iTunes

As much as what Apple may or may not do with iOS 6 will dictate the iPhone and iPad user experience for the next year, what Apple does or does not do with the App Store will help determine the continued and future viability of the platform itself.

That's because iOS is only one part of Apple's incredibly successful mobile equation. The App Store -- the development kit, commerce engine, and digital goods that enable apps to be made, sold, and bought -- is another.

And arguably, despite it's unprecedented success, it's in ever greater need of Apple's attention.

You'll hear a lot more discussion of this at the tail end of tonights iPhone & iPad Live podcast with Seth Clifford of Nickelfish and David Barnard of App Cubby, but as rumors are spreading that WWDC 2012 might bring with it an "App Store" for Apple TV, I wanted to get something up on the site about it as well.

Apple has recently removed Airfoil Speakers Touch by Rogue Amoeba and AirFloat by The Famous Software Company from the iTunes App Store for using AirPlay APIs that Apple has deemed non-public.

Apple has made some minor changes to the layout of the App Store within iTunes; the same changes are reflected on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. With such a huge number of apps now available in the App Store finding what you are looking has gone from hit and miss to downright daunting. Apple has been rumored to be completely revamping its iTunes software but in the meantime, they're still tweaking what we have now.

Apple has just announced its line up for the annual iTunes Festival. The event which first started in 2007 has been hugely popular as all of the tickets are given away free of charge. The live concerts all take place at London’s The Roundhouse and it all kicks off on September 1st and goes on until September 30th.

Apple is currently rejecting apps that use the Dropbox SDK to provide integration with the popular cloud storage solution. The reason for the rejections is apparently that, under a specific but not inevitable set of circumstances, someone using an app with Dropbox integration could end up on Dropbox's web site and find a way to pay Dropbox for additional storage. That would violate Apple's prohibition against using external websites to circumvent Apple's 30% cut of subscriptions.

Apple has quietly continued the roll out of its iTunes Match service by launching it in five more countries. iTunes Match is now available in Italy, Greece, Portugal, Austria and Slovenia.

The standing committee on infrastructure and communications in the Australian House of Representatives will be launching an investigation into why digital goods (such as iTunes music and iBooks) are priced so much more highly in Australia than elsewhere in the world. Traditionally, shipping costs drove prices up for physical goods, but for electronic files you're downloading, there's really no good reason for such a price disparity.

Apple is pushing the benefits of using an iPhone in business with the launch of a new webpage on its site. The new page is simply titled "iPhone in Business" and it runs through a reasonably extensive lists of business orientated apps and features.

Apple has approved an app called Bluetooth OnOff that simply allows you to turn your Bluetooth connection on and off from your home screen. Apple hasn’t previously permitted any apps that connect and interact to stock settings until now; so this is an interesting development.