New software would let iPhones access to iTunes libraries from anywhere

[AppleInsider]

A new version of Apple's iPhone Software could provide iPhone and iPod touch users with access to their home computer's entire iTunes media library while on the go without having to first download those media items through a traditional sync, a new company filing has revealed.

The Cupertino-based electronics maker notes that downloading media items from a computer to a media player is often a time consuming process, and one that is limited by the player's storage capacity. Therefore, users who are out and about sometimes find themselves without access to some of their content, which sits inaccessible on their home Mac or PC.

New versions iTunes and the iPhone Software could theoretically eliminate this problem by syncing only the metadata -- or tiny files containing the barebones attributes of each media item or playlist but not the content itself -- from a user's iTunes library to their portable devices.

Using this metadata, iPhones and iPods would contain "virtual media items" representing every playlist, video, photo, and mobile game stored on their computer, even if the sum of those files would ordinarily be too large to fit onto the devices' hard disk drive or flash drive. This is possible because metadata capable of representing a media item consumes only faction -- typically less than 1 percent -- of the space required to store the media item itself.

"As a result, the user perceives that the virtual media items may be available on the [the media player]," Apple said. "In this manner, the virtual capacity of an electronic device may be increased."

Users would select virtual media items for display or playback on their handhelds just as they would today under the assumption that the entire contents of the file sit on the device for immediate playback. But instead of accessing the files from the device's built-in storage, the iPhone or iPod would use a wired, Wi-Fi, or cellular connection to remotely access and retrieve the media items from a user's home Mac or PC.

"For instance, a personal computer can be turned on and connected to the Internet to enable a portable device to access the media items stored on the personal computer," Apple said, adding that the files could then delete themselves from the portable device once the user is done listening to or viewing them.



Through similar techniques, users could also manage their iTunes libraries remotely, reorganizing, deleting, or adding files while on the go. During all of these processes, the condition of the handheld's connection to a host source would be under constant surveillance to detect problems or a fading signal, at which time data transfer could be safely paused or stopped.

Alternatively, iPods and iPhones could communicate with one another in a manner similar to that employed by Microsoft's Zune media players.

"This type of communication can be referred to as peer-to-peer interaction. In this regard, one mobile device can communicate directly with another mobile device" or " to a plurality of other mobile devices," Apple said. "In the peer-to-peer environment, one mobile device can communicate with one or more other electronic devices (whether mobile or stationary) in the immediate vicinity. Data sharing can be performed when such communication is available."

The 24-page filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office is credited to Apple employees David Heller and Thomas Mavrakakis.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[chwilliam]

I'd definitely pay for this. Even better if it's part of MobileMe.

[Galley]

I've been predicting this for more than a year. Think of it as a portable Apple TV.

[DeaPeaJay]

Yeah right, I'm sure this would really fly with AT&T.

If it does happen, they would probably restrict it for use on a WiFi connection, just like the Music store.

[noneother]

Originally Posted by Galley

I've been predicting this for more than a year. Think of it as a portable Apple TV.

I have been doing the poor man's version of this for a while, by placing MP3s in my gmail account, and accessing them via the mobile browser...

not very efficient, my method

[paxman]

In a wifi context this is pretty cool. It strikes me that this would be a great way to burn up your monthly data allowance in a day or two, however, if you are using the GSM network! It also means keeping your computer at home on all day which I don't like the idea of. Maybe all this content should be stored in the cloud using mobileMe, as someone suggested. In terms of music, come to think of it, most content is already out there. So if you have the metadata, including digital proof you have paid for the content, couldn't it be streamed from anywhere? Theoretically speaking of course.

[nonimus]

http://www.nutsie.com

[SXT1]

remember apple placed a warning for september (or october) to invest in something to assure their products being superior in the future ?
Maybe they want to put those 3G ship in all those future mac's, imac, macbook(pro) etc
Then also a homebrew chipset would make some sense...
Then the MobileMe environment would make sense also don't you think ?
Plus adding mobile versions of iMovie, iCal, etc. (and that made possible by the next iphone with a stronger cpu made by pa semi)
And a new mac-tablet that features a 3G chip also...

Just making new (mobile ready) macs in the future and software that is adapted to those platforms
making snowloepard paving the way and 10.6 taking the crowne !

that's my rough idea about it

[walshbj]

This is what Apple can get away with, and nobody else can. Appleinsider posts info on this filing, and people read it like it's a new concept, even though it's just streaming! My Apple TV does it, as other comments point out.

As a stockholder, I like seeing Apple hold back features for YEARS - and keep people coming back for upgrades. As a user it drives me crazy.

I don't question Apple on this too much. I think it helps preserve their delicate placement as a premium brand. MS puts the first Zune out with the ability to 'squirt' songs peer to peer. Nobody cares. If Apple did it we'd see it on the front page of the NYT.

Time after time Apple shows their conservative side, taking their time, making you want it, building up the hype, building up the demand. Everyone else rushes half-baked crap to market. Apple is slowly building the whole system for home media. It's impressive.

[antiorario]

Originally Posted by chwilliam

I'd definitely pay for this. Even better if it's part of MobileMe.

It would have to be part of MobileMe. That would also mean that Back to My Mac would need to work seamlessly for everyone first. My current ADSL configuration makes me jump through hoops to get it kind of working, and not even all the time.

Originally Posted by paxman

Maybe all this content should be stored in the cloud using mobileMe, as someone suggested.

By the time they get the new software out, maybe storage costs will make it conveniente for Apple to increase the MobileMe allowance to 50 GB. That would make the whole thing feasible. Including, maybe, actual remote file access from iPhone/iPod touch. (The MacBook Air might take advantage of something like that too.)

[brutjens]

Simplify Media does this quite nice for my music. I use it to stream my music to my work pc!

[hdasmith]

I would like to see a system that allowed one to use their iDisk to save some music, movies, apps which can be accessed natively, but at the same time have the ability to store some media files locally on their iPhone. This would be the most beneficial use of the iDisk that I can imagine.

[padrongus]

I'm doing this with Remote Buddy already. I have access to my entire iTunes library on my iPhone at all times.

[mrpiddly]

Take a look at telekinesis or the updated version welcome to your mac. Both are small applications hosted on your mac that allow your iPhone to access files, media, the screen, terminal, and the camera. These apps runs in the browser and require no iPhone download.

There are some major problems with telekinesis that an actual iPhone applications would solve. I have been waiting for apple to make a telekinesis like application almost since the first iPhone's release.

[Porchland]

If the metadata confirms that the user has rights to the track, it seems like you would not necessarily need to access the actual AAC track from your own computer. Couldn't you access the same AAC track from anywhere -- an Apple server, Akamai mirror servers, peer to peer, etc.?

Although Apple may not want to carry the server traffic, this download/sync is analogous "buying" the track through the iTunes Store every time you access it and only paying for it the first time.

I guess the traffic is the difference.

[kresh]

Originally Posted by nonimus

Sound like the software 'nuTsie'

http://www.nutsie.com

or Simplify Media which has been submitted to Apple and is coming to the AppStore.

I definitely don't see how Apple can get a a patent on this one.

[ltcommander.data]

I wonder if this service allows you to stream directly from your computer to your iPhone or does it all have to go through Apple's servers. I like the convenience of cloud computing and things like MobileMe, but I'm still not convinced about having all my information being stored on a third-party. Although admittedly, ISPs can probably cache your data for later analysis if they wanted to too.

During all of these processes, the condition of the handheld's connection to a host source would be under constant surveillance to detect problems or a fading signal, at which time data transfer could be safely paused or stopped.

Somehow "constant surveillance" of connection quality doesn't sound conducive of good battery life.

I still hope that Apple allows Airdisks on Base Stations and Time Capsules to act as a media store for iTunes. That would eliminate duplicate libraries on my computers, and allow streaming to iPhones without keeping the computer on all the time.

[caliminius]

Originally Posted by brutjens

Simplify Media does this quite nice for my music. I use it to stream my music to my work pc!

This is already available via PSP and PS3 as well. Not exactly a ground breaking idea.

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

It occurs to me that remote access to your file system is not a large jump beyond this. Even beyond streaming your music -- something which could even be made compatible with Edge -- you could get remote access to picture or even files to view on your iPhone. I would be surprised if those capabilities were released initially, but it seems the natural evolution, and if anyone is to make it possible it would be Apple.

I'll be a little surprised if they make this a part of MobileMe. It would be pretty easy to build right into iTunes, thus making it accessible to everyone. It would also be a stand-out feature which could inspire greater sales.

[wobegon]

Originally Posted by walshbj

I don't question Apple on this too much. I think it helps preserve their delicate placement as a premium brand. MS puts the first Zune out with the ability to 'squirt' songs peer to peer. Nobody cares. If Apple did it we'd see it on the front page of the NYT.

I don't think Apple has any interest in replicating what MS did with the Zune's squirting of what are essentially advertisements of songs that then vanish after a few plays or a few days.

What's probably more likely for P2P communications with other iPhone/iPod touch users is music sharing, not music sending. It'd be just like iTunes music sharing between computers on the same network. This would be faster and more power efficient than sending the actual files back and fourth and of course, you'd only be limited by your distance from the person you're sharing with.

I don't know if Apple could then expand that so you could share your music with others through the internet long-distance. They could surely allow users to stream/share their own music off their computers at home as the new software patent describes, but I'm not sure if the RIAA would be ok with long-distance sharing of other peoples' music.

[jawporta]

I'm sure this would work just as shitty as Back to my Mac. Who cares.

[8CoreWhore]

Originally Posted by noneother

I have been doing the poor man's version of this for a while, by placing MP3s in my gmail account, and accessing them via the mobile browser...

not very efficient, my method

That's a good idea! I just gmailed myself a song, retrieved it with my iPhone 3G, it was opened with the "Q" symbol for Quicktime... and played nicely (TH, Burning Down The House : )) But, is there a way to open and save it in the iPod App??

BTW, does someone remember jobs hinting at a home server? Obviously there is possibilities now, but I guess they would make it simple. I can see "Back To My Mac" and AppleTV evolving into this. I can see iTunes 8 being a full fledged home media server (with file browsing a possibilty).

Hmmmnnnn.... looks like all iPods will be getting WiFi. "Product Transition"?? (except the little Shuffle)

[Alfiejr]

i tried Remote Buddy on the iPhone as an HTPC remote control, but the average one second or so delay between commands and action as it routed through their server and back was very annoying. i did not try it for streaming music to the iPhone, where that would not matter. maybe will try again.

the only thing new about Apple's filing is loading the metadata - your media library index - into the iPhone in advance. that obviously is more efficient since you can figure our what to play before connecting. i think that detail is what Apple is really trying to protect.

otherwise it's almost the same as "sharing" your iTunes library on a LAN, which Macs have been doing since Tiger.

still, it'll be a great iPhone App. surprised Apple didn't already put it out the same time as Remote.

[sausage&Onion]

If it was well integrated, I'd be pretty fucking psyched. I would be pissed though every time I went in the subway though. Until they can make that happen, there's little that would make me not ask for a larger hardrive.

[Alfiejr]

well you could always have a few hundred songs loaded for when you have no connection. what this would do is give you access to the thousands of others in your library when you do have a connection.

hey - then Apple could discontinue the iPod Classic with its huge drive and just sell Touches instead. maybe that is the real idea behind this.

what about video/movies? i guess first you'd need to have downscaled iPhone resolution H264 files on your Mac. and then will the data stream without hiccups?

[mjtomlin]

Originally Posted by kresh

or Simplify Media which has been submitted to Apple and is coming to the AppStore.

I definitely don't see how Apple can get a a patent on this one.

If your method and implementation are specifically unique, of course you can patent it. It's not like the patent says "stream audio over network". The patent is 24 pages long and i'm sure refers to unique and original methods. And besides that, if no one else has patented it, then anyone can. The only thing you can't do is sue someone if they can claim prior art, meaning even though they didn't patent it, they still had their own implementation before the patent was granted. Besides that, anyone who can prove that they've created something from the ground up without outside influence, is certainly entitled to apply for a patent on it. Whether they get it or not, is up to the patent office.


After looking over the other services and applications, the biggest difference is rather obvious. Songs and lists aren't loaded and don't appear until a connection is made. Apple is actually loading the meta data onto the device, so it is always there, whether you have a network connection or not. Then it seems when you choose to play a song, it makes the connection to the server (your iTunes library) and streams the audio data to the device. So on the surface it would appear as if all your music is on the iPod when in fact they aren't.

[Chris_CA]

Alternatively, iPods and iPhones could communicate with one another in a manner similar to that employed by Microsoft's Zune media players.

So how long will it be, before a lawsuit is filed for this?

[btitusjr]

Originally Posted by DeaPeaJay

Yeah right, I'm sure this would really fly with AT&T.

If it does happen, they would probably restrict it for use on a WiFi connection, just like the Music store.

AT&T is not to blame for not being able to download music through cell. The music companies are to blame. It is the music company that has not allowed apple to offer this service only because the want more money and Steve wont give it to them.

[JSUDaniel]

I am really excited about always being able to access my music where ever I go... I do wonder as some others have pointed out how ATT will feel about all this bandwidth usage for this service.

[MacGregor]

A reason to own a ton of music at home AND buy an iPhone.

[woobert]

so they patented what ooTunes, orb, simplify media, Tversity, and slimplayer have been doing all this time? Brilliant!

Originally Posted by MacGregor

A reason to own a ton of music at home AND buy an iPhone.

[woobert]

soo how long before all these other guys (ooTunes, simplify media, orb, nutsie, slimserver, tversity, etc) get sued?

[Sopphode]

so they patented what ooTunes, orb, simplify media, Tversity, and slimplayer have been doing all this time? Brilliant!

iTunes 4.0 actually had this feature already, being able to connect to other iTunes libraries remotely over the Internet like with Bonjour. But it got pulled with 4.0.1 since it made it easy for third parties to make apps to download the files. I guess this time around they're making it more secure.

[flyscorpio]

This feature could insterest someone but I dont think it is worth. The battery life will be shorter and shorter and on the other hand the storage size will be larger and larger.