Statement from Apple CEO Tim Cook regarding co-founder Steve Jobs’ death

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Apple iPhone 4 (16 GB)

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HTC Droid Incredible

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Apple Resetting iCloud Backup Data on Sep 22; iOS 5 Launch Soon

Apple posted an announcement on its developer boards on Sunday, warning existing users of the beta builds of iOS 5 and Mac OS X that the backup data on iCloud will be removed from its servers on September 22, according to a report by 9to5Mac:

On Thursday, September 22, the iCloud Backup data will be reset. Backing up to iCloud or restoring from an iCloud backup will be unavailable from 9 AM PDT – 5 PM PDT. If you attempt a backup or restore during this time, you will receive an alert that the backup or restore was not successful. After this reset, you will be unable to restore from any backup created prior to September 22. A full backup will happen automatically the next time your device backs up to iCloud.

The move reinforces rumors that Apple is launching iOS 5 and the next-generation iPhone, either an iPhone 5 or iPhone 4s, or both, sometime next week.

Since Apple has already missed June, late August, and early September launches of the iPhone 5, rumors we'd previously picked up, the latest blogosphere buzz pins an announcement from Apple in late September with products hitting stores on October 7.

Apple's iCloud—Steve Jobs' last major announcement as CEO—is a way for users to store and quickly access vast amounts of data through a remote server. Developers were given beta access over the summer. Jobs said Apple will launch iCloud this fall.

iPhones Are Only For Old People, Says HTC Acting President

The iPhone 4 and therefore the iPhone 3GS are the 2 top-selling phones in America. however don’t let that fool you into thinking they’re cool, says Martin Fichter, acting president of HTC America.

Speaking at the Mobile Future Forward conference in Seattle, Fichter — pictured higher than with bicycle — connected a story concerning taking his daughter to Reed school in Portland, where he took an off-the-cuff survey of her dormitory buddies. “None of them has an iPhone,” Fichter said, “because they told me: ‘My dad has an iPhone.’ There’s a remarkable issue that’s happening within the market. The iPhone becomes to a small degree less cool than it had been. They were carrying HTCs. They were carrying Samsungs. They were even carrying some Chinese manufacturer’s devices.”

Added Fichter: “Macbook Airs are cool. iPhones aren't that cool anymore. we tend to here are using iPhones, however our children don’t realize them that cool anymore.”

HTC has been creating some aggressive moves within the market recently. Currently, the manufacturer uses Android and Windows Phone seven for its operating systems; earlier Monday, its CEO steered in an interview that he was trying around for alternative mobile OS choices, so the corporate isn’t therefore reliant on software from Google or Microsoft; this despite the pro-Android stance that HTC took within the wake of the Google-Motorola deal. HTC incorporates a smartphone market share of Sep 11 and growing quick. At some Verizon stores, in keeping with one poll, the HTC Thunderbolt has been outselling the iPhone four.

Now comes Fichter, launching a broadside against one in every of the iPhone’s strongest defenses: the elusive sense of “cool.” It’s a risky strategy, particularly given the anticipation swirling round the impending iPhone five launch. Presenting your daughter’s school dorm as representative of a wider trend, particularly when the complete world is anticipating Apple’s next phone, looks a sure-fire route to ridicule.

On the opposite hand, Fichter incorporates a point: iPhone homeowners tend to be older and additional affluent, largely as a result of their device is dearer than the common Android equivalent. in keeping with a recent infographic from recommendation engine Hunch, Android homeowners tend to possess solely a highschool diploma and to be aged between eighteen and thirty four — the cool years, as way as most marketers are involved.

Can HTC outmaneuver Apple by trying to marginalize the iPhone? Or can the iPhone 5 launch blow that concept out of the water? allow us to grasp what you think that within the comments.