Tag: iTunes

Apple to use a pan-European approach to songs in iTunes

I was reading this article that does not seem to be huge news in itself as it mentions Apple will lower the prices in the UK in iTunes to match the price applied in the other European countries where the service is available.

What is interesting, though, is that Apple is saying that it wants to have a pan-European view for the content it provides and the pricing that is applied.

I live in Italy and most films and shows are dubbed, nevertheless sometimes I’d love to watch them in English, but unfortunately so far this hasn’t been possible in most cases, unless someone made the distribution in Italy. It is annoying when you read about online movie rentals or sales and then discover they are only available in the US. NBC lets you watch their shows online and for free, but only if you’re in the US.
I think that everyone who knows technology a bit and is an internet addict as I am, is waiting not-so-patiently for the day content will be available worldwide and for the same price.

I actually think this would also be a great solution against piracy. Think of being home, bored, you want to watch a movie, these are the options you have available:

  • walk to BlockBuster and rent a movie (in the hope they still have the one you want)
  • buy something on your satellite TV (if you have it and if they are showing anything good)
  • rent it on netflix (if you have the service in your country and if you thought of renting it ahead of time)
  • download it with bittorrent or eMule (if you thought about it ahead of time and now have the files ready and waiting on your hard disk)

Honestly for 4USD I would rent PLENTY. I often discover there’s nothing on SKY Movies when it’s too late to rent a movie (and this also makes me wonder why I pay a subscription to SKY).

See here the article: Apple to standardize iTunes music prices across Europe

iPhone users buying AT&T services through iTunes?

At Appleinsider they have a new article entitled Apple says iPhone can be activated by users at home that says:

“Activating iPhone takes only minutes as iTunes guides the user through simple steps to choose their service plan, authorize their credit and activate their iPhone, Apple said. Once iPhone is activated, users can then easily sync all of their phone numbers and other contact information, calendars, email accounts, web browser bookmarks, music, photos, podcasts, TV shows and movies just like they do when they sync their iPods with iTunes.”

Wait a minute! I buy the phone in an Apple store, I walk home, plug the phone in the USB port, start up iTunes and… subscribe to AT&T? Select my preferred plan? You know what? This sounds a lot like I’m buying a mobile phone plan from iTunes. Sounds like I’m giving some money to Apple for this. Sounds like I will be able to buy more content and services from AT&T (or another operator) from the familiar interface of iTunes. Sounds like iTunes is turning into the centerpiece for buying media and services. Well THIS is an interesting new approach from Apple. This sounds innovative. This sounds like building more and more services around their iTunes platform.