Billed as "the first mobile mixer for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, for DJ-ing anytime, everywhere" the iRig MIX is fixing to make music mixing more mobile than ever.

If you're a pro DJ, the iRig MIX claims to have everything you need. That includes a full on EQ adjuster, a crossfader, a headphone cue and a mic input. It works with either one or two iOS devices, and with popular DJ apps so you can record your performances, share them with friends and family, or distribute them to the world.

It's also got an X-Sync feature that lets you mix any form of audio, everything from traditional audio gear to MP3, CD, and more. All with auto tempo matching and beat syncing.

Powerful enough for the pro, accessible enough the for enthusiast, if you're into iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, and you want to get your mixing on, check out the iRig MIX. Complete press release and video below.

Source: iRigMix.com

IK Multimedia iRig MIX Now Shipping

The first mobile mixer for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, for DJ-ing anytime, everywhere

May 2012 – IK Multimedia is proud to announce that iRig™ MIX, the first ultra-compact DJ and audio mixer for the iPad, iPhone, and the iPod touch is now shipping. When used with an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, IK’s included* DJ Rig FREE app and other DJ apps, it is a complete, highly portable DJ system for practicing, rehearsing, performing and recording.

With its unique miniaturized form factor and exclusive features, designed to be used with the entire range of portable iOS devices, iRig MIX brings a new meaning to the concept of mobile DJ-ing.

A DJ Mixer

iRig MIX has everything a pro DJ needs, including full EQ adjustment, crossfader, headphone cue and a mic input. Using DJ Rig or other popular DJ apps, users can record their performance and share with friends, publish or distribute at the event. DJs can choose either a traditional setup with two devices (one plugged into each of the independent channels) OR a single iOS device.

This flexibility, combined with iRig MIX’s portability gives aspiring and pro DJs a compact system that can be used everywhere… anytime. House parties or in the yard, after-parties, and impromptu dances are perfect environments for the iRig MIX. Planes, trains and automobiles used to mean that your DJ gear was inaccessible and unusable. Now, no matter where you are or where you are going, you can mix and rehearse sets.

Plus - for the first time on any mixer - iRig MIX can be used for mixing any type of audio source (coming from mp3 players, CD players, etc.) with an iOS device using automatic tempo matching and beat syncing. This is accomplished with X-Sync, a feature that works in combination with the DJ Rig FREE app from IK Multimedia that is included* with iRig MIX.

Maximum Portability

With its slim, lightweight form factor iRig MIX is considerably smaller than traditional DJ mixers and can be carried anywhere you take your iPhone or iPad, is easy to stow and perfect for performers on the go. The iRig MIX also has minimal power requirements allowing it to be powered not only by the included power supply but also by a suitable USB battery pack or a laptop USB port for maximum mobility to mix anywhere.

Not just for DJs

iRig MIX is also versatile enough to provide the perfect mixing solution for solo musicians or small ensembles that use one or more iOS devices to play live. It features an extra guitar/microphone input that can be processed with other IK popular apps like AmpliTube® and VocaLive™ or any other app that offers real-time audio processing. Its standard RCA output connectors provide easy, direct connection to PA systems or powered speakers.

4 included apps

iRig MIX includes* 4 free apps: DJ Rig™, the new professional DJ mixing app from IK, AmpliTube, the most popular iOS guitar amp and effects app, VocaLive the processing app for singers and vocalists, and GrooveMaker®, the loop-based beat and groove making app.

iRig MIX features

• 2 stereo inputs with gain, bass, treble and volume controls, independent cue on each channel with LED indication and channel crossfader
• Instrument/microphone extra input, with volume control, can be processed by iOS real-time effects apps (such as AmpliTube, VocaLive)
• Stereo output with RCA connectors, master level and LED meters
• High quality, pristine sound
• Quality headphone output for master or cue monitoring with independent volume control
• Input switch splits Input 1 into dual-mono for use with DJ mixing apps on a single iOS device
• “X-Sync” mode allows auto-sync with any audio source using the included DJ Rig free app
• Can be powered with the included AC adapter, battery pack and laptop USB ports
• Includes 4 free apps: DJ Rig, AmpliTube, VocaLive, GrooveMaker

Pricing and availability

iRig MIX costs $99.99/€74.99 (excluding taxes) and is available from electronic and music retailers around the world.

Marvel's mightiest heroes, the Avengers, are assembling in movie theaters tonight, but you can Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Hawkeye, and the Black Widow on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPhone right now!

Avengers wallpapers for iPhone and iPad

Want to put the Avengers front and center on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? Show off your favorite Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Hawkeye, or the Black Widow pose? We've got them Retina-ready and waiting in the iMore forums

• Avengers wallpapers for iPhone and iPad

Avengers apps and games for iPhone and iPad

While there's been some great Avengers content on the App Store before, thanks to game tie-ins based on previous Iron Man movies and such, Marvel and Disney have put out three specific tie-in apps for the iPad.

• Marvel's Avengers: Iron Man - Free - Download Now
• Avengers Origins: Hulk - $1.99 - Download Now
• Avengers Origins: Assemble - $1.99 - Download Now

If that's not enough:

• All Avengers related iPhone & iPod touch apps
• All Avengers related iPad apps

Avengers movies, TV shows, books, and comics for iPhone and iPad

iTunes has a ton of Avengers content ready and waiting for you to load up on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. There are the prequel movies: Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America. There are cartoon shows. There are sound tracks. And, of course, there are comic books (I particularly recommend Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's seminal "The Ultimates" series for a great, modern take at "humans of mass destruction")

• Avengers on iTunes and iBooks

Avengers DVDs, Blurays, toys, t-shirts and more

If physical goods are more your thing, Amazon has a ton of Avengers merchandise for you to choose from, including collected editions of many of the classic comic books, as well as action figures, and much, much more.

• Avengers on Amazon

Avengers discussion

If you've seen the Avengers and want to share your review or discuss your thoughts and feelings, jump into a Movie Forum and do just that!

The popular music streaming service Spotify has updated their app with proper iPad support. Now you can enjoying millions of songs and discover and share music on your iPad's larger screen. The iPad version isn't simply a big version it's iPhone counterpart either -- it's optimized to take advantage of the larger screen and looks amazing.

A Spotify premium subscription is needed to use the service on the iPhone or iPad, but you can try it out for free for 48 hours -- and can be extended to 30 days. The free trial didn't work for me the first time I logged in, but once I logged out and back in, it worked like charm.

On the What's New tab, you'll see a bunch of album artwork along the top that can be scrolled though. These are new songs and can be played instantly. As you scroll through the page, you'll discover trending playlists and top tracks among friends, new releases, and trending playlists and top tracks near you.

Tapping any of the music or playlists will slide out a panel on the right that lets you find out more about it and stream it if you wish.

If you're listening to music, you'll see the "now playing" toolbar at the bottom of every screen. You can also blow this up to full screen so that you can view the album artwork nice and big and in all its glory.

From the Playlists tab, you can access playlists that you have set up on iTunes and playlists you've created with Spotify. Selecting a playlist will also slide out the window on the right and display a collage of artwork of songs that appear in the playlist as well as a lists of the songs in the playlist.

The People tab is where you go to see what your friends are listening to. If you connect Spotify with Facebook, all your Facebook friends who use Spotify will automatically show up in your list. Tapping on a friend will again slide out the column on the right and display your friend's top tracks, top artists, and published playlists.

In Settings, you can enable offline mode, switch to a private session (which expires after 6 hours of inactivity), choose whether you want to show what you listen on Facebook, and more.

The Good

• Clean, pretty, and easy to use UI
• Multiple panels are very well implemented
• Lots of album artwork
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The Bad

• Must have a premium subscription to use Spotify mobile. No free radio available.

The Conclusion

Spotify did a fantastic job with this app. There is a sense of uniformity when using it and the multi-panel design is very implemented. My only issue is that if you don't have a premium subscription, the app is completely useless. Spotify really should include free radio in their mobile apps.

Free - Download Now

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. iTunes Match was originally made available in the United States  back in November. It was then rolled out to a few more countries in December last year and now a five more have been added into the mix.

iTunes determines which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to iCloud for you to listen to anytime, on any device. Since there are more than 20 million songs in the iTunes Store, chances are your music is already in iCloud. And for the few songs that aren’t, iTunes uploads what it can’t match. Even better, all the music iTunes matches plays back from iCloud at 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality — even if your original copy was of lower quality.

How to set up and use iTunes Match

Source: Macstories

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. Stephen Conroy, Australia's Minister of Communications, said in a recent letter:

There is evidence to suggest that the innovative use of technology is not always matched with innovative new business models in the case of products and services distributed online... I agree that Australian businesses and households should have access to IT software and hardware that is fairly priced relative to other jurisdictions … the global digital economy is likely to make it increasingly difficult to sustain business models that are based on a geographic carve-up of markets.

iOS apps in Australia don't really cost any more than they do over here, but there's a pretty big disparity in music prices. For example, Jack White's newest album, Blunderbuss, and Adele's, 21, cost $10.99 in the U.S., but $16.99 in Australia. I'm sure there are different taxes to be paid over there, but they can't be that huge. As for iBooks, there aren't many textbooks that have found their way to the Australian market since the big educational update. Pricing for iBooks can sometimes be even more expensive than a proper paperback, a situation which is exacerbated by a pricing model which is currently under scrutiny elsewhere, too.

Of course, Apple isn't the only one in the crosshairs. Adobe is charging $1400 more than the the U.S. version for one software package in Australia. Microsoft will also be called to explain its pricing model to the government over the course of the investigation, which will be launching sometime this year.

Australians, who have you found to charge the most inflated prices for digital downloads? Have the higher prices stopped you from buying software, music, or e-books?

Source: SMH

Everything you need to know about subscribing to, setting up, and using Apple's digital music locker service, iTunes Match

iTunes Match is Apple's "music locker" service that allows you to store copies of all your music on Apple's servers and re-download it from any of your devices, at any time. iTunes Match isn't free, however. It comes at a price -- $24.99 a year (in the U.S.). It's also only available in 20 odd regions right now.

• iTunes Match limitations
• How to subscribe to iTunes Match on Mac or Windows
• How to set up iTunes Match on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad
• How to enable iTunes Match downloads over 3G/4G
• How to see all your iTunes Match music on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad

iTunes Match limitations

There are a few limitations to iTunes Match which you should be aware of before subscribing.

• iTunes Match isn't available everywhere yet, only a few reasons. Check your iTunes Match availability by country

• iTunes Match can only handle 25,000 songs. If your library is bigger than that, iTunes will refuse to match it. About all you can do right now is create a new iTunes library on the same computer with a subset of your songs -- no more than 25,000 -- and use that library to set up iTunes Match. (Just make sure you don't copy your music into new folders, leave it in its existing folders or you'll waste a lot of disk space.)

• iTunes Match doesn't always do a great job matching every of songs. It could be an issue with metadata, if the song information is really different between the iTunes Catalog copy and your local copy. You could try updating the metadata on your local copies before going through iTunes Match, but it can take a lot of time and results may still vary. (Anything iTunes doesn't match gets uploaded to Apple's servers, so you still have access to it, but in its original form, not the iTunes Catalog copy in 256Kbps AAC with "official" metadata)

#How to subscribe to iTunes Match on Mac or Windows

1. Launch iTunes (10.5.1 or higher) on your Mac or Windows PC.

2. Click on iTunes Match under the Store menu in the left hand sidebar.
3. If you don't see iTunes Match in the sidebar, click on iTunes Store and then click on iTunes Match in the Quick Links section on the right.

4. Click on Subscribe to iTunes Match for $24.99.
5. Enter your iTunes password to authorize

6. Click iTunes Match in the sidebar again.
7. Click Add this Computer

Next, iTunes Match will go through a three step process:

1. Step 1: Gathering information about your iTunes library. Apple scans all your songs to see what's in your library.
2. Step 2: Matching your music to songs in the iTunes Store. Apple compares your library to the massive iTunes Catalog. Anything that already exists in the iTunes Catalog is immediately made available to you in standard iTunes format -- 256Kbps AAC with metadata and album art.
3. Step 3: Uploading artwork and remaining songs. Apple takes any other music in your library -- anything Apple couldn't match with the iTunes Catalog -- and uploads it to Apple's servers so it will still be available to you from the cloud (albeit in its original format, however good or bad that is)

Depending on how much music needs to be uploaded, and the speed of your internet connection, it could take a while to complete.

How to set up iTunes Match on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad

Once you've subscribed to iTunes Match, you can easily set it up on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.

• Launch the Settings app.
• Tap on Music.
• Toggle iTunes Match to On.
• Tap Enable to allow iTunes Match to replace your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad music library with your iTunes Match library. (Which should have all the same music, and much, much more.)

If you don't see the iTunes Match option, make sure you're logged into the same iTunes account with which you subscribed to iTunes Match. If you still don't see it, scroll down to the bottom of the Music Settings and enter that iTunes ID into the Home Sharing login. That should wake it up.

How to enable iTunes Match downloads over 3G/4G

iTunes Match can either be Wi-Fi only, or can also let you re-download music over 3G/4G connections.

• Launch the Settings app
• Tap on Music
• Toggle Use Cellular Data to on.

How to see all your iTunes Match music on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad

• Launch the Settings app.
• Tap on Music.
• Toggle Show All Music to on.

This will make sure that your Music app shows you every song in your iTunes Match library, whether you've downloaded it to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad or not.

How to get more help with iCloud

If you still need help with subscribing to, setting up, or using iTunes Match on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, or any other iCloud feature, head on over to our iCloud Forum and ask away!

• How to set up, back up, restore, and update using iCloud
• How to set up and use iCloud mail, contacts, and calendars
• How to set up and use iTunes in the Cloud
• How to set up and use Photo Stream
• How to set up and use Documents in the Cloud
• How to set up and use Find my iPhone
• How to set up and use Find my Friends

Ally Kazmucha, Chris Oldroyd, and Gary Mazo contributed major sections of this guide.

Figure is a great new app that puts music creation into the hands of everyone, even non-musicians. It has a very unique interface that's easy to use and makes creating music a lot of fun. You slide your finger around a pad to play bass and lead, and tap columns to play the drums.

What makes Figure so great for non-musicians is that you will always be in the correct key and play to the beat. You get to be creative with the pitch and tones, but Figure will always make sure that your choices are "correct" musically.

For base and lead, you can choose from many different rhythm styles and timing, specify the range of notes you want the pad to represent, and select how many steps you want in an octive. Switching into landscape will remove all the distractions of the controls and give you more room to move your finger precisely where you want it on the pad.

For drums, you get to play kick, snare, hats, and cowbell and choose how many of each are played in a measure if you hold your finger down.

Hitting record will let you layer the three different instrument types and it will automatically loop your song. You can make adjustments in real time so that you're fully away of how your changes affect your song. The types of changes you can do include the tempo and key. You can also add pump so that your song sounds like club music.

This is an app that you need to see in action, so make sure you check out the video below!

The Good

• Puts music making in the hands of everyone, even non-musicians
• Musicians will still enjoy it
• Landscape mode lets you focus on your pattern
• Always in key and on beat
• Bass & lead parts use Reason’s Thor synthesizer
• Drums powered by Reason’s Kong drum machine

The Bad

• Can't save music
• Can't share music

The Conclusion

Figure is a really fun and surprisingly addicting app. Creating music has never been so easy, and it's a great way for non-musicians to get a feel for creating music and beats.

$0.99 - Download Now

Creating amazing playlists of your favorite songs, right on yournew iPad ensures you're always listening to great tunes that sound great together. Whether you synced your music over from your iTunes library, re-downloaded it using iTunes in the Cloud, or gone all in on Apple's music-locker service, iTunes Match, playlists let you keep it organized and harmonized.

How to create a custom playlist

1. Launch the Music app on your iPad

1. Go to the playlist tab and tap New in the upper right hand corner.

1. You'll be prompted to enter a name for your playlist. Name it whatever you'd like and then tap Save
2. Now you can tap any of the tabs along the bottom to look for music you want to add to the playlist. Simply tap the plus sign next to an album or song name to add them to your playlist.
3. Once you are done adding music, tap Done in the upper right hand corner.
4. If you need to edit your playlist (delete or add songs), simply go into the playlist and tap edit in the upper right hand corner.

How to delete playlists

If you don't want a playlist on your iPad anymore, you can easily delete it directly from your device.

1. Find the playlist you don't want anymore.
2. Hold your finger down on it and a black "X" will appear in the left hand corner of the playlist. Tap it to delete it.

How to create a Genius Mix

iTunes can automatically generate playlists based on your current song selection. These are called Genius Mixes, as they use Apple's Genius recommendations engine.

You can simply pick a Genius Mix to start listening to it and you'll automatically hear great music that sounds great together. You can also create your own Genius mix by picking any song in your iTunes library to play. Once the song starts, just touch the Genius icon next to the song tile of the current track. If there are ample songs in your library, iTunes will build a new Genius playlist based on the current song.

Additional resources:

• How to download movies, tv shows, and music to your new iPad
• How to subscribe to magazines to your new iPad
• The new iPad - everything you need to know

You've just gotten the new iPad, and now that it's in your hands and you just can't wait to see see what your favorite videos look like on that high density Retina display. In other words just can't wait to load it up with all kinds of content including movies, TV shows, and music. All of the above are available in the iTunes Store directly from your iPad.

How to download and watch a movie or TV show

In most countries, iTunes has a great selection of movies and TV shows to choose from that you can either purchase or rent straight from your iPad, no computer needed. Follow these steps to download or rent a movie directly from your iPad.

1. Open the iTunes app from your homescreen.
2. Click on either the Movies or TV shows tab along the bottom. Here you'll see a list of new and featured movies or TV shows in iTunes.
3. In the upper right hand corner you can search for any movie or show you'd like.
4. Once you've found what you're interested in, tap on it in order to view a larger description. You can also preview movies via the preview button.

5. When you find something you'd like to rent or buy, you can choose to purchase or rent the standard definition (SD) or high definition (HD) version. Once you've decided which one you want, tap it twice to purchase it. TV shows will only allow you to purchase from your device. Movies will allow you to rent them as well as purchase.
6. You'll be prompted to enter your iTunes password and you're done! Your download will begin.

To watch your content:

1. Go back to your Home screen by tapping your home button.
2. Find your Videos app and open it.
3. You should see all your tv shows and movies. Tap on the one you'd like to watch to see a description and more info. When you're ready to watch it, just tap the Play button and enjoy!

You'll also be able to access most of your iTunes purchased movies from any iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV linked to your account via Movies in the Cloud. You can do this with TV shows you've purchased as well.

How to download and listen to music

1. Open the iTunes app from your homescreen.
2. Click on the Music tab along the bottom. Here you'll see a list of new and featured music. You can also use the tabs at the top to view Featured, Top Charts, and Genius. Genius will look for music based on your current collection that it thinks you may like.
3. In the upper right hand corner you can search for any song or album you'd like.
4. Once you've found a song or album you're interested in, tap on it in order to view a larger description. Tap on the track number to preview a song.
5. You can either purchase individual songs from an album or purchase the entire album in one go. Tap on the price to purchase.
6. You'll be prompted to enter your iTunes password and you're done! Your download will begin.

To listen to your newly downloaded music, follow these steps -

1. Go back to your home screen by tapping your home button.
2. Find your Music app and open it.
3. You should see all the music you've synced to your phone. Just search for the song or album you've just added. You can also go under playlists and "recently added" to see all the music you've recently added.
4. Tap play and you're good to go!

How to re-download your previously purchased music, TV shows, and movies

Most of the content you download will be available for use on your other devices as well. Music, movies, and tv shows can be re-downloaded and watched on any iPhone, iPad, or computer you have authorized on your iTunes account. Movies and tv shows can also be streamed to your Apple TV while music can be accessed if you subscribe to iTunes Match or have your computer running on the same network.

How to stream movies from iTunes on Mac or Windows PC

If you'd rather keep your content on your Mac or Windows PC and just watch them on your iPad, that's easy to do with Home Sharing. As long as you're on the same Wi-Fi network, everything on your computer can be beamed straight to your iPad.

• How to use iTunes Home sharing with your new iPad

Other ways to get movies, TV shows, and music onto your new iPad

There are a variety of other options for getting great videos and music onto your new iPad. Netflix and Hulu bring you TV and movies new and old. A lot of TV networks and some cable networks have dedicated apps where you can watch your local shows. Air Video will transcode on the fly and stream MKV, AVI and other videos from your home PC to your iPad. Slacker will provide you with internet radio channels. And there's a lot more too.

Take a look around the App Store, you'll be amazed how many apps there are for exactly that!

Additional resources:

• How to set up your new iPad with iCloud or iTunes
• Access iTunes movies in the cloud with your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV
• Movies, TV shows, and videos help and discussion forum
• Music, DJ, and Jamming Forum

Ringtonium is simple and easy to use, and best of all saves you money by letting you use your already purchased songs as ringtones.

Ringtonium is the best app for creating custom ringtones -- and alert tones -- on your iPhone. While record labels are happy to resell you ringtones for the same tracks you've already bought -- often at the same or even higher prices than the full song -- if you don't mind a few quick steps, you can save some money and get exactly the ringtone you want, exactly the way you want it.

Although there are plenty of ringtone creation apps available in the App Store to do just that, none of them are a well rounded or useful as Ringtonium. The user-interface is extremely easy to use and builds on some of the unique syncing abilities available in iTunes, along with a number of outside apps like SoundCloud, and of course social network sharing.

Dialing down to specific start and stop times with Ringtonium's fine-tune slider and associated dial

Upon launching the app you'll be asked to choose between an existing track from the iPod music library, or creating your own track by using the iPhone's built-in microphone. Once you've got a track to work with, you can then jump into the mix and get into the details with a fine-tuned audio scrubber for selecting your start and stop times. If you need even more control over your start/stop times, Ringtonium offers a dial with the ability to drill down to milliseconds for absolute precision.

If you chose to record from the microphone, the quality is remarkably high and distortion free, even at higher input volumes. That's surprising and very welcome.

Adding effects in Ringtonium using their built-in FX feature is easy

Ringtonium also has an included FX panel where you can add fade in and fade out, adjust the pitch or reverse the audio, and add flange or echo effects. The quality of the included effects are top-notch and Ringtonium lets you go for the longest ringtone duration Apple allows -- something most other ringtone apps haven't caught onto yet.

Exporting custom ringtones with Ringtonium

The Good

• Fast to use
• Well thought out design and user interface layout.
• Supports exporting using iTunes or with 3rd party cloud integration.
• Fine-tuned slider and dialer let you set perfect start/stop times.
• Modify or delete custom ringtones within the app -- no iTunes required!
• Video tutorials included.

The Bad

• Cannot mix/combine multiple tracks.
• Limited built-in FX.

The conclusion

Ringtonium is simple and easy to use, and best of all saves you money by letting you use your already purchased songs as ringtones. If you've been looking for the best ringtone app for your iPhone, look no further than Ringtonium -- it's the best option currently available and excels in every area.

$0.99 -- App Store Link

Apple is reportedly working on a new audio format that's supposedly all about enabling a better streaming and downloading for users of Apple's iTunes Match service. The new format should hopefully enable Apple to increase the quality of audio being delivered without increasing its file size. The same format could also be an adaptive streaming format so a lower quality audio stream could also be delivered in times of low bandwidth availability. According to UK newspaper The Guardian:

It is believed that Apple will use the new file type to upgrade its iTunes Match service, which allows users to re-download music from iCloud to their Apple devices. A source with inside knowledge of the process says Apple has asked a London studio to prepare audio files for a new streaming format that will adapt to bandwidth or hardware capabilities. "All of a sudden, all your audio from iTunes is in HD rather than AAC. Users wouldn't have to touch a thing – their library will improve in an instant," said the source, who requested to remain anonymous.

Musician Neil Young claimed back in January that modern digital music was so highly compressed that 95 percent of the audio content was lost. He believed that Steve Jobs was working on a solution to the problem. The recent Mastered for iTunes seems like the first steps towards that. Maybe this new audio format is another?

Source: The Guardian

Apple has been working with musical artists and their sound engineers to offer up the highest encoding practices possible for submissions to the iTunes Store, and has now begun to showcase some of that work, launching a new "Mastered for iTunes" section on the iTunes Store.

Apple currently makes use of the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) codec for music compression and while, to the average listener, these files may sound great, to audiophiles, sound-engineers and the artists who create the music, they're not getting the full array of sound that they intended for you to hear. Most recently, the likes of Neil Young, Dr. Dre and even Jimmy Iovine, head of Interscope-Geffen-A&M have all gone on record as not being in favor of the sound quality listeners are getting when purchasing music. The Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) codec used by Apple and various other digital media service providers, causes quality loss during the conversion from the 24-bit 192kHz original recording. By the time consumers actually get the file, you're only receiving as little as three percent of the original 192kHz quality.

With the launch of the Mastered for iTunes section, Apple is now transitioning from their original methods of taking the CD masters and encoding them to the 256kbps iTunes Plus files, and is instead asking publishers to submit the full high-resolution 24-bit/96kHz files so they may be the base file for encoding. To help with the transition for music publishers, they've also released a white paper documenting the changes and advising how to go about the process of submissions as well as providing new mastering tools to go along with it.

In the end, the ultimate goal here is to have everyone obtain the highest quality audio files possible from the iTunes Store. Neil Young noted previously that he had been working with Apple on this change prior to the death of Steve Jobs and since then, there hasn't been much word from Apple. Now, with the roll out of the new encoding standards and the Mastered for iTunes section, we know why Neil hasn't heard any word from Apple. They were busy making it all happen behind the scenes.

Source: Mastered for iTunes, white paper, via Ars Technica

Apple is reportedly planning a redesign for the iTunes Store and App Store for sometime later this year. Apple hasn't introduced a complete overhaul to the iTunes Store interface since late 2009 when they introduced iTunes 9. Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac reports:

The new design is said to be even simpler and more user-friendly than the current design. Apple is working on ways to enhance the speed and efficiency of finding new content, such as songs, videos, and applications. The cornerstone element of Apple’s new iTunes Store is interactivity. As Apple vaguely explained to a number of music labels and entertainment partners, Apple is looking to make the iTunes Store a much more engaging experience. [...] The interactivity that Apple wants within the digital store is something Apple could only likely pull off by housing the store within a full-fledged application, not a pure web browser experience.

They're not sure if this redesign, like iTunes 9, will require a new version number -- iTunes 11 -- or if it will just be rolled into an iTunes 10 point release. However, discoverability is said to be on the agenda, with more interactive ways to find music, movies, apps, and games being a priority. It sounds like iTunes on Windows and Mac is the current focus, and may be timed to coincide with Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion this summer, though the more traditional fall update cycle -- perhaps alongside the iPhone 5 -- could be a more likely possibility.

Source: 9to5Mac

• Cool iPhone 5 Mock-Up
• Music Artwork issues
• Using iPad for music creation
• iCloud and Pages
• Transfer iPhone Music to iTunes Library

If you're not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!

Apple is reportedly investing a bug in iTunes Match that replaces music containing explicit lyrics with "clean" versions from the iTunes Store. Cult of Mac had this to say about the bug:

iTunes Match had successfully filtered out all the profane and derogatory words by changing the tracks to clean versions of the albums, which pretty much ruined my jog because I was really really wanting to sing along and drop 50 “F-bombs” a minute. Maybe this is just a rare glitch in iTunes Match’s system, but it’s a travesty tantamount to treason in my eyes and I want it fixed.

9to5 Mac now says Apple has acknowledged the problem, but hasn't come up with a fix just yet.

A 9to5 reader emailed Apple Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services about the issue a couple of weeks ago and received a response from one of Eddy Cue’s engineers. According to the engineer, Apple is currently investigating the issue and working on a fix. Apple has no interim workaround for users of the iTunes Match service, the email elaborated.

So don't be surprised the next time you fire up some 50 Cent only to find that all the swear words have been removed. Apple is aware of the issue and is working towards a resolution. In the meantime, you'll just have to go about your rap-listening sessions in censored manner.

Source: Cult of Mac, 9to5Mac

Canadian musician Neil Young has claimed in an interview that Steve Jobs preferred listening to music played back on vinyl rather than digitally via an iPod. Speaking to Peter Kafka and Walt Mossberg at the D: Dive Into Media conference, he told them that he discussed the prospect of offering higher quality digital music downloads with Steve Jobs.

“Steve Jobs was a pioneer of digital music, and his legacy is tremendous,” Young said. “But when he went home, he listened to vinyl. And you’ve gotta believe that if he’d lived long enough, he would have eventually done what I’m trying to do.”

Source: Macworld, Image: All Things D

Apple’s iTunes Match service has now expanded to a total of 37 countries. The service initially launched in the United States in November of last year and has slowly rolled out to various countries internationally since then. While Latin American areas already had iTunes in the cloud, iTunes Match was still not enabled but with the latest roll out both services are now offered in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela.

Apple had a little bit of a rough start with iTunes Match but it appears things are running a whole lot smoother now for them. If you're looking to learn more about iTunes Match, be sure to check out all our previous coverage.

Source: Apple via MacRumors

An iPhone Marimba alarm tone brought a total halt to a performance by the New York Philharmonic whilst playing Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. The orchestra conductor Alan Gilbert, stopped the performance but the Marimba tone kept on playing. After a few words from Mr. Gilbert, the owner of the iPhone finally managed to turn it off and the concert was resumed. The man responsible for the stoppage has since apologized and asked to remain anonymous.

Patron X said he had no idea he was the culprit. He said his company replaced his BlackBerry with an iPhone the day before the concert. He said he made sure to turn it off before the concert, not realizing that the alarm clock had accidentally been set and would sound even if the phone was in silent mode. “I didn’t even know phones came with alarms,” the man said.

Source: New York Times Image: WSJ

If you have ever found yourself pressing the snooze button too many times on your iPhone in the morning, then here are best alarm tones to ensure you get up right away. They're all YouTube clips, but you can easily sample sounds from youtube and turn them into custom tones all your own.

• Jaws Theme. Not sure if this is actually the scariest sound in the world, but it will definitely make you decide pretty fast to get ready for work.

• Halloween theme song.

• Big Bang Theory. Probably the scariest of them all. Howard's Mom can get anyone up.

-The Grudge. I didn't actually find this sound particularly scary but it seemed to frighten everyone else. You take a listen and let me know what you think.

• and trepidation.

• Jokers Laugh, The Dark Knight. Eerie.

I did try the popular Friday the 13th theme three times but without the man in the hockey mask chasing after you, the music ends up being more relaxing than terror-inducing. If you know of any other alarm tone that are guaranteed to get you out of bed and up to face the day, let us know in the comments below.

Image source: Wallpaper Dark Nightmare

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Sony is bringing its Music Unlimited service to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch later this year. Music Unlimited is Sony’s subscription based streaming music service and will be available as an app for all iOS devices.

Sony’s decision to offer the service, touted as the Japanese company’s answer to Apple’s iTunes, on iOS devices speaks to Apple’s presence in the all-important smartphone and tablet markets as well as Sony’s willingness to do whatever it takes to expand the reach of its content services.The Music Unlimited service, along with Sony’s video and videogame offerings, functions as the glue holding together the links between the Japanese conglomerate’s entertainment businesses and electronics products.

Source: WSJ

Shazam has launched a new app called Shazam Player which can be used as an alternative to the inbuilt Music app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Shazam Player lets you stream lyrics for supported tunes as well as view a huge store of information on the band or artist you are currently listening to.

Switch to a music player with a difference - Shazam Player™ the NEW app from Shazam! Why just listen to your music when you can now see streaming lyrics, watch YouTube videos and read reviews of your favorite tracks and artists! Get to know your music with Shazam Player. It’s your music. Shazam Player lets you do more with it.

• Bring your music to life with LyricPlay. See streaming lyrics in time to the music - you’ll always have the words to your favorite songs with you
• Share the soundtrack of your day on Facebook and Twitter
• Watch YouTube videos and concert clips
• Find tour dates for the bands and artists you’re into
• Manage your music – see your iTunes playlists and create new playlists on the fly
• Select your favorite tracks and hide ones you don’t want to hear
• Add to your music - buy new tracks on iTunes from within the app
• View music by artist/album/title and use the Track Tray to see all the great Shazam features available for each song
• Top tracks – a changing list of LyricPlay tracks – buy them straight from the app if you don’t already own them
• Identify new music you’re hearing by instantly launching the Shazam App

The Griffin Twenty is the easiest, best-sounding solution for consumers who have speakers that are not AirPlay-enabled but still want to stream high-fidelity audio wirelessly,” said Mark Rowan, President of Griffin Technology. “Not only can users stream from their iTunes library, they can easily connect with any AirPlay-enabled iOS device.”

Source: Griffin

If you are a user of iTunes in the Cloud and only keep part of your music collection on your iOS device and all of your collection in iCloud, you may want to retrieve some extra music from iCloud or even delete some music on your device. It is all very simple to do, keep on reading and we will show you how.

How to Download Music from iCloud

• Open up your Music app

• You will see the complete list of music that is available in iCloud. If the track or album shows a cloud icon next to it, this means it is not on your device but is on iCloud
• To download the music from iCloud, select one of the tracks or albums with the iCloud icon

• You will now see the tracks with individual iCloud download labels, clicking on one will download just that track to your device

• If you want to download a whole album, scroll down and you will see a Download All button. Click on that and all the tracks will download to your device

• When it’s finished downloading, you will see that track or album no longer has the cloud icon as it is now on your device and it can be played instantly

How to delete music from device and leave it on iCloud

• Open up your Music app

• You will see the complete list of music that is available in iCloud. If the track or album shows a cloud icon next to it, this means it is not on your device but is on iCloud

• If it doesn't have a cloud icon, it means the track is stored on your device
• To remove the track or album from your device and leave it in iCloud simply swipe right to left along the album or track

• A delete box will appear, click on it and you will see the cloud icon immediatey appear next to the track or album

• This means the album is no longer stored on your device but is available to download again from iCloud.

Daily Tips range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com.

SwitcherLyrics is a new jailbreak mod in Cydia that offers the ability to view lyrics for any most tracks stored in your iPod music library.

With SwitchLyrics you can have your song's lyrics and information right in your Multitasking bar. You just have to double tap the Home button to make it work. SwitcherLyrics takes the song's lyrics from the iPod.app library. If iPod.app doesn't have any lyrics, SwitcherLyrics will search it on the web automatically.

This is a great mod in theory and brings with it a lot of added value --when it actually works. I noticed a lot of bugs right out of the gate when playing around with it. For example, when I tried messing with the settings to reveal more information in the Fast-App Switcher tray, my phone locked up completely and required a reboot.

This is one of the reasons the video demonstration was short in duration. I didn't get into any of the additional settings for fear of locking up my iPhone again, but in any event, when I played a track without lyric support in the video it still ended up locking up on me.

It's a great idea, but I'm going to wait it gets some bug fix updates and runs more smoothly before trying it again.

• $.99 - Cydia Link

It's the holidays and the forums are bursting at the seems with cheer... and more! If you happened to miss out on any of today's or this weekends events make sure you get caught up either here on the blogs or in the TiPb forums -- and stay tuned for what the rest of this week will bring.  You can register now to get started today:

• Mods and DIY Repair Forum: Giveaway: Custom iPhone backplate mod
• iPhone 4S Forum: With or Without Insurance
• Photography and Videography Forum: Wallpaper challenge
• Music, DJ, and Jamming Forum: Apogee Jam vs Griffin Guitar Connect Pro
• Cooking and Foodies Forum: Holiday recipes?

If you're not already a member of the TiPb Forums, register now!

The holidays are upon us and what spreads holiday cheer more than decking out your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad with lots of holiday content? Whether it's wallpapers, music, movies, apps, or games, it's easy to make your favorite iOS device the center of your festivus festivities.

Holiday wallpapers

One of the nicest treats for the holidays is a seasonally stylish new wallpaper for your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Our TiPb Forums have a great thread going to find some really nice ones, and share your own. Check it out!

• Holiday Wallpapers!

Holiday music

If you already have a ton of holiday music in your collection, why not enjoy it on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? If it's on CDs, just load them into your computer and rip them into iTunes. If you've ripped them into iTunes already, you can use Home Sharing to stream them to your device, or use iTunes sync or Wi-Fi sync to move them over. If you bought them from Apple's iTunes Store, you can use iTunes in the Cloud to re-download them right to your device -- or iTunes Match if you've subscribed! If you're starting from scratch, you can check out holiday channels on apps like Slacker or just hit up iTunes and buy yourself some classics!

• iTunes holiday music

Holiday movies

Whether your favorite holiday movie is Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, or Die Hard, curling up with your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad is a great way to enjoy them. If your movie collection is scattered in a bunch of different places and formats on your PC hard-drive, you can use something like Air Video to transcode them on the fly and watch them right on your device or beam them via AriPlay to an Apple TV and your big screen television. If they're all safe and sound in your iTunes library, again you have Home Sharing to stream them to your device, or iTunes sync or Wi-Fi sync to move them over. No holiday movies to call your own? Find some on Netflix or go straight to iTunes and check out their holiday collection.

• iTunes holiday movies

Holiday apps and games

When it comes to the holidays, you can bet your last chocolate coin there's an app for that. In fact, there are many apps for all kinds of thats! From cards to carols, books to bells, cutting ropes to angering birds, cooking to candles, fireplaces to fun with photos, there's a ton of stuff to keep you busy.

• App Store holiday apps and games

Your favorite holiday stuff?

If you have a favorite holiday wallpaper, music, movie, or app or game, let us know in the comments. We'd love to check them out!

The Recording Academy has announced they'll be honoring Steve Jobs with a Special Merit Grammy Award for revolutionizing the music industry based on the massive success of Apple's iTunes Music Store

As former CEO and co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs helped create products and technology that transformed the way we consume music, TV, movies, and books. A creative visionary, Jobs' innovations such as the iPod and its counterpart, the online iTunes store, revolutionized the industry and how music was distributed and purchased. In 2002 Apple Computer Inc. was a recipient of a Technical GRAMMY Award for contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field. The company continues to lead the way with new technology and in-demand products such as the iPhone and iPad.

The Academy will be holding a special awards ceremony honoring other visionaries with Lifetime Achievement Awards as well as Technical Grammy Awards on Saturday, February 11th, including a special Trustee Award honoring Steve Jobs for his contributions to the music industry at the official Grammy event the following day.



Source: Recording Academy via MacRumors

Apple has announced they're rolling out the iTunes Store to Brazilian and a number of Latin American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.

iTunes in the Cloud is available today for free in Brazil and Latin America and iTunes Match is available today for a $24.99 annual fee in Brazil.

The iTunes Store in Brazil offers over a thousand movies to rent or purchase, with many in stunning HD, from major studios including 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures. The iTunes Store in Brazil now joins the revolutionary App Store™, which offers more than 500,000 apps to consumers in 123 countries, reaching hundreds of millions of iPad, iPhone and iPod touch® users around the world. Customers have downloaded more than 18 billion apps to date.

Brazil before Canada or the UK? Oh Apple, you tease. Hit the source for the full press release from Apple. Any Brazilian or Latin American readers excited to finally be included in the Apple ecosystem?

Source: Apple

Apple has released their 12 Days of Christmas app a little early this year. The promotion will run between December 26 and January 6 but Apple hasn't put any content in there just yet.

You and your friends can download a fantastic selection of songs, music videos, apps and books for free. Each download will only be available for 24 hours. Get our special 12 Days of Christmas app to make it even easier to access your gifts while you’re on the go.

Don’t have an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch? Don’t worry. Come back 26 December to download gifts from your computer.

Falling in line with their 12 Days of Christmas promotion last year, Apple will promote special daily deals on music, apps, books and more for the holidays. You can download the app now from the Portugal and UK App Store, but content won't start showing up until the promotion begins. If you're outside of Portugal or the UK and see the app available in the App Store, let us know in the comments!

• Free - App Store Link

Griffin has announced a new iPhone, iPod touch and iPad accessory called GuitarConnect Pro, and it aims to add both an instrument input and gain controller to really let you rock out with Apple's GarageBand.

Designed to work with any instrument that has a ¼ inch jack (including guitars, bass guitars, electric violins, keyboards, etc.), GuitarConnect Pro was created to turn iPad or iPhone into a compact performance or practice rig. A built-in gain control wheel allows the user to adjust the strength of the instrument’s input signal.

Any music loving, guitar wielding members of the TiPb Nation planning to try this baby out?

• Get the Griffin GuitarConnect Pro on Amazon.com
• Get GarageBand for iPhone and iPad from the App Store
• Get your groove on in the TiPb Music, DJ, and Jamming Forum

Italian design company en&is has manufactured a ceramic passive megaphone to use with your iPhone to amplify its sound. If you want to avoid the raft of powered iPhone speaker docks and are looking for something just that little bit different, this could be for you.

The horn like design sits on a thin wooden frame which allows it to float off the table to optimize the sound experience. The iPhone slips into the top of the horn and all you need to do is press play. The megaphone will then passively amplify the sound into the room. It can also be used as a speakerphone if you so wish.

The Megaphone is available in three colors, black, white and gold. The black and white models cost €399 ($540) and the gold comes in at a whopping €599 ($810). It works with every iPhone available and also with the iPod touch if you have it in a case.

There is no doubting that this would make a beautiful addition to your living room. Unfortunately with no way to control the volume or actually charge your device, it is a little limiting.

Source: en&is via TUAW

Spotify is working on an iPad app and it should be available very soon. Spotify, for those that don’t know is a music streaming service that offers a subscription service for mobile devices with features like playlist sync for offline listening.  Spotify Managing Director Chris Maples told Pocket-Lint that it is making an iPad app a priority and it is absolutely in the pipeline.

"We launched recently on Virgin Media's TiVo platform and our fundamental philosophy is anytime, anywhere," he said. "Consumers make no differentiation between devices and we want our service to be available on any device that people want it on."

Source: Pocket-lint

Like to go to sleep listening to your iPhone's Music app and curious how to get it to "sleep" after a set period of time? One of the most annoying things is waking up a few hours later and it is still playing. Especially true if you are listening to an Audio Book and have to scrub back through hours of audio to find where you stopped listening.

Luckily you can set your iPod to stop playing after a set amount of time. It is really easy to do and we will show you how.

• Open up your Clock app on the home screen

• Select the Timer

• Set the amount of time you want the Music app to play for
• Click on the When Timer Ends button
• Scroll down to Sleep iPod

• Click on Set
• Start the Timer

• Fire up the Music app, lie back, relax and enjoy
• After the timer runs down, the Music app will stop

Daily Tips range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com.

Apple has released iTunes 10.5.1 beta 3 to developers which includes stability and performance improvements for iTunes Match. Developers must update to iTunes 10.5.1 beta 3 if they want to continue using the service.

The iTunes beta update comes hot on the heels of Apple deleting developer’s iTunes Match libraries again. All of these things should add up to a launch of iTunes Match sooner rather than later. Apple originally stated a released date of October but that has come and gone.

iTunes Match will eventually cost $24.99 a year  and will allow a subscriber to store all of their music in iCloud; not just music purchased through iTunes.

Source: TUAW

Make of this what you will, either the impending public launch of iTunes Match or just another step along the beta test path, but Apple has informed developers they'll be deleting all current iTunes Match libraries today.

Apple previously said they'd be launching iTunes Match, their paid iCloud music locker service, in October, which has since come and gone decidedly launch-less. Under the theory of better done right than done right now, let's just hope if it's arriving soon, it's arriving in good working order.

Anyone already have their $24.99 set aside for it?

• Our podcast feed: Audio | Video
• Download directly: Audio | Video
• Subscribe via iTunes: Audio | Video

iOS 5.0.1, battery life issues, new don't-delete, don't-backup storage, Brichter leaves Twitter, aluminum laser beams, GarageBand and music setups, and app picks of the week with Georgia, Seth, Rene and Jim Dalrymple. This is iPad Live!

Meta

• Girls Gone Gadgets 01: Premiere [NSFW-L]
• Chris V: How I use my iPhone and iPad as a biology professor

News

• http://www.loopinsight.com/2011/11/02/apple-confirms-battery-life-issues-in-ios-5/
• Apple seeds iOS 5.0.1 beta 2 to developers
• Apple adds new don’t-purge, don’t-back-up file store in iOS 5
• Twitter’s iOS developer Loren Brichter announces his departure
• Rumor: Apple to redesign iPad, iPhone, MacBook Air, and iMac next year?

Discussion

• Making the impossible possible
• CBS turned down the chance of an Apple TV deal
• Apple releases Garage Band for iPhone and iPod touch
• Jim's iPad guitar setup
• Giveaway: Apogee Jam for iPhone and iPad!

Apps

• Picks of the week

Tips

• iOS 5 Camera/Photo tips

Hosts

• Georgia (@GeorgiaTiPb)
• Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie)
• Seth Clifford (@sethclifford)
• Jim Dalrymple (@jdalrymple of The Loop

Credits

Thanks to the TiPb iPad Accessory Store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Music Hear me Roar by iPad Live theme song contest winner, DieselJesus!

Apple has just released GarageBand for iPhone and TiPb has just created an iPhone and iPad Music Makers Forum, and in honor of both events -- we're giving away an Apogee Jam! It's a pocket-sized, plug-and-play music interface that lets you connect your guitar right into your iPhone or iPad (or Mac).

Want one for your very own? All you have to do is jump into the official contest thread in our new iPhone and iPad Music Making Forum and tell us what kind of music, DJ'ing, or jamming you do with your iPhone or iPad. (And I mean details! Rocking out with your guitar, getting the wedding crowds out on the dance floor, making crazy Ramen noodle loops, what?)

Ready, set... Enter now!

Hat tip: Thanks to Jim Dalrymple for the recommendation!

Apple has released their lossless audio codec under the Apache license.

The Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) is an audio codec developed by Apple and supported on iPhone, iPad, most iPods, Mac and iTunes. ALAC is a data compression method which reduces the size of audio files with no loss of information. A decoded ALAC stream is bit-for-bit identical to the original uncompressed audio file.

The Apple Lossless Audio Codec project contains the sources for the ALAC encoder and decoder. Also included is an example command line utility, called alacconvert, to read and write audio data to/from Core Audio Format (CAF) and WAVE files. A description of a 'magic cookie' for use with files based on the ISO base media file format (e.g. MP4 and M4A) is included as well.

Any golden eared FOSS-advocates out there going to switch from FLAC?

Source: http://alac.macosforge.org/

Apple has informed its iOS developers that it intends to reset iTunes Match beta accounts on Thursday October 27. Apple states that this is intended to improve “overall quality and reliability” of the service. Resetting iCloud data is nothing new as it has happened a few times during the iOS 5 and iCloud betas.

iTunes Match was announced as part of iCloud and is Apple’s version of a music locker service. For $24.99 a year, iTunes Match will scan your desktop iTunes library, give you a 256-bit AAC version of every song it finds there that’s included in the 20 million strong iTunes catalog, and let you upload any songs (at the original quality) that aren’t.

It still appears that the service will be US only at launch due to licensing deals. Hopefully Apple is working hard to resolve these issues; then the reality of cutting the cord can be fully realized by everyone. Apple did say at the "Let's Talk iPhone" event that iTunes Match would be available at the end of this month; so it is expected right around now!

Source: AppleInsider

• Our podcast feed: Audio | Video
• Download directly: Audio | Video
• Subscribe via iTunes: Audio | Video coming soon

Georgia, Seth, and Rene are joined by Jim Dalrymple of The Loop to talk Steve Jobs biography, sneak in some iPhone 4S, and dig through iOS 5, battery life, PlayBook 2.0, Ice Cream Sammich tablets, and more. This is iPad Live!

Steve Jobs

• Steve Jobs biography now on sale
• ‘My boss is calling’
• Steve Jobs considered Android “grand theft” of iPhone ideas

iPhone 4S

• The Loop's iPhone 4S review
• The Loop's iPhone 4S review redux
• TiPb's iPhone 4S review

iOS 5

• iOS 5 Newsstand’s impact is significant
• How to fix battery life problems with iOS 5 or iPhone 4S
• Apple announces iOS 5 Tech Talk World Tour 2011

Music

• Hanging out with BAMM.tv

The competition

• Sweet Jesus, RIM announced another operating system
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Galaxy Nexus, RAZR, PlayBook 2.0 come gunning for iPhone and iPad

Apps

• Apps should seem almost magical
• Top 5 iOS 5 apps for iPhone and iPad

Contest

• We're giving stuff away!

Hosts

• Georgia (@GeorgiaTiPb)
• Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie)
• Seth Clifford (@sethclifford)
• Jim Dalrymple (@jdalrymple of The Loop

Credits

Thanks to the TiPb iPad Accessory Store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Music Hear me Roar by iPad Live theme song contest winner, DieselJesus!

Looking for some last minute ways to get your Halloween gruesome on? To zone out with zombies, lose your head with horsemen, read about vampires that burst ever-so-properly into flame, and otherwise get more monstrous this weekend? Well, since you have an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, you're covered! From App Store to iTunes Store to iBookstore, and with a hellish dose of Netflix and Amazon thrown in, you'll never go brain-hungry again.

App Store Halloween apps and games

If you're looking for app-solutely (sorry!) the best way to have fun and get your iPhone and iPad chills and thrills on this Halloween, check out the apps and games. And don't just check out the Halloween apps and games either, because a lot of developers large and small and holding sales this weekend as well! Note: Neither Plants vs. Zombies nor Angry Birds Seasons are to be missed!

• App Store Halloween link

iTunes Halloween movies

iTunes is having a sale on Halloween themed-movies, starting at $4.99. We'd recommend Sleepy Hollow, because the heads weren't found at all...

• iTunes Movies Halloween link

Netflix Halloween movies

If you don't want to buy or rent individual movies, you can subscribe to Netflix and stream all the Halloween content you want.

• Netflix web link

Apple iBookstore and Amazon Halloween reading

The greatest and Halloween stories all time come from the dank, dusty pages of old books, written and read by candles flickering in the chill, dark wind. Apple's iBookstore has some on sale for both young and old. Not content with just books, After all, it's never too early to start Halloween off with a good family scream.

• iBookstore Halloween link

Everything else

Not content with apps or games, movies or books? Amazon has a special Halloween page up with everything you could ever possibly want. Ever. Costumes. Candy. Seriously.

Amazon has a special Halloween page up with everything you could ever possibly want. Ever.

• Amazon Halloween link

Your picks?

Got any other great ways to enjoy your iPhone, iPad touch, and iPad over Halloween? Let us know in the comments!

Jonathan Mann has put together a duet with none other than iPhone 4S assistant Siri. Jonathan is a musician and songwriter who is currently writing one song a day and has been doing it for over 1000 days.

This song is all about Siri, in fact it is a full on duet, with Siri taking its part in the lyrics. Check it out in the video below and let us know what you think. Will Siri just be an assistant forever or do you see a career in the music business?

Source: YouTube via Daring Fireball

The folks at Timeflies have made a unique tribute to the late Steve Jobs for one of their Tuesday songs.

All of this was shot on an iPad 2 and edited using iMovie, recorded, mixed, and mastered on an iMac. The beat was made using samples from OSX and iOS - everything on a Tuesday.

Check it out, below.

Just two months after hitting the US in an invite-only beta, Spotify is now open to to the public and is offering users 6 months worth of unlimited streaming under the free account.

Stream millions of tracks from thousands of albums and artists to your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Take your existing Spotify playlists with you on the go – listen to them during your commute, in the gym or on a flight. With ‘Offline mode’ you can listen even when no connection is available. Wirelessly sync your local files to your phone to merge your catalogue with ours, no cables required! Download and get started directly from your mobile.

• Instant access to over 15 million tracks
• Stream online
• Listen offline – no mobile connection needed
• Share music with your friends
• Star your favourite tracks
• Wirelessly sync your own MP3s to your iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad
• Create and sync playlists
• Send the tracks you listen to direct to Last.fm & Facebook

Spotify is on a role right now, as just yesterday they partnered up with Facebook to allow free streaming on the social network from user profiles at no cost.

I've been in the invite-only beta since it launched in the US and have been loving it, although I can't see myself spending the money for a premium account just yet given my loyalty to iTunes and iCloud. Spotify is still one of the best online streaming music providers out there, however, so give it a try and let us know how you like the service!

Spotify is available for Free for iPhone and requires a free Spotify account. There are also premium and unlimited accounts available starting at $4.99 per month.

[App Store Link] [Spotify]

When I hear the word Kazaa it conjures up images from the past of peer-peer file sharing.  Now the company behind Kazaa, Atrinsic, Inc has released a totally legal iPhone music streaming app to challenge Spotify etc.

With Kazaa you can use your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to listen to unlimited, on-demand music everywhere. Play any of our millions of songs as much as you like, make your own playlists, listen to artist stations and discover new music that you love. Sync songs, albums and playlists to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch and listen even when you're offline. Search and find any song, album or artist, and start listening immediately.

• Access millions and millions of songs
• All the music you love – and new music to be discovered – at your fingertips
• Sync and play music even when you are offline
• Build and save playlists
• New music added every week

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

GetGlue, the social network for checking into your favorite TV shows, movies and music, has just updated their iPhone and iPad app to version 2.5.2 bringing all new features and a revamped UI to let users check-in to their favorite TV shows just in time for the Fall TV season!

Check-in to what you are watching, reading and listening to. Connect with friends, discover new favorites, and unlock FREE stickers and discounts. Join more than 1.5 million other users who are sharing 9 million check-ins per month.

• Interesting Conversations: See your friends and everyone else's conversations about shows you watch - in real-time!
• Friend Leaderboards: Who is the biggest fan? Check out the leader board to see how you stack up against your friends.
• New Check-in Flow: Check-in faster and get more out of every check-in - stats, friends, specials, and of course, stickers!

GetGlue is available for free for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

[iPhone, App Store Link [iPad, App Store Link]

Have an app you'd love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we'll take a look.

Google has announced via twitter that it now has an HTML 5 iOS optimized web app for its Google Music service. Google Music is currently a beta only service available solely in the U.S. If you already have an account, you can try it out and get access to all your content in this well designed web app. The web app works on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch running iOS 4.

Music Beta users - try the new mobile web app for iOS4 and listen to your music on the go: http://music.google.com

Do any of our readers use Google Music? Have you tried out the HTML 5 web app? Let us know what you think!

[The Next Web]

Apple released iTunes Match, their iCloud-powered music locker service, into beta yesterday and immediately -- and rightly -- it's been Zapruder-ed by every eyeball online, especially when it comes to whether it downloads music, streams it, or both. And confusion and conflation have followed.

Sure, technically there's a difference between downloading a song to your local iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or Mac or Windows PC and playing, and streaming that song directly to your device from iCloud. But many downloads will start playing before they finish and most streams will cache locally to prevent hiccups due to the ever present irregularity of internet connections. The lines are blurry, and made even blurrier by the music industry who wants to nickel and dime Apple, and consumers, at every turn.

(It's fair to say that if the music industry acted 20 years ago the way they act now, CDs would have been licensed per-player. You want to play that CD you bought in your car and in your living room? Pay us again! You want to play it in your bedroom? PAY US!)

As it stands, Apple technologically and no doubt contractually doesn't want anyone to know or care about whether or not iTunes Match downloads or streams from iCloud. The same way Apple doesn't discuss things like RAM, my guess is they're not going to specify exact behavior for iTunes Match.

You'll hit "play", Apple will take care of managing the local/iCloud relationship. Just like they don't think my mom should have to worry about file systems on iPad, they probably don't think she should have to figure out download vs. stream. It should just work.

Once iTunes Match is stable and out of beta, no doubt every geek and their packet sniffer will pour over it, parsing out every nuance of the stream vs. download behavior, and keep us updated when Apple tweaks it and makes changes to it going forward.

Meanwhile my mom won't worry about whether or not she's synced the Lion King Musical soundtrack, or how many GBs she has left. She'll just hit play and listen.

(Or she would if they released the damn thing in Canada.)

Microsoft offers subscription music via their Zune service, and now another iPhone and iPad rival, RIM's BlackBerry, might be joining the party. Kevin from CrackBerry.com has the scoop:

• Users will have to download the new standalone BlackBerry music app from App World
• Once installed, there should be a free trial (may vary by country/carrier - but expect a month free)
• Once the free trial expires, the service will cost $5/mo.
• With the app installed, you can choose up to 50 songs of your choice. Apparently the catalog selection is pretty good!
• From there, you invite your contacts via BBM, etc. to also download the app if they don't have it and join your music sharing network (invited contacts must pay the $5/mo. also to take part and remain part of the service).
• From there, you can listen to not only the 50 songs you've selected), but any of the 50 songs from your music sharing network. So if you have 20 contacts, you'll have access to 1,000 other songs in addition to your 50. We're not sure yet if there's a limit to how many people you can share with, but essentially the more people in your music sharing group the more music you'll have access to.

While Apple offers music downloads via iTunes, and will offer a music locker via iTunes Match, they don't currently have a subscription service nor do they have a way to share music (though they do have a network of sorts -- Ping).

That means iOS users who want subscriptions need a third party service like Pandora, Spotify, Slacker, Rdio, last.fm, etc.

Are Apple users missing out here?

[CrackBerry.com]

The new, longer 90 second iTunes music previews seem to be finally rolling out internationally. They aren't available on all songs yet, and in my testing of the Canadian iTunes Store, it seems hit in miss as to whether you'll get them or not, but at least some songs are going the full 90 seconds.

After a November 2010 notification to record labels Apple originally switched to 90 second previews in the US back in December of last year. Why it took that email so long to reach beyond American borders is unknown, as is how long it will take to fully roll out now that it has begun.

In an effort to crowd source this, let us know if you're seeing the 90 second previews, what country you're in, and whether or not the 90 second previews are everywhere or just on a few songs.

iSheetMusic, an app that allows you to download sheet music to your iPhone or iPad, is now available.

iSheetMusic is an educational music app providing fully dynamic sheet music to amateur/hobbyist musicians across every genre imaginable.

• Download your favorite sheet music directly to your device.
• Search for Music in FKBK or PVG formats.
• Use In-App purchase to download new music to your sheet music collection.
• Organize your music into sets; or view by Artist, Composer, or Genre.
• Both an Audible and Visual Metronome are included. Each song defaults to the music default tempo, but you can adjust freely.
• Guitar Chords Diagrams are included (when appropriate).

iSheetMusic is available on the iPhone and iPad for free. Screenshots after the break.

[iTunes link]

Have an app you'd love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we'll take a look.

Curious how to create a playlist directly on your iPhone or iPad? We already know you can create them within iTunes, but what about when you're on the go and want a different mix to listen to?

Creating playlists from your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad is just as easy as it is in iTunes. Follow along and we'll tell you how!

1. First, go to the playlist tab in your iPod app and tap Add Playlist...

2. You'll be prompted to enter a name for your playlist. Enter it and tap Save

3. Now you can tap any of the tabs along the bottom to look for music you want to add to the playlist. Simply tap the plus song to add individual songs or whole albums.

4. Once you are done adding music, tap Done in the upper right hand corner.

5. If you need to edit your playlist (delete or add songs), simply go into the playlist and scroll up and you can edit, clear, or delete the playlist altogether.

That's pretty much it! Next time you sync to your computer, your newly created playlists should also sync back to iTunes. I use this feature quite often on vacations and trips. I also find myself using it to add music I've just recently download to playlists that already exist. Do you guys use this feature?

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward...)

Coverjam Pro by Electric Pocket is a new iPhone and iPad app that, while listening to music, displays photo slideshows of the band.

Listen to your music and Coverjam Pro will search Instagram and Flickr for photos tagged with the band's name to create a stunning full-screen slideshow of the artists as you listen!

• Enhance your listening pleasure with photos of the artist
• Share the photos you like with friends via Facebook, Twitter or Email
• Get a fresh slide-set each time your track changes
• Play music from your iPod, or select from within Coverjam
• View photos in Safari, find out more about them and see other photos by that photographer
• Ban photos you don't like so they're not shown again

Coverjam is available on the iPhone and iPad for $0.99. Screenshots and video after the break.

[iTunes link]

Have an app you'd love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we'll take a look.

AOL has just released its PLAY music app and it looks very interesting. It offers free music streaming as well as a way to share what you’re listening to with your friends via Twitter and Facebook. The app comes with its own music player with access to your iTunes library and also enables you to stream SHOUTcast radio, access CD Listening Party (free streaming of complete albums) and MP3 of the day.

Key Features:

• Listen to your music in a beautiful custom music player
• Play music from an extensive collection of free songs and CD's updated regularly
• Access to over 47,000 SHOUTcast radio stations
• Share your musical experiences with friends and followers
• Find and follow friends using the app through Facebook, Twitter, or Searching
• Add your own album art to your shares
• Share your musical experiences on Facebook and Twitter
• Listen to previews of your friends music posts and buy songs you like on iTunes
• Comment on and like your friends shares, you can tag friends in comments too! Just @username your friends and they'll get an alert
• Get notifications when a friend follows, likes or leaves you a comment

[Free – iTunes link]

Apple has released an app called the iTunes Festival London 2011. The app will let you watch live performances from lots of bands; performing at the Roundhouse in London throughout July. The acts are all taking part in the official iTunes Festival and you can view it all for free on your iOS device.

The iTunes Festival is back with 31 consecutive nights of live music and more. The lineup includes Coldplay, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Paul Simon, Bruno Mars, Adele, My Chemical Romance, Duran Duran, Lang Lang and Moby — to name just a few of the great shows you can watch live on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

The iTunes Festival London 2011 app is completely free and works with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch; running iOS 4.1 and later. The app also supports AirPlay which enables you to stream the content to the big screen via the second generation Apple TV.

[Free – iTunes link]

iOS 5's new Music app -- that's right, iPod.app on iPhone is dead, long live Music and Video apps like iPad! -- has a nice new info popup feature that makes it much easier to make sure you pick just exactly the track you want to play.

On previous versions of iOS, long names were cut off. That meant, for example, if you wanted to find one of a dozen or more chapters in an audio book, it was a guessing game. (Tap. No, not 9-16. Tap. No, not 20-22. Where's 25, dagnabit!) Now you just tap and hold and the full information pops up, making it easy to pick the right one.

It works for most fields, track name, artist name, album name, etc. Again, a small addition but a helpful one.

[Thanks A!]

iTunes Match, another iCloud app, will basically function as a locker for your iTunes library. If you have music that isn't purchased from iTunes, it will match the media in your library with content available in iTunes and allow you to stream it to your devices wirelessly. (What happens if something you have isn't available in iTunes? Do you still need to sync it?)

Apple is saying this process will only take minutes, not hours. All the content will be DRM free and have the same benefits of purchased music. Any songs will be matched and upgraded to 256kbps AAC DRM-free files.

This part of iCloud won't be free, however. It'll cost you $24.99/year. I think this is pretty reasonable for what the service will offer. What do you guys think?

Patently Apple has shone a light on a recent Apple patent that shows how cloud based music and media locker could be integrated into iTunes in robust, dare I say seamless manner.

Apple's patent and invention is directed to locally storing portions of a media item that is streamed to an electronic device. In particular, Apple's invention is directed to locally storing an initial portion of a media item from a user's library, and requesting a stream of the remaining portion of the media item upon starting local playback of the initial portion.

The media items owned or accessible by a user could be stored in a user's media library. The media library could be stored on any suitable device, including for example on a host device, on a remotely accessed server, in a cloud, or in any other suitable location. The user could store at least some media items of the library on an electronic device so that the user could locally play back the media items. The electronic device could include communications circuitry for remotely connecting to the media library and stream media items to the user's device.

So you could basically tap a song, the local portion will begin to play, and your iPhone or iPad would start getting ready to stream the rest from the cloud. That gives instant access but also time to buffer, which means less chance for delays when they're most annoying -- during the song or show.

There's even a setting (see the image above) to let you choose to sync partial music to your device in the iTunes sync settings tab.

So while Apple is getting their record label deals in place, and we're wondering if iTunes cloud will only serve up iTunes music, I'm going to ask if this type of system is the one you want?

[Patently Apple]

Amazon surprised the tech world last night by announcing Cloud Drive and Cloud Player services for streaming music to various platforms. Amazon has stolen a march on Apple after we heard the other day that Apple was supposedly planning to launch a similar service very soon.

The Amazon service will allow you to upload your existing music collection, as well as tracks purchased through Apple’s iTunes or any other medium to the “Cloud Locker.” All Amazon account holders will automatically be given 5GB of online storage which can be increased to 20GB either by paying for more storage or buying an MP3 album from Amazon. Music purchased through Amazon will be automatically added to the Cloud Locker and will not count towards your storage quota. Music can be stored as either MP3 or AAC and in its original bitrate; so there will be no loss in quality. The service also allows you to store other media such as photographs, videos and documents.

The Cloud Player, the playback part of the service, is available either through a desktop web browser such as Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, or as part of the Amazon MP3 application on Android phones.

Amazon Cloud Drive seems to be accessible internationally while Cloud Player is currently blocked outside the US. (This is likely due to licensing issues and may take a long time to resolve -- they've barely expanded Amazon MP3 in the last 3 years.)

Amazon does not appear to be allowing access through iPhone, iPod touch or iPad Safari at the moment either. (Some readers are saying you can hit the download link to stream the music via Safari's built-in QuickTime X player, just like any MP3 link but we can't confirm that yet -- let us know in comments!). Whether Amazon chooses to properly open up access to Mobile Safari, or whether they'll try to include Cloud Player into an iOS app is unknown. Even if Amazon makes an app, would Apple allow it into the App Store or would it be seen as a direct competitor to iTunes?

What do you think of the Amazon Cloud Locker? Do you think Apple will announce a service as flexible as this? Let us know in the comments!

[Amazon PR]

With GarageBand for iPad, Apple is showing that the iPad 2 isn't just for consuming media, but also for creating it. They gave a rather long demo of the app today, showing off a slew of music creating and editing features that will make your old Four Track look like, well, an very old Four Track.

GarageBand projects can be recorded or played directly into the iPad 2 with up to 8 tracks, edited directly on the device, and then either emailed out or even saved so you can continue editing on the Mac. Apple is also including a suite of touch-based instruments including drums, drum machines, keyboard, and synthesizers. These instruments include clever features: they use the accelerometer to determine how hard you're striking a key or drum and also allow you to swipe across keys and wiggle your finger to get vibrato. There are also "Smart Instruments," which are simplified versions of instruments that will allow even the most tone-deaf to create music tracks. On the guitar, you can simply choose a chord and strum and even set it to autoplay.

A full-featured audio recorder, guitar amps, stompbox effects, and very good editing features round out GarageBand for iPad. It will be available on March 11th for $4.99 in the App Store.

Sony has officially launched it's own music streaming service called Music Unlimited, powered by Qriocity, and available now in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Their aim is to challenge Apple's iTunes dominance by providing a service that is available across a myriad of devices such as Playstation 3, Blu-Ray players, Bravia televisions and computers. They also plan on adding an app for Google's Android operating system so they can get into the smartphone scene as well. The pricing will start at as low as $3.99 per month and they plan on rolling it out to more countries this year.

Interestingly enough they are said to also be supporting iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad sometime this year as well. The only problem for them in that regard could be the new 30% cut Apple would require based on their new App Store developer guidelines and subscription service.

We also told you last week that Sony was not happy with Apple and had plans of possibly pulling all of their content from iTunes all together. Well Sony Network Entertainment COO (also involved with Music Unlimited service), Shawn Layden says otherwise.

Sony Music as I understand it has no intention of withdrawing from iTunes, they're one of our biggest partners in the digital domain. I think those words were either taken out of context or the person who spoke them was unclear on the circumstances.

So so you want Music Unlimited on your iOS device or is iTunes the better way for you to have access to music? Tell us your thoughts on Sony's new service!

[ Bloomberg, Business Insider ]

It appears as if Sony is at war with Apple and is threatening to pull its music from iTunes and their games from the App Store as well. Sony has plans on opening their own version of iTunes, an online streaming service called Music Unlimited, and a service that will bring Playstation titles to mobile platforms starting with Android.

Perhaps Sony is not happy about having their reader app rejected by Apple and is taking their frustration out on the end users? Or perhaps Sony just wants a piece of the enormous pie that is mobile downloadings including music and apps. Sony's CEO, Michael Ephraim, had the following to say about Apple and iTunes.

If we do [get mass take up] then does Sony Music need to provide content to iTunes? Currently we do. We have to provide it to iTunes as that's the format right now.

Publishers are being held to ransom by Apple and they are looking for other delivery systems, and we are waiting to see what the next three to five years will hold.

Strong words there. Mr. Ephraim also said their Music Unlimited service right now is planned for Sony's mobile products and may or may not go to other platforms but we can assume that now we will not see it available for use on any iOS device.

So it appears as if Sony and Apple are starting into some unfriendly times and it will seemingly only hinder the consumer. What are your thoughts on Sony's threats to pull its stuff from iTunes all together? Does it matter or is there already enough content that you won't even notice their departure? Sound off below!

[ Digital Life, thanks Anthony! ]

Beginning February 15, Last.fm will require a subscription to stream music to your iPhone and it will be ad-free. Here's what Last.fm's VP of production, Matthew Hawn had to say:

On the Last.fm website an ad-supported, free-to-listeners model is what supports our online radio services in the US, UK and Germany. In other markets and on emerging mobile and home entertainment devices, it is not practical for us to deliver an ad supported radio experience, but instead, we will migrate to what we believe is the highest quality, lowest cost ad-free music service in the world.

Interestingly, streaming to mobile apps and on home entertainment devices will become an ad-free, subscriber-only feature with the exception of Windows Phone 7 and Xbox users. The ad-supported model will also still be available on the desktop app.

A Last.fm subscription is reasonably priced at $3 per month. You can sign up here.

For the cost of a fancy coffee, a Last.fm monthly subscription allows you to listen to radio across all platforms, on all your devices, and without commercial interruptions.

Any Last.fm listeners planning to subscribe?

[wpcentral]

Ping has rolled out new Social Playlists that you can make to share with your friends and followers. Social Playlists allows you to compile a seemingly limitless list of songs available in the iTunes Store, for your followers to buy.

The page-layout is similar to any album you would find in iTunes, including the ability to rate and comment on playlists and a unique icon, made up of 4 of the albums in your playlist. You and your friends can also create a collaborative playlist, to easily share songs with each other. The playlists are also viewable but not editable on the iPhone/iPod touch in the 'Ping' section of the iTunes app, so you can buy songs directly from the device.

The Social Playlists are a great way to share songs that you may have bought from other sources like Amazon MP3 or ripped-CDs Are you going to be using these new Social Playlists and do they make Ping any more compelling for you?

[9to5Mac]

About a month ago we told you that iTunes previews were set to increase to 90 seconds, well last night Apple started rolling some of those 90 second previews out in iTunes US.

Any song that is over 2 minutes and 30 seconds will allow you to preview 90 seconds of the song to better help you with making the decision to purchase the song. Previously all previews were only 30 seconds and many songs had previews in odd places that did not even allow users to experience much vocally to be able to tell if they would be interested in purchasing that song. Now users will have a larger scope to use to judge the quality of songs utilizing this new iTunes feature.

Not every song over 2 minutes and 30 seconds has the new 90 second previews available yet but they should be rolling out more and more. Also songs of less than the above mentioned time will be stuck with the original 30 second previews.

Are you excited to now have the ability to hear more of a song before making a purchase or were you perfectly content with the 30 second previews?

A new song from the late Michael Jackson has hit the net, but the only place you can currently grab the track is on Apple's Ping social network. The track will be exclusive to Ping for the next week, followed by the subsequent release of his full record on December 14th.

It's interesting to see the track being made available on Ping before MJ fans can grab it anywhere else. Hopefully this will give Ping a boost, as the social service hasn't picked up too much traction since its debut in early September.

Any Michael Jackson fans planning on downloading this new tune? Let us know in the comments!

[Mashable]

Have a rather large iTunes library and curious how to still get it all your apps, games, movies, music, TV shows, and podcasts onto your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? Fret not, w're going to show you a neat little trick to help cut down the size of your music and fit more of everything else... after the break!

Built right into iTunes is a feature that automatically converts your higher bit rate song (256kbps is the current standard) to 128kbps for optimized transfer to your iPhone and iPad. Music lovers might not want to risk any loss of quality but for most people the difference is not distinguishable and the storage savings are significant. Here's what to do:

• Plug your iPhone and iPad into iTunes
• Select "Convert Higher Bit Rate Songs to 128kbps AAC"
• Sync
• That's it!

Note: if you have a large iTunes library it might take a long time to do the initial conversion (my 495+ song took about an hour) but it only happens the first time and when it's done you'll have tons of space for videos, apps, or anything else (I saved about 3.4GB!)

Bonus tip: With iTunes 10, if you just select the "convert" box, the memory display bar will automatically adjust, so you can see how much space you'll be saving before hand and can decide if it's really worth it to you.

It's too bad they don't offer this for video! If you try it out, let us know how much space you saved and if you have any questions, leave them in comments!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward.)

If you've just updated to iOS 4.2 on your iPhone only to discover all your favorite music has mysteriously gone missing, don't worry, you're not alone. Our tip line has exploded with users complaining about the very same thing. It's a scare for sure but luckily the fix is quite simple. Check it out after the break.

First take a deep breath. The songs aren't really gone from your iPhone the bug is just stopping them from being displayed properly. All you have to do is encourage your iPhone to get its act together:

• Grab your cable and plug your iPhone into iTunes on your Windows or Mac PC
• When your iPhone shows up in the sidebar, make sure you can see the content listings beneath it (click on the triangle to the left if not)
• Click on music
• Pick a song
• Play it in iTunes
• Sync your iPhone

Voila! Go back to your iPod app on your iPhone and you'll find all your precious songs just the way you left them pre-update. (Unfortunately you can't send Apple the bill for pain and suffering...)

Thanks to everyone who sent this in! Did this bug fix work for you? Let us know your results in the comments below!

As rumored, the Beatles are now up and available on the iTunes music store.

It only took 7 years, a trademark lawsuit, and more false-starts than you can shape a mop top at, but now you can finally get individual albums with iTunes LP for $12.99 or download the digital box set -- which contains the entire catalogue -- for $149.

“We’re really excited to bring the Beatles’ music to iTunes,” said Sir Paul McCartney. “It’s fantastic to see the songs we originally released on vinyl receive as much love in the digital world as they did the first time around.”

“I am particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes,” said Ringo Starr. “At last, if you want it—you can get it now—The Beatles from Liverpool to now! Peace and Love, Ringo.”

“We love the Beatles and are honored and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “It has been a long and winding road to get here. Thanks to the Beatles and EMI, we are now realizing a dream we’ve had since we launched iTunes ten years ago.”

“In the joyful spirit of Give Peace A Chance, I think it is so appropriate that we are doing this on John’s 70th birthday year,” said Yoko Ono Lennon.

“The Beatles on iTunes—Bravo!” said Olivia Harrison.

“The Beatles and iTunes have both been true innovators in their fields,” said EMI Group CEO Roger Faxon. “It’s a privilege for everybody at EMI to work with Steve Jobs and with Apple Corps’ Jeff Jones and their teams in marking a great milestone in the development of digital music.”

Anyone hitting the buy button?

[iTunes link, Apple PR, Apple Beatles page]

The music subscription-based Napster application is now available in the App Store to use on your iPhone or iPod touch. Last year the application seemed to be ready to go but due to apparent high licensing fees it was never released. The app made it's debut last night and gives you the capability to save songs, albums and playlists for offline playback and also tosses in music recommendations for your listening pleasure.

While the application is free to download, there is a $10 a month fee attached to the Napster plus mobile subscription to use on your iOS device. With so many subscription-based music services already available do you think Apple has been thinking twice about introducing their own service or are they taking their time developing something much bigger and better?

[iTunes link - free]

iTunes 10 is here, we've been using it for a while, and now we've got a complete walkthrough for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users. If you're new to iTunes 10, especially if you're new to iOS devices, we'll help you get up and running quickly. If you're already an expert, well here's a guide you can send your new user friends and family. Let's get started, after the break.

If you haven't downloaded iTunes 10, you can do so from Apple.com. Once it's installed, plug in your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to get started.

Summary/Info

The Summary section is helpful for checking on updates for your iOS device and restoring it if you run into problems. You can also configure some preferences such as syncing automatically when you plug-in your device. If you use a service like Apple's MobileMe, you won't have to do much on the Info section, but if you don't sync over the air, you can choose/manage what to sync over here such as Contacts, Calendar and Bookmarks.

New Color Bars

When you plug in your iOS device you will notice a colored bar at the very bottom labeled "Capacity". This bar is not a new feature to iTunes 10, but it is a tweaked one. It is divided into colors showing you what you have stored on your device by Audio, Video, Photos, Apps, Books, Other and Free space. If you click in the colored space it will cycle you through few options. Click it once and it will list you how many items you have in each respective category. Next it will break down the data into volume such as days and hours. Last, the display will show you the storage taken up by each category. Depending where you begin clicking this sequence may be in a different order, but it is still quite useful.

Managing Apps

iTunes 10 brings a couple of welcome changes to how iOS devices manage apps- especially if you have an iPhone/iPod Touch and an iPad. On the Apps section of iTunes on your device you have a filter that is probably default sorted by Kind. This places the iPhone and iPod Touch apps at the top and iPad apps at the bottom. You have more filters such as Name and Category, but the really useful choice is "iPad Only". This selection only displays iPad apps for your iPad. Regretfully, iTunes does not save this filtered selection and the next time you plug in your iOS device, it gets reset to Kind.

You also have a check box at the bottom of the screen that allows you to automatically install new apps. This option works great for me, but not my wife. With this checkbox checked, she gets every app I have downloaded installed on her device. An easy way around this is to go to the preview screen to the right in iTunes and select the last screen. This is typically where new apps will go (unless you have a lot of gapping spaces on your home screen). You can delete the app by hovering over it and clicking the X in the top left corner of the app. You can also remove any other app while you are at it. Be careful though, most apps don't store their info in the cloud yet, so if you delete it, the data might go with it too.

If you have an .ipa file (Apple's app format) you can drag and drop those files to the Apps section in iTunes located in the upper left.

File Sharing

Do you have an app such as Apple iWork Pages that you would like to get some documents installed? Piece of cake. Scroll to the bottom of the Apps section in iTunes for your app device and you will see the Apps and Document area. Click on the app you want and you will see an available list of documents currently synced to that app. If you want to add more documents, click the Add... button, browse to the document(s) and click Choose. If you want to save a document from the selected application, select it and click Save to... to place it on a folder on your computer. Here is an easy tip; of you want to save multiple files from an app or all of them, click the first document then hold the Shift key and click the last document. This selects all of them. Now you can save all of the documents to your computer. You can also Ctrl (PC) and the Apple Key (Mac) to select just the apps you want when clicking on them.

Music

Getting music on your iPhone/iPod Touch or iPad has never been easier. You can choose to sync your entire music library (it won't fit on my device... my library is too big). Or pick your favorite Artists, Genres, Playlists an Albums.

Do you have a lot of music videos? I do, but I don't want to sync all of my videos; that can take up precious space. To still get music videos on your  iOS device but not all of them, create a playlist in iTunes and drag the music videos you want onto it. Make sure the Include Music Videos checkbox is checked and you are ready to Rock and Roll, so to speak.

Movies/TV Shows/Podcasts/iTunes U

These sections all work relatively the same way. Select played or unplayed content to sync or a playlist. You can even choose more robust choices like the most recent episode that has been downloaded but not played. Yikes, but it is useful so you don't get redundant content on your device.

Books

Photos

If you use iPhoto or Aperture you can sync those events and projects to your iOS device. On the iPhone 4 and iPod Touch with Retina Displays pictures looks very good. They are also fun to view on the iPad with its huge display. If you really like someone, you can even use the Faces feature and sync over just specific people; that is just too cool. If you own a PC you can sync directly from a folder.

Ping

Ah, the only really "new" feature in iTunes 10 for iOS devices (except for iPad running 3.2, gotta wait till 4.2 folks) is Ping, Apple's new social network for music. You can access Ping directly from iTunes via the Ping button from the desktop and iPhone/iPod Touch.

I really enjoy Ping. You can follow other artists, like and post songs and albums. Strangely you can only do this with music, not Audiobooks or Podcasts. I am betting in the future you will be able to.

Conclusion

Both iTunes Store music and iOS App Store apps are being downloaded at an increasing rate. Apps are just increasing faster.

As can be seen, the App store has reached the same total downloads in 2.2 years as the iTMS reached after five years. The two curves are likely to be the same height (around 13 billion each) before the year is over.

I'm downloading far more apps than music, what about you?

[Asymco]

If you've ever wanted to plug in your friend's iPhone, iPad or iPod touch into your computer to listen to their music, 9to5 Mac points out that today is your lucky day. Doing so will grant you access to all of the music on that iOS device to play via iTunes 10 without having to enable manually manage music mode.

Just don't expect to be able to export the music files to your computer...

[9to5Mac]

The TiPb forums are naturally a great place to talk, commiserate, celebrate, get help, and offer advice to your fellow iPhone users. In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is easy and free so if you haven’t already head on over and register now!

• Discuss your reactions to the official Apple 2010 Special Music event here. Was it what you expected? Disappointed? Let us know!

• iTunes 10 with Ping was released yesterday, give us your thoughts on this latest version!

• Want to discuss iOS 4.1? This is the thread to do so: iOS 4.1 update.

• Might as well chat up the iOS 4.2 as well, do so here: iOS 4.2.

See you in the forums!

The TiPb forums are naturally a great place to talk, commiserate, celebrate, get help, and offer advice to your fellow iPhone users. In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is easy and free so if you haven’t already head on over and register now!

• Rumor is that sometime this month we may see some sort of iPhone 4 redesign to provide better reception. What are your thoughts on this?

• You know you want one of the four iPhone 4 Vapor cases that we are giving away... Here is your chance to win one!

• Official Apple 2010 Special Music Event predictions/reactions.

• Some of you are having some battery drain issues running iOS 4.0.2. While I'm not seeing this personally, how about you?

See you in the forums!

At their annual special music event tomorrow, could Steve Jobs announce that Apple's iTunes song previews are doubling to 60 seconds? That's what CNET is hearing rumored:

Currently, iTunes offers 30-second snippets of songs, a feature designed to give users a taste of the music to help them decide whether they like it enough to buy. Some users have long complained that half a minute isn't enough time to really hear a song.

30 seconds has sometimes been enough for me, sometimes not. It depends on which 30 seconds they preview. The first 30 seconds of long, building instrumental intro to a rock song usually doesn't provide any context for the song itself. Part of the chorus with enough overlap on one side or another and I'm good.

Given the plethora of other announcements we expect, iPod touch 4, iPod nano 6, iOS 4.1, maybe Apple TV/iTV, etc. how important is this one to you?

[CNET]

Today MOG (Music on the Go) [iTunes Link - free download] has been released into the App Store. For $10/per month you will get access to over 8 million songs with the ability to store the MP3 files (up to 320Kbps) directly on your iPhone/iPod touch to listen to them whenever and wherever you want. Keep in mind this is purely an app that allows you to store the music locally on your iOS device and not actually keep or transfer the files.

Unlike some of the streaming music apps such as Pandora, with MOG you get ad-free music from favorite artists with no limit on the number of consecutive tracks by a single artist. The one big pitfall is the current lack of multi-tasking support. On a positive note we were promised that this will be added within a few weeks time period.

Be sure to check out the video after the the break and if you give MOG's free three-day, no commitment trial a go let us know what you think in the comments below!

If you are a Pandora user and are currently running iOS 4 on your iPhone or iPod touch then head into the App Store to update the app to version 3.1 which contains the new multitasking feature. Today, at some point, Apple will be releasing iOS 4 to the masses so it is no surprise we will start to see many applications in the App Store updated to be compatible with iOS 4.

So waste no time and take advantage of the latest version of Pandora!

[Thanks to all of you who sent this in!]

Apple's iTunes News has posted up a helpful tip on how to use the new automatic 128 kpps downsampling function in iTunes to squeeze double the music (if lower quality) onto your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.

Audiophiles will no doubt rather scratch their ears out than listen to anything that highly compressed, but if your ears are more greedy than golden, the 128 kbps downsampling might just be for you.

You can find it when you plug your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad into iTunes over USB, on the general screen that comes up. (See screenshot, above). Here are the extra-geeky details:

The bit rate for iTunes Plus (which is the format used for all music from the iTunes Store) is 256kbps (kilobits per second), and that's also the default for the Import Settings used when you rip CDs. It provides excellent sound quality through most any playback system. However, for many people 128 kbps provides very, very good quality itself and may be acceptable for most situations. Your ear, taste, and how and where you listen to the music matter at least as much as the bit rate. If you're feeling squeezed for space on one of your devices, select this option to fit in twice as many iTunes Plus songs. The music on your computer won't be altered in any way and you can always switch back to 256kbps (or higher if you've ripped music at a custom bit rate) by unchecking the option the next time you sync.

I tried it but ultimately switched back to the regular mode. I couldn't really tell the difference, but I didn't sync enough music for it to matter so decided just to leave it off. Let me know if you're liking, and using it.

[Apple iTunes News]

CNET is reporting that Apple is planning to unveil their iTunes music streaming service at least by the third quarter of this year. After Apple acquired Lala back in December, it was rumored that the company was entertaining the idea of a streaming music service that would allow users to back-up and access their music library from any device with internet connectivity.

"Music industry sources told CNET this week Apple has informed label managers that a streaming music service is unlikely to be ready before the third quarter. It will be a disappointment for iTunes fans who have been speculating as to when Apple might use music site Lala--which Apple acquired in December--for its streaming expertise to launch a cloud-based music service."

This is definitely disappointing to hear and if you are looking for even more bad news CNET is also reporting that Apple "hasn't done much" with video content for iPad either with the exception of sending iPads to certain movie executives. But we're not greedy, we'd be happy with Hulu and Netflix streaming...

[Via CNET]

Outside storing music in the iPhone's built in iPod app, there are a variety of ways to simply stream the audio you want to listen to:

• Streaming internet radio/subscription apps are the obvious place to start. Slacker [iTunes link], Pandora [iTunes link], Pocket Tunes [iTunes link], Spotify [iTunes link]... the list goes on an on. Some are limited to the US (or just slightly beyond the US) or Europe, but those who have them in their area often swear by them. Some of these also provide local storage so you can keep some of the songs on your device for those occasions when a Wi-Fi or 3G isn't available.
• Musical games, spearheaded by Tap Tap Revenge [iTunes link] and Rock Band [iTunes link] have shown that users are just as willing -- sometimes even more willing -- to buy songs for sport as they are for simple enjoyment. With in-app purchases, some of these games have even become music stores unto themselves.
• Musical apps, where an artist or group wants to create something more than just a song file or even iTunes LP, have also become fairly common on the App Store. These can range significantly in content and presentation, but they can and do bring the music.
• Storage apps, like MobileMe iDisk, Box.net, DropBox, etc. can give you access to the music you keep on the cloud. Just like they can view your documents and other files, they can typically play any supported audio format you've loaded them up with.
• Mobile Safari, the iPhone and iPod touch (and soon, iPad) web browser can play any music format Apple supports. Just tap on a link and the Quicktime player pops up, buffers, and plays your audio. This includes audio you've stored on your own web-enabled server setups. And it's one of the few apps that's allowed to keep playing in the background -- when it doesn't run out of RAM or lose connection or otherwise glitch-out.
• iTunes app, while it will only give you 30 seconds of music for sampling, will stream full-length podcasts if you tap on the title instead of the download button. If you prefer talking and creative commons to the latest premium hits, it's a surprisingly useful option. And it will play in the background just like Safari (and potentially fail, just like Safari).

We're all hoping iPhone 4.0 addresses that pesky "no streaming internet music while using other apps" multitasking miss we've suffered through lo these last 3 years, but in the meantime -- what are you using to stream your music on your iPhone? Any tips and or tricks you can share?

GigaOm is reporting that, contrary to speculation that Steve Jobs wanted to return us to a more analog time when we bought new albums and sank back for ours drinking in every liner note and detail, iTunes LP was actually the record labels' idea:

I’m told by an industry source who preferred to remain anonymous that iTunes LP wasn’t Apple’s idea in the first place. Rather, it’s the result of the same renegotiations between Apple and the major record labels that yielded DRM-free songs and flexible pricing early last year, a concession by Cupertino to make a gesture in favor of album sales as consumers increasingly show a preference for digital singles.

It's further said that Apple subsidized the first batch of iTunes LPs, whose production costs were an unbelievable $60,000. The more recent release of developer tools is seen as reducing that cost, and rumors persist of an iDVD-like replacement application from Apple that would work to make iTunes LP and iTunes Extra.

Either way, enthusiasm among artists and Apple itself seems to be low, though just over double the amount of iTunes LPs are available now than were at launch. GigaOm suggests artists are also interested in the App Store as a way to provide extra content to consumers, which might split focus for iTunes LP.

In terms of pushing the format forward, it's now supported by Apple TV (stuttering though it may be), but there's been no sign of support for the 75 million iPhone and iPod touch devices on the market. It will be supported by the iPad, however, though Apple hasn't been pushing iTunes LP as a selling point so far.

Have you bought an iTunes LP? Are you interested in the format going forward?

UPDATE: And the winner is... Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia who downloaded song number 10 billion -- “Guess Things Happen That Way” by Johnny Cash! Congrats! iTunes (and Internet Services) VP Eddie Cue had this to say:

“We’re grateful to all of our customers for helping us reach this amazing milestone We’re proud that iTunes has become the number one music retailer in the world, and selling 10 billion songs is truly staggering.”

ORIGINAL: So the contest is done and we're waiting to see who won Apple's 10 Billion iTunes Music download $10,000 iTunes gift card.

We'll update as soon as they announce a winner, but in the meantime if you bought anything today in an attempt to get in on the action, let us know what it was. We're always looking for some good tune recommendations!

If you been searching for some holiday music for your iPhone or iPod, iTunes has you covered with the iTunes Holiday Sampler by various artists. Oh, and not only is it free for one week, it's an iTunes LP so you get all the goods including lyrics, images and artwork, and so on.

The good news is you will get a total of twenty tracks from artists like Weezer, David Archuleta, Toby Keith, Sarah McLachlan, etc... Now for the bad news, sadly if you are like Rene and outside of the U.S., this is not available to you. Don't shoot us, we're just the messenger.

UPDATE: Now available in the UK as well! [iTunes link]

UPDATE 2: In Canada, finally, but with only 7 songs. Bah humbug! [iTunes link]

To those of you who can download this, enjoy your free holiday music!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

AppleInsider is reporting that Apple has updated links within iTunes to redirect the user to a browser-based preview page called "iTunes Preview". So now you can send a link for a certain album to a friend and they can view it regardless of whether or not their computer has iTunes installed. Previously a link would recognize iTunes was missing and require that iTunes be installed.

These iTunes preview links can be found in the iTunes "Copy Link" feature. From there you can browse customer reviews, albums, artists, and tracks directly from the web. The only thing missing is the App Store, perhaps that is something Apple is currently working on.

So for those of you who hate opening iTunes to view a link or simply don't have it installed, Apple has just given you one more option.

[Via AppleInsider]

Streaming music has gotten pretty popular among iPhone owners and today we'd like to introduce you to one more option, Lala.

Lala gives you the ability to listen to any song for free one time. If you happen to like the song you pay $0.10 for unlimited listening. And at $0.10 per "Web Song" you can pretty much purchase a full album for a single dollar. That may not convince all of you but Lala has one more trick up it's sleeve -- you can upload your entire music library from your computer to the cloud for you to stream back to your iPhone, completely free. Lose you data connection for some reason? No worries as Lala uses caching to save your music. Exactly how much is cached is not known just yet but it's a nice feature regardless.

This is definitely an app worth taking a closer look at when it hits the App Store. It should be free to download and you can expect to see it available within the next few weeks.

[Via TechCrunch]

Composers, writers, and publishers of the music Apple sells in the iTunes stores are petitioning the government to mandate that Apple should not only pay them their cut of the sale price (which they already get) but should also fork over a performance fee for the 30 second samples iTunes provides to help sell that music.

Now, we're all for content creators getting a fair cut of the profits -- indeed we are content creators here at TiPb editorial -- but, a) asking that marketing done to help sell your music be deemed performance that requires payment, and then b) when failing to negotiate that with Apple, asking the government to mandate it?

Imagine Nike demanding a shoe store pay them to display Nike shoes on the wall. Strangely, in the reality we live, typically you pay for advertising, you don't get paid for having your product advertised (if so, we're going to get some TiPb signs up in Times Square and have NYC pay us a bundle).

Getting back to the fair cut of profits -- creators have historically gotten shafted and we get that. But they've historically gotten shafted not by Apple or other online, or even brick and mortar retailers, but by Big Media (in this case the record labels). If the creators want to go after them, want to rectify the bad deals and swindles of the past, we'll get the popcorn and spicy drink and cheer them on.

They also want performance fees for downloads, which is equally stupefying, since buying a song electronically is not analogous to Apple performing it, but to buying the CD. If Apple were to hold a live streaming concert on Apple.com, then, yes, performance fee.

Okay, maybe we're being too one side. Maybe Apple is an easier, trendier target, and if Big Music won't pay artists what's fair, maybe Apple should be forced to pay unfairly. And if they are, maybe Apple should turn around and charge the artists 110% marketing/brokerage fee for putting the samples up to encourage sales...

Now excuse us, we're off to bill Amazon for the cover art and sample pages they're using to sell our pulp novels...

[via CNET]

Rhapsody [free - iTunes Link] is now available in the iTunes App Store. It was less than a month ago that we told you about the submission of RealNetwork's Rhapsody iPhone app, well Apple may have been scared straight by the FCC because it's been approved and is now available as a free download.

Now don't don't forget there is a $15/month subscription fee you must dish out if you want all of that music streaming goodness over AT&T's data network or Wi-Fi. Sorry folks, no off-line access like Spotify here.

In a strange twist of fate, PreCentral.net tells us Palm has rejected their first App Catalog app, NaNPlayer, a (superior according to PC) replacement for the built-in Pre music player. Why did they do this? The developer used an undocumented API and that violates the SDK agreement. Sound familiar, iPhone users? Will Palm now get the same grief Apple does?

Sound off in the comments!

Spotify [Free with premium subscription - iTunes link] is now available for iPhone (and iPod touch) is now available -- if you live in the UK, Sweden, Spain, France, Norway or Finland.

According to Spotify, if you live in those countries and have a premium subscription, you can enjoy:

• Access to millions of tracks with Spotify�s constantly updated catalogue
• Search and stream music instantly. Browse by artist, title, album, genre, label or year
• Create and synchronise playlists. Updates from the desktop application will be synced instantly and vice versa
• Playlists can be downloaded and played in offline mode when you have no connection, are on a plane or subway, or abroad and subject to roaming data fees
• Listen to tracks and albums in their entirety. Rewind, fast-forward, pause, skip and shuffle
• View cover art for all tracks and albums

So, if you live in one of those countries, and have a premium account, and an iPhone or iPod touch (list long enough yet?) and you try out the Spotify App, let us know how it works for you!

[Thanks James for the tip!]

Lars Ulrich rejoice, Napster will NOT be heading into Apple's coveted App Store any time soon. Strange considering they once toyed with our emotions by mentioning an iPhone app was in the works? Sadly, unlike Spotify, it is just not going to happen anytime in the near future. Did Apple reject it? No, so do not go ditching your iPhone for a Android or RIM device just yet -- Napster have scrapped apps for those devices as well.

One of the most common questions Napster receives is, �When will you offer an iPhone app?� Well, Napster has created an iPhone application that allows subscribers to stream music on-demand to their iPhone�including personal playlists, albums and radio stations. You can imagine the company is also looking at streaming applications for several other mobile platforms as well (Blackberry, Android). However, due to the high licensing fees for streaming to a mobile phone, Napster has not yet submitted the iPhone app to Apple for approval or attempted to bring the application to market.

Now let's think about this for a moment, they put their iPhone application on hold due to "high licensing fees". If Spotify and Rhapsody can pull it off why can't Napster? Maybe it's due to the fact those companies charge $10.00 more a month for their service perhaps.

Whatever the case may be, would you be willing for fork over some extra cash to get Napster on your iPhone?

[Via MediaMemo]

Apple went ahead and gave the green flag for the music streaming service Spotify, whose biggest selling point is the fact you can create playlists in a free desktop app, and then listen to those playlists via your iPhone at any point in time, with or without a data connection. Apple told the developer:

�The current status as of right now is it�s been approved, and we hope to add the app to the more than 65,000 apps on the app store very soon, We�ve been in constant communication working with the developer and have already notified Spotify that the app will be in the app store very soon.�

The good news is Apple approving this application for iPhone owners. The bad news being it is currently only available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Britain, France and Spain. The weird news is that we still don't see it actually in the App Store in those countries?

Spotify's popularity has grown to over 2 million subscribers in Britain and they hope to have their service available here in the US before the end of the year. Perhaps this approved iPhone app will help things move along quicker. Music lovers can only hope.

Would any of our readers be ready to lay down their hard earned money for a service such as Spotify?

[Via Wired]

RealNetworks recently submitted their on-demand music streaming application for the iPhone and iPod Touch to Apple for review. Yes, this is the moment all of you Rhapsody subscribers have been waiting for.

Rhapsody is a subscription based service, $12.99/Month, that allows you the ability to listen to any single song or album on-demand. Current subscribers to Rhapsody can simply log into the app with their existing user name and password and can be streaming music in no time. If you are not a subscriber you will have the opportunity to take the app for a free limited time test drive.

The big question is whether or not Apple will approve this app but given the amount of negative press Apple's app approval process is currently getting, we are leaning towards this one being approved.

Subscription based music streaming is in high demand on devices such as iPhone so it makes us wonder - when will Apple make it's move into the music streaming business? Not that this would be likely to actually happen but Apple could even offer the service as an extra perk to all of us who subscribe to their MobileMe service.

Would you be willing to pay Apple for a service such as Rhapsody or are you perfectly content with current iTunes setup?

[Real Networks Blog via Daring Fireball]

According to Times Online, It now seems as if Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI are putting the finishing touches on their new album format, CMX, and are ready to do battle against Apple's rumored "Cocktail" enhanced album format.

It was just last month we reported about Cocktail, which would feature new interactive booklets, sleeve notes and other features alongside music downloads in an attempt to lure consumers into making more full album purchases. Now, while it looks like "Cocktail" does exist, it seems that none of the record labels had any hand in creating it. According to this story, record labels first approached Apple 18 months ago to see if they wanted in on this new CMX format and Apple politely refused. Apple then created "Cocktail" in order to compete with Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI.

One senior record label insider said: “Apple at first told us that they were not interested, but now they have decided to do their own, in case ours catches on.

While most of us here at TiPb have no major quarrels purchasing our music digitally, there are a lot of people out there who feel when purchasing digital albums over the internet you are not getting the full album experience. Would this new format make purchasing digital albums any less painful for you? And would you rather go with Apple's "Cocktail" or the music industry's CMX?

Apple today announced that they've added Mexico to growing list of international iTunes Stores. And we say... it wasn't there already?

“The iTunes Store in Mexico is off to a great start with music from all of the majors and hundreds of indie labels,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “And the revolutionary App Store in Mexico gets bigger and better with great new apps using amazing new features, and we can’t wait to see what developers come up with next.”

So, Mexican Readers, if you liked the App Store, tell us how you feel about music coming your way...

Still searching for that perfect online music streaming application for your iPhone? Spotify may be exactly what you are looking for.

Spotify is a online streaming music service that gives you access to over-the-air streaming of their entire music library, as well as playlist access. Where this application has a leg up on the competition is that you'll be able to cache playlists locally on your iPhone while in WiFi areas so that you'll be able to play them back at any time without any data connection. Spotify will be available as a free app download but will only be available to premium customers who pay £9.99 a month for the service.

Now comes the disappointing part of the story -- Spotify is not available here in the United States or Canada due to licensing restrictions. Sorry folks, we will have to make do with Pandora, Pocket Tunes, etc...

How many of you, our valued readers, think Apple will let this one slip into the App Store? Will it get rejected for "duplicating functionality"? Or will it mysteriously disappear into the abyss like so many applications before it?

[Thanks to icebike & Sam for the tip!]

iTunes 8.1 brought us some snazzy improvements to Party Shuffle iTunes DJ and the iPhone's Remote app. That wasn't the only iPhone-related improvement, however, as Ars Techica notes, there's a new feature that used to be reserved for the iPod Shuffle that you can now use for the iPhone: Autofill.

Autofill essentially lets you just fill up the empty space on your iPhone with some randomly chosen music (you can choose to leave some space open for installing apps and the like later on). As somebody who's not really into constantly creating playlists and managing albums, it's a nice option. A nice option that's squirreled away in a pretty difficult to find place.

After the break, we walk you through the steps (courtesy of the Ars Article) screenshot-by-screenshot.

Step 1: Set iTunes to manually manage your music on the iPhone

In the "Summary" tab for the iPhone, check "Manually manage music and videos." This shouldn't erase any of the previously-auto-synced music, but it will mean that your previous auto-sync settings won't work anymore.

Step 2: Find that darn Autofill button

Now that you can manually manage music on your iPhone, you're free to create playlists on the device, drag and drop albums, the whole shootin' match. Additionally, you can, yes, autofill the sucker. To do all that, just click the little triangle next to the iPhone to get a drop down of all your device playlists. Select the Music section and then you'll see your Autofill settings on the lower-right.

Step 3: Adjust Settings

Before you go ahead and auto-fill, you'll want to take a moment to visit the autofill settings:

The setting for "reserve space for disk use" is a little unclear, as you likely are already using plenty of disk space for your previous video, music, and apps. Adjust as you like to choose how much music you'd like to auto-fill with and then decide whether or not you'd like iTunes to give priority to highly-rated songs. Click ok, click "Autofill" and watch your music fly on into your iPhone.

Well Tap Tap Revenge 2 is now available in the App Store and for a great low price: Free!

Right off the bat, Tap Tap Revenge 2 comes with more than 150 free downloadable tracks, and we’ll continue to add great new tracks every week. The three bundled tracks in the game are some of our favorites. Death Cab for Cutie’s “The Sound of Settling“ is supremely catchy and super fun to play.Stroke 9 went into the studio to write and record Tap Tap DomiNation, the hot new title track for Tap Tap Revenge 2.

Tap Tap Revenge 2 has the same addictive gameplay as the first game but add a completely new look and feel to it with some additional new features. Some of these new features are: a online multiplayer mode, 3-D experience where the feedback and the colors get crazier the better you do in the game, multi-tap - tap & hold and instant tap feedback make the game more challenging and fun at the higher levels, a career mode, and finally a kids mode.

Once again, you can download this game for free in the App Store today. And don't forget to keep an eye out for free and paid music track downloads in the near future!

CNet takes a look, 6 years later, at Steve Jobs' 2003 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine and the checklist of predictions -- make that accomplishments -- is impressive. Then again, Steve Jobs did make his name, and Apple's, with just that kind of market savvy:

• iPod (and now iPhone) could be more important to Apple than the Mac
• Big media doesn't understand technology
• iTunes would be non-trivial for others to copy in 6 months (make that 6 years?)
• Copyright is important. Theft corrodes the soul. Apple will provide a legal alternative
• iTunes could sell 1 billion songs a year (now selling 1 billion in 6 months)

What's even more interesting is seeing how Steve Jobs' insight not only helped change the face of computers (Apple, Mac), Music (iPod, iTunes), retail (Apple Store), movies (Pixar) but now also cell phones (iPhone). Mostly linked together (Pixar more tangentially), but with the same focus on premium quality, unsurpassed user experience, and utter simplicity of execution.

Makes me even more eager for the iPhone 2,1 (iPhone HD?) to really bring it all together...

[via Daring Fireball]

During his Macworld Keynote (see our MASSIVE Live blog!), Phil Schiller today announced the death of the iPhone (and iPod Touch) WiFi Music Store -- and the birth of the WiFi and 3G Music Store!

Yup, iPhone 3G users can now browser and directly download music over the data network for anywhere, anytime access to new music.

UPDATE: Daring Fireball says downloads work over 2G/EDGE as well!

It seems to already be working, and working in multiple countries (including Canada! Yay!)

Have you downloaded any music directly to your iPhone yet? How did it work for you?

Sonos is a "multi-room music system" that lets you wirelessly stream music to any "zone" in your house either independently or synchronized together using a centralized controller. And, oh yeah, that centralized controller can be an iPhone or iPod Touch.

Chad, with the help of his friend, gave us a first look at using Sonos with the iPhone in lieu of its traditional controller, and raised some great pros (total iPhone control of all music, in every room, of your Sonos-enabled home) and cons (iPhone relegated merely to control, and not leveraged for the media-powerhouse it is in its own right as well) about the experience. So great, in fact, that when Sonos offered TiPb a limited-time demo to test it out, I jumped at the chance.

Since I'm not a Sonos user, not an audiophile, and not particularly interested in struggling anymore with complicated setup procedures, I thought it would be ideal to approach this from a new-user perspective, and one used to the iPhone ecosystem where things (often) "just work".

How did it go? Find out after the break!

Hardware

Delivered in the Sonos box we received were two ZonePlayer 90s and one ZoneBridge. They were kind enough to offer test speakers, but I had that covered.

ZoneBridge

For Sonos to function, at least one of the ZonePlayers needs to be plugged directly into your WiFi router. If you don't happen to have your router conveniently located to one of your sound systems, Sonos provides the ZoneBridge. Just hook that up instead and then put your ZonePlayers wherever else you want them. An elegant enough solution until the ZonePlayers can lose that one-hardwire requirement and go pure WiFi, which given the speeds and range of 802.11N shouldn't be far off. (Right now Sonos prefers to create their own, exclusive Mesh sub-network off the hard-line).

ZonePlayer 90

With the router very close to one of the sound systems I was testing, I could skip the ZoneBridge and plug the ZonePlayer 90 directly into an Airport Extreme. I had to yank out another device to make room for it, but the ZP90 includes a second network jack to give any such de-placed components a new sub-home.

The device itself is nice looking, a white rounded square shape familiar to anyone who likes the Apple aesthetic, and it sits raised on four molded legs. The small size, at 5.4 x 5.5 x 2.9 in, means it doesn't take up a lot of space and can fit in pretty much anywhere (no doubt, however, someone somewhere will complain it's not in rack-mount friendly format -- thank goodness for that!) The front sports a mute button and a volume rocker, and a second Sonos logo (the first being on the top). Design quibble: the buttons, especially the iconography, isn't as beautiful as the device itself, and twice as many logos is half as strong branding. (Especially when the brand was already smartly enough chosen to be readable backwards and forwards, upside and down).

The back holds the ports. From the left is power, RCA stereo in and out, 2 network ports, and digital coax and optical out. This means it should support any home theater, stereo system, self-powered speakers, and other similar sound equipment. The RCA in also means iPods (with the audio out cables), DVD players, TVs, etc. can be plugged in and streamed throughout the system as well.

Unlike many Apple products, the ZP 90 came with some cables! Along with the power cord were RCA connectors and a network cable. No digital cables, unfortunately, so BYO coax or optical if that's how your sound system is set up.

Setup was extremely simple. Just plug the power into the ZP 90, attach a network cable between at least one ZP 90 and your router, and plug in your sound system via any one of the input ports listed above. It took all of a few seconds. If you have more than one ZP 90, the steps are the same as above, minus the hard wire router connection -- WiFi only, baby!

ZonePlayer 120

Though we didn't test one, it should be noted Sonos also has a ZonePlayer 120 available that is similar to the ZP 90 but includes a built in amplifier and direct speaker connections so it can basically serve as its own music system -- no pre-existing home theater, self-powered speakers, or other audio source required.

Software

Setup

The Sonos Controller iPhone app is available, of course, from the iTunes App Store. That means it can be downloaded directly to the iPhone or iPod Touch, or downloaded and synced over via iTunes on the desktop.

Note: Sonos has an installation CD that you can load up on your desktop or laptop to setup the system, but since this is an iPhone blog, I skipped this step and decided to with a full on iPhone-only setup.

Once the Sonos Controller app is installed on the iPhone, tapping it gives you the option to set up your zone. If you've ever used a setup wizard, you'll feel right at home. Hold down the mute and volume up buttons on the ZP 90, the iPhone app detects them, and setup is just a few simple taps and roll-selectors away. If you're setting up more than one zone, which it asks whenever you finish setting up the last on, just repeat the process.

It couldn't be more simple.

Use

Sonos deserves high-marks for the app. It respects iPhone design and user experience paradigms, looks great, and is easy and most importantly -- intuitive to use. Right away they present a very familiar iPhone media browser where you can choose what kind of music you want to listen to, with each choice sliding over narrower sub-options until you ultimately get exactly what you want. This could range from choosing radio to a genre of music to a radio station playing that genre. In addition to internet radio, Sonos (if you install the desktop software) also supports your existing computer-based music collection (though not iTunes DRM-protected content -- record label FAIL again!), as well as services like Audible.com, Napter, and select others.

Don't want to dig through menus? Not a problem. That's why search was invented, and why the iPhone app supports it. Just type in the title or some keywords and, if it's available, it will pop right up.

Once you find something, you can easily add it to "favorites" so you can quickly return to it later.

Select which "zones" the music should play in and, once it starts, volume controls are available to get it to just the right level. Each "zone" can be independent -- for example an MP3 file can be playing in the bedroom and internet radio could be on in the living room, and the iPhone app offers complete control over both.

Alternatively, "zones" can be combined so that the same content, in perfect synchronicity, and be played in multiple or all "zones" simultaneously. Perfect for that party that refuses to stay contained in a single room.

The interface even shows which "zones" are active, so if power is turned off on one system, you can tell it's unavailable. Plug it back in, and it pops back up.

The Sonos Controller app even supports queuing, so you can create a on-the-go playlist for your streaming music/sound content.

Again, as Chad said, it would be nice if the iPhone itself could also be set up as a portable "zone", carrying the same synched content with you around the house, and playing along with the same queue, but if that was an option, we couldn't find it. Maybe version 2.0?

Conclusion

The Sonos system just works, and with the iPhone controller app, it makes Apple's amazing convergence device all the more amazingly convergent. Would that my home were bigger, and I had more friends to party with more often (like in all those spy movies where the target is always throwing a huge bash just conveniently that very night -- that's the scale I'm thinking of!)

What Sonos has accomplished with this app right out of the gate is awesome. If anyone already has Sonos and an iPhone or iPod Touch, and doesn't have this app... what's the matter with you? Go get it now! If anyone has an iPhone and multiple rooms in which they want a highly scalable, superbly controllable audio experience, Sonos is definitely something to look at (or to ask for as a holiday gift! -- perfect timing!)

Pricing and Availability

Sonos is available online via the Sonos Store, or at many fine electronic retailers. MSRP for the ZoneBridge is $99, and the ZonePlayer is $349. Of course, street prices can and often will be lower. Bundles are also available, although I didn't see any without a controller, which iPhone/iPod Touch owners no longer need. A tad pricier than the previous generation, but these are likely premiums for the latest technology, and will no doubt drop over time as all technology prices do.

Rating