The iPod Nation

The latest trend in the digital world are digital books and comics. One platform that is notoriously known for this is the Apple iPod Touch/iPhone. Well Star Trek is hoping to take advantage of this trend. Comics publisher and Star Trek licensee IDW has announced that they are starting a digital publishing cycle at the Apple iTunes store. The first digital issue of the Star Trek comics is “Star Trek Archives: The Best of Peter David No. 1″. This is just a digital DC comics reprint. More issues will follow at the Apple iTunes store. There are also other comics that are ready for download at the iTunes store. Although most of the comics at the online store are available for free for the first issue, they will charge you 99 cents for following issues. So go check them out and let us know what you think.

- Geoff

[Source: Wired]

There have been several reports from iTunes users that suggest that iTunes is starting the transition to DRM-free music. According to these users, they have spotted several songs from different studios that now have the DRM-free option. Although iTunes already offered several musical tracks that are DRM-free, these songs were only offered from the record label EMI. If this rumor is any indication, it confirms that Apple is close, or already has, to striking a deal with the other three big record labels.

In other iTunes news, Paul McCartney recently said in an interview, regarding the long rumored Beatles launch on iTunes, that:

“The last word I got back was it’s stalled at the whole moment, the whole process… I really hope it will happen because I think it should.”

For the longest time, Apple and the Beatles have been in a legal battle over the use of the “Apple” logo. When they settled the lawsuit back in February of 2007, there were many rumors spreading that iTunes will soon have Beatles music ready for download. But by the looks of it, we might have to wait a little longer for this to happen.

- Geoff

[Source: MacRumors]

Along with the release of iPhone Firmware 2.2, Apple released a new update for iTunes. The new update, called iTunes 8.0.2, is available through the Mac OS X software update and includes the following updates and fixes:

- Addresses a quality issue creating MP3s on some computers.
- Fixes a connectivity issue with the iTunes Store when using some Internet proxies with Mac OS X.
- Improves accessibility with VoiceOver.

So update your iTunes and remember to come back and let us know what think.

- Geoff

[Source: MacRumors]

If this isn’t any further indication of how dominant iTunes is in the digital music industry, then I don’t know what is. eMusic announced today that they have reached the 250 million song downloads bench mark since its inception in 2003. The problem is that iTunes, which also opened its iTunes store in 2003, has sold over 5 billion songs in the same time period. Poor eMusic. Having to face a juggernaut such as iTunes is no easy task. Congratulations to eMusic on hitting the 250 million mark. Now you just need 4 billion plus more songs to be downloaded by your customers to catch up to the iTunes.

- Geoff

[Source: CrunchGear]

While the economic downturn hasn’t hit Apple quite as hard as some of its competitors, they have nonetheless felt the impact of reduced disposable incomes. The good news for consumers is that the iTunes store now has a bargain bin that will consist of a weekly selection of movies for 5 dollars! The movies in these bins aren’t box office and critical pushovers either, this week; Terminator 2 and Total Recall. Nothing like a little escapism to take your mind off how you’re going to pan-handle your way to your next mortgage… The selections change every week also so if you want that some Ah-nold action, get it while its hot!

-Derek

Our friends at Edible Apple has just figured out what is the most downloaded catalog song in the history of iTunes. And just for your information, a catalog song is basically a song that was created before the digital era and now comes in a digital format. Anyways, back to the task at hand, Edible Apple has found out that the most downloaded catalog song is Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin”. The song was released back in 1981, but it has made a recent resurgence in today’s pop culture. A startling fact: when the song was featured in the last episode of The Sopranos, sales of the song increased 428% in just 3 days. Talk about resurgence!

- Geoff

[Source: EdibleApple]

Apple has always wanted to control everything. From iPhone applications to the music downloads from iTunes, Apple has always had their hands on the steering wheel. But now Norway is stepping in to take the steering wheel away from Apple. Norway’s top consumer advocate has asked the help of the Norway government and justice system to ask Apple to ditch their anti-copying digital rights management (DRM) technology and open up the iTunes music store to users who do not own an iPod. Bjorn Erik Thon, Norway’s consumer ombudsman, had this to say:

“It’s a consumer’s right to transfer and play digital content bought and downloaded from the internet to the music device he himself chooses to use,” said Bjorn Erik Thon, Norway’s consumer ombudsman. “iTunes makes this impossible or at least difficult, and hence, they act in breach of Norwegian law.”

So if Apple does not comply with the Norwegian govenment, they will be fined. In addition, if Norway wins its case and Apple has to pay fines, the European Union will step in and it might become a staple in the European Union consumer policy. Consumer advoates for Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, and other European countries have supported Thon. So if Apple does not want any trouble in Europe, they better hope they win this case.

- Geoff

[Source: MacWorld]

As I was searching for Apple news, I came across this great article on how to improve your iTunes experience for Mac users. Check it out:

I love my music and everything else that goes along with it. I love the fact that in my iTunes, every song is properly labelled, is nicely arranged alphabetically by artist and have their particular album artwork attached in high resolution. It is so much easier to search for the songs you want when almost all the fields (i.e. genre, artist, album, year) are completed. Every little bit of information helps Genius to find the songs which match the ones you are listening to, creating a playlist which suits your current musical mood. Read the rest of this entry »

It has come to our attention that Apple’s iTunes Store has sold over 200 million episodes making it the world’s most popular online TV store. In addition to the 200 million episodes sold, iTunes has also sold more than 100 million HD episodes since the launch of HD programming on iTunes last month. iTunes, which already boasts one of the largest online catalog of TV programming, will be offering primetime programs in high definition quality from all four major television networks. iTunes will be offering shows such as Desperate Housewives, CSI: Miami, 30 Rock, Heroes, etc. Go check the iTunes Store for more information.

- Geoff

[Source: Apple]

The Apple iPhone has just been released in Russia recently, yet they do not have an iTunes Store available for customers. As of the moment, Russia is a App Store-only country. But Apple is currently working on a deal with the three Russian wireless carriers who offer the Apple iPhone to allow customers to get a full iTunes Store ready by 2009 for Russian iPhone users. Out of the three Russian wireless companies, only MegaFon seems to be the closest to closing the deal. According to Vasily Kuzichev, the business development director of MegaFon, has stated that the negotiations with Apple is taking time because content in Russia is more expensive than any other country and the prices iTunes is considering for content in the country isn’t high enough for copyright owners. More details have yet to be announced regarding the iTunes store in Russia, but some speculate that it should come as early as early 2009. Please stay tuned as more information comes our way.

- Geoff

[Source: iLounge]