iTunes

• Apps & Updates
• Apps
• iOS
• iPhone
• Apple News
• Apple Retail

Apple offering free iTunes Festival songs in Apple Store app as part of sales push

Jordan Kahn Aug 29 2013 - 8:21 am PT

1 Comment

Continuing with its new push to offer free content to users through its Apple Store app, Apple today started offering users a selection of free songs under a new banner promoting the upcoming iTunes Festival. The new section promoting the iTunes Festival is currently offering six free songs with the offer set to expire on October 31. You can access the free content by navigating to a specific store location within the app, but the free content is currently only available to those in the US.

The song downloads follow Apple offering free apps such as Color Zen and free iBook titles through the Apple Store iOS app as part of a new sales push that we reported first back in July. The new initiative offers free content downloads through the Apple Store app as a way to boost content sales and awareness about the company’s App Stores, iTunes content, and iBooks. Apple Store employees are also being encouraged to install the Apple Store app on iOS devices sold in the store.

Apple iTunes Festival is scheduled to take place during the month of September in London, and the events will be streamed to iOS devices, iTunes, and even an app on the Apple TV.

• AAPL Company
• iOS
• iOS Devices
• iPhone
• App Store

Gmail for iOS app updated with bigger image thumbnails, better integration with Google Drive & Google+

Ben Lovejoy Aug 28 2013 - 4:20 am PT

2 Comments

Google has updated its Gmail for iOS app to version 2.4, offering larger image thumbnails, better photo handling and better integration with both Google Drive and Google+.

You can now tap a photo to view it full-size, and both Google Drive and Google+ links now take you direct to the apps if you have them installed. Dealing with Google Docs attachments is now a much slicker experience.

The app is available for download from iTunes.

• AAPL Company
• Apps
• Apple News
• iTunes
• United States

Nine Inch Nails’ new album, ‘Hesitation Marks’, now streaming free on iTunes

Jordan Kahn Aug 27 2013 - 6:18 am PT

6 Comments

After releasing its first single in nearly 5 years with “Came Back Haunted” and returning to play its first North American gig in nearly four years for Lollapalooza, the wait is almost over for the release of Nine Inch Nails’ much anticipated full length album entitled “Hesitation Marks.” For those that can’t wait five days for the album’s official release, Apple today started streaming the album in its entirety for free on iTunes.

The stream is currently working only for users in the US, but we’ve seen that exclusivity window lift after a day or two with free iTunes streams in the past. If you remember, the last big album to stream on iTunes was Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories.” It too started as a US only stream an eventually became available elsewhere. Here’s to hoping that Apple doesn’t make it as easy to download a full, high-quality version of the album like it did with Daft Punk and other iTunes streams before it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRrQrow-PK0

• AAPL Company
• iPhone
• Apple News
• App Store
• iTunes

$50 Apple iTunes Card for $35 shipped (Update: over)

Jared Weintraub Aug 24 2013 - 1:02 pm PT

4 Comments

From 9to5Toys.com:

Update: This one is over. Don’t forget to follow 9to5Toys.com on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Email, RSS to get the latest deals as fast as possible.

Gift Card Mall via eBay is offering a $50 Apple iTunes Gift Card for $35 with free shipping/no tax/limit 4. That’s the lowest price we’ve seen for an iTunes card of this value ever.

Give the gift of one-stop entertainment. Each card includes a code redeemable for music, movies, TV shows, games, apps, and more on the iTunes Store, the iBookstore, the App Store, and the Mac App Store. Recipients can access their content on an iPod, iPad, or iPhone, and watch or listen on a computer – Mac or PC.

We all buy a lot of media through iTunes and App Stores. I easily spend $200/year. Now I just saved $60 easily.
Expand
Expanding
Close

• Apps
• iPad
• iPhone
• Apple News
• App Store

Wacom announces affordable pressure-sensitive Creative Stylus for drawing & painting on an iPad

Ben Lovejoy Aug 20 2013 - 5:15 am PT

5 Comments

Wacom, the company that makes professional-grade drawing tablets with four-figure price-tags, has just announced something a little more affordable: the Intuos Creative Stylus for iPad at $99.

Wacom claims the pressure-sensitive stylus with 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity provides a realistic pen-on-paper feel. The stylus works with a range of iPad apps, including a new version of Wacom’s own free app, Bamboo Paper. The latest version of the app adds Dropbox and Tumblr support, as well as additional tools and color palettes … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

• AAPL Company
• Apps
• iTunes
• AppleTV
• acquisition

Apple bought Matcha because it “found the answer” with its recommendation algorithm

Jordan Kahn Aug 15 2013 - 11:45 am PT

0 Comments

Following reports earlier this week that Apple had acquired video aggregation and discovery service Matcha, TechCrunch claims today that its sources have provided a bit more info on the motivation behind the acquisition. While noting that the purchase price was actually closer to $10-$15 million opposed to the $1 to $1.5 million reported by others, the report says that Apple is after the company’s proprietary recommendation algorithm rather than just its talent:

Nor was it an acqui-hire; this was about the product Matcha built and about the specific recipe for video recommendations it put together via its proprietary algorithm, according to one source close to the matter.Matcha was acquired after testing numerous approaches to generating recommendations, right at the point where it had refined its algorithm such that it saw an explosion in user growth, according to our source. The app did definitely do well on the App Store charts, and was ranked among the top 15 apps in the Entertainment category before it was shut down.’

TechCrunch also adds that Apple found Matcha’s user acquisition and user engagement strategy to be the “best of any other apps competing in that space” and that it had “found the answer” with its recommendation algorithms:

It was Matcha’s user acquisition and user engagement strategy that Apple was interested in, according to one of our sources, since the acquisition happened just after Matcha had completed a round of vigorous A/B testing and had “found the answer” to rapid user growth and time spent in app. Matcha’s pairing algorithms that drove the right content to the right users simply worked best of any other apps competing in that space, the source affirms.

The report also confirms that Apple actually acquired Matcha prior to the company shutting down the service back in May.

The video programming recommendation app, which lets users browse across services like Netflix, iTunes, HBO, Hulu, Amazon Prime and others, didn’t pick up much steam on the App Store after launching in January 2012. While some have speculated that Apple could use the service to help power recommendations for a revamped Apple TV service, today’s report compares the purchase to Apple’s previous acquisition of app recommendation and search service Chomp.

• Tips and Tricks
• iTunes
• Music
• Music Streaming
• john mayer

John Mayer’s new ‘Paradise Valley’ album now available to stream on iTunes

Aug 13 2013 - 7:32 am PT

3 Comments

John Mayer is allowing fans to stream his new CD, “Paradise Valley”, on iTunes a week before its scheduled release. This is Mayer’s sixth studio album and features guest appearances by Katy Perry and Frank Ocean. Those who opt to preorder the album will instantly receive a download of the cut ‘Wildfire’ followed by the entire album on August 20th.

John Mayer has strong connections with Apple. He helped Steve Jobs introduce GarageBand 1.0 back in 2007 and even received one of the very first MacBook Airs back in 2008.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MRDDJjTwTw&w=420&h=315]

Just don’t go downloading it for free, OK?

• AAPL Company
• Apple News
• iTunes
• Breaking Bad
• Season Pass

Breaking Bad season split not going over well with iTunes season pass holders

Jordan Kahn Aug 12 2013 - 7:14 am PT

31 Comments

Breaking Bad, the hit TV show on AMC starring Bryan Cranston, officially returned last night for the highly anticipated second half of season 5. However, some iTunes users are realizing that the Season Pass they purchased for the first half of the season doesn’t grant them access to the second half.

The discrepancy comes from the fact that AMC has always promoted the fifth season as one season split into two parts. The first 8 episodes aired starting back in July 2012 and appeared on iTunes as “Season 5”. Some users that purchased a season pass then expected that it would include the last half of the season that kicked off last night. Unfortunately, when the second half of the season hit iTunes, it was promoted as “The Final Season” rather than the second half of season 5 and required users to purchase a new season pass for access.

Apple allows users to buy a “Season Pass” to seasons of TV shows on iTunes and often provides a slight discount versus purchasing individual episodes. To be fair, Apple only charged $21.99 US for the season pass for season 5, which would reflect the typical cost for 8 episodes of new, premium content. In addition, the fine print on iTunes receipts also stated that the season pass for season 5 would only include “episodes airing in 2012.” The real problem here is that it forgot to remove the boiler plate text stating that the season also included all future episodes: “This Season Pass includes all current and future episodes of Breaking Bad, Season 5.”

https://twitter.com/shazron/status/366868951361265664

A reader notes that the season pass for Season 3 of the The Walking Dead included both halves of the season with a long break in between the first and last 8 episodes. An iTunes rep even confirmed that the reader WOULD receive the second half of the season 5 prior to “The Final Season” landing on iTunes, so clearly there is some confusion with how iTunes handles these situations. Some users have even purchased a season pass for “The Final Season” (the second half of “Season 5” on iTunes) expecting that they’d also get access to the 8 previously aired episodes available in Season 5.

Apple isn’t alone in the move, as Amazon and Xbox offerings are splitting the seasons into two separate purchases as well, but Apple should definitely be doing more to make sure consumers know what they are getting when purchasing a season split into two parts.

• Apps & Updates
• Apps
• iPad
• App Store
• iTunes
• update

CBS Sports iOS app gets full iPad support including live video

Jordan Kahn Aug 12 2013 - 5:54 am PT

0 Comments

CBS has updated it’s ‘CBS Sports’ iOS app today with full support for tablet users, allowing iPad users on iOS 6.0 and up to access all of the on-demand and live content that the app previously only offered to iPhone users. The updated app doesn’t just bring a native iPad design with support for the larger screen as pictured above, but it will also now allow users to access live video. On top of on-demand content from CBS, the app offers live streams for a number of sporting events, including: NCAA basketball (January-April), PGA TOUR (May-August), and SEC football games (Sept-Dec). It also brings access to special events including “NCAA March Madness, The Masters, NFL Draft Day, PGA TOUR and more.”

The updated CBS Sports iOS app is available for free on the App Store now.

What’s New in Version 6.0

v6.0
* Tablet Ready! Follow all the action on your iPad, including watching Live Video.

• AAPL Company
• iOS Devices
• iPhone
• Apple News
• 9to5Mac Podcast Network

Apple patents more sophisticated enhanced podcast ‘Audio Hyperlinking’ system, possibly for iTunes Radio

Ben Lovejoy Aug 8 2013 - 7:00 am PT

0 Comments

PatentlyApple spotted an interesting-looking patent that could have both editorial and advertising applications in podcasts and iTunes Radio broadcasts. It’s of course written in the usual dense patent language:

Hyperlinks within an audio stream provide a way for a listener to access linked resources. An audio hyperlink encoded in an audio stream indicates the presence of an audio hyperlink in the audio stream, as well as providing information for traversing the hyperlink to the linked resource. The hyperlink may be conditionally traversed upon a user interaction or automatically upon detection in the audio stream, possibly pausing the audio stream containing the hyperlink during the traversal of the hyperlink and resuming the audio stream if the audio stream is returned to from the linked material. The linked material may be other audio content, but may also be any other type of desired content that may be accessible by the system processing the audio stream.

Or, in plain English, a simple audio signal can be included in a podcast that can do various funky stuff. It could, for example, allow a spoken-word podcast to display photos to illustrate points being made, or include a link to an optional video which the user could activate with a spoken command. In that example, the podcast would automatically pause while the video is playing and resume again when it ends.

While existing Enhanced Podcasts can do some of this, the new system would be significantly more powerful and flexible. It could launch any form of media, from a webpage to a movie, and would be available in any audio format, not just AAC.

While we’d hope to see some of the editorial applications I’ve described, it’s also likely to be used to activate advertising on iTunes Radio.

• AAPL Company
• iOS Devices
• iTunes
• iTunes in the Cloud
• iTunes in the Cloud for Movies

Apple continues international roll-out of iTunes in the Cloud for Movies, adding eight more countries

Ben Lovejoy Aug 8 2013 - 5:03 am PT

2 Comments

Apple today added eight new countries to its iTunes in the Cloud for Movies service, allowing customers to re-download any movies previously purchased from the iTunes Store.

iFun and MacRumors note that the service has been rolled out to Japan, and seven European countries: Austria, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Switzerland.

U.S. customers were first to get movies added to the iTunes in the Cloud service in March last year.

Related articles

• iTunes just pips Netflix and HBO Go in streaming video satisfaction ratings

• AAPL Company
• iOS Devices
• iTunes
• Netflix
• HBO Go

iTunes just pips Netflix and HBO Go in streaming video satisfaction ratings

Ben Lovejoy Aug 7 2013 - 7:36 am PT

0 Comments

A Foresee survey of consumer satisfaction with streaming video services found that iTunes got the top slot, just one point ahead of runners-up HBO Go and Netflix. Close behind were Amazon Instant Video, Crackle and Hulu Plus.

The average score across all streaming video services was 77 – ten points up on the previous year. Though looking at ‘mobile’ devices, 52 percent of all streaming on tablets and phones was actually done from home.

Source: Electronista

• AAPL Company
• iOS Devices
• iTunes
• iOS 7
• Music

Apple asks Internet radio stations for cover art for likely inclusion in iTunes Radio service

Ben Lovejoy Aug 6 2013 - 4:04 am PT

3 Comments

Apple appears to be further preparing for the official launch of iTunes Radio, Apple’s Pandora-like streaming music service, by asking streaming radio stations to provide cover art. iTunes Radio is included in the Music app in iOS 7, as seen in our hands-on video.

Dear Internet Radio Provider,

Cover Art

The iTunes Store now requires cover art for Internet Radio stations. The cover art files must be 1400 x 1400 pixels in JPG or PNG format using RGB color space. The image URL must end in “.jpg”, “.jpeg” or “.png”. To add cover art to your station, send an email to itunesradio@apple.com including your contact name, station name and cover art file.

Cover art should avoid pixelation. Any text should be legible at reduced image sizes on small devices. Note that Internet Radio cover art is not currently displayed.

Questions about iTunes Radio?

Check out iTunes Radio here.

Regards,

The iTunes Internet Radio Team

While cover art is already available for many radio stations, some of it is very small and wouldn’t scale well on a Retina iPad.

Via MacRumors