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Updated, Palm responds: Apple may prevent iTunes from working on Palm's Pre
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The Pre without iTunes syncing may come soon.
UPDATE: Palm responded to Apple today, here’s what Palm spokesperson Lynn Fox told the Wall Street Journal:
“Palm's media sync works with the current version of iTunes. If Apple chooses to disable media sync in a future version of iTunes, it will be a direct blow to their users who will be deprived of a seamless synchronization experience. However, people will have options. They can stay with the iTunes version that works to sync their music on their Pre, they can transfer the music via USB, and there are other third-party applications we could consider.”
The ball is in Apple’s court and who knows if they will address this publically but it certainly sparks quite a debate. What are your thoughts?
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Oh boy, this certainly could get very, very ugly.
If you bought a Palm Pre and were excited about using it in conjunction with iTunes, this news is definitely going to irk you a bit.
According to Tech Crunch, Apple is preparing to do battle with third party digital media players that declare they are able compatible and able to sync with iTunes.
If you go to the Apple support page for iTunes, you will find this message:
“Apple designs the hardware and software to provide seamless integration of the iPhone and iPod with iTunes, the iTunes Store, and tens of thousands of apps on the App Store. Apple is aware that some third-parties claim that their digital media players are able to sync with Apple software. However, Apple does not provide support for, or test for compatibility with, non-Apple digital media players and, because software changes over time, newer versions of Apple's iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players.”
While Apple doesn’t explicitly name the Pre with their warning shots, it’s safe to say that they are looking squarely in its direction. These fighting words also come mere days before the release of their iPhone 3G S that is hoping to shorten the lifespan of the Pre’s popularity.
What a nice way to welcome a potential adversary to the market.
Basically these threats mean that Apple will potentially be pulling the plug on iTunes being able to sync with the Pre, and it may come at any time.
So really, this is their warning and it’s probably only a matter of time before Pre users will lose functionality.
Why?
Because it’s one of the features that is driving people to get the Pre in the first place. Obviously not the only one, but it is certainly one of the major ones and enough of a selling point to make Apple draw up this battle plan in the smart phone war.
Now the question is, is this a smart move by Apple?
And the answer is, well, maybe.
While it may lure some potential Pre customers to get an iPhone, on the flip-side, it could also mean that tons of people will stop using iTunes and buying music from the iTunes Store. Are they willing to risk losing a lot of potential music customers just to gain a few more iPhone ones?
It’s a tough question to answer and we may not know until Apple decides what position they are going to take.
Whenever that may be.
For more info: Contact Adam: admillios@gmail.com
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