Apple Adds Wi-Fi and Ringtones to iTunes
The highly-anticipated Apple announcements today didn't only focus on hardware (the iPod Touch, iPod Classic, and new video Nano), they also encompassed some cool new developments on the software side -- namely, the Wi-Fi iTunes store and downloadable ringtones for the iPhone. Here's what we learned:
iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store: At last following in the footsteps of the pioneering Music Gremlin -- which has offered wireless downloads for nearly two years! -- Apple is offering wireless downloads right to any iPod Touch or iPhone. In other words, you can buy songs on iTunes and download them right to your device as long as you're in an Wi-Fi hotspot. (Purchased songs download to your computer as soon as your sync up your iPod or iPhone, at no extra cost). Bonus for coffee drinkers: Starting October 2nd, New York and Seattle residents will get free Wi-Fi access to the iTunes store only at any participating Starbucks (San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago will go live by March 2008, with every other Wi-Fi-enabled Starbucks to be active by the end of 2009). We can't really see what the bonus of this is to users other than the ability to easily order and download whatever song happens to be playing at Starbucks (by pressing a special iTunes button that appears as soon as you get to your local coffee joint). But we sure love the ability to download songs on the fly! Check out a hands-on preview at Engadget.
iTunes Ringtones: The shocking disappointment on the iPhone was the lame selection of of 25 or so lame ringtones. But Apple has gone a long way in correcting this drawback by adding a feature that lets you create your own ringtones using iTunes tracks. It works like this: Buy a song or use one from your existing iTunes library, then just use the ringtone creator that will come with the next version of iTunes to edit any 30-second portion of the song and presto, you've got a ringtone that will transfer to your iPod next time you sync. This feature should be available some time in the next couple of months. We can't wait.
And there you have it -- Apple's iTunes announcements for today. For more information on Apple's other announcements, click on the "Related Links" below or check out Engadget's breaking news.
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