Apple unveils Wi-Fi Music Store, iPhone ringtones, iTunes 7.4
Apple today unveiled the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, offering customers the ability to browse, search, preview, purchase and download songs and albums over a Wi-Fi network directly onto their iPod touch or iPhone. Separately, it also announced a service to allow iPhone users to create custom ringtones.
iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store
With the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, music fans can start enjoying their music purchases immediately on their iPod touch or iPhone with no computer required, Apple said. Once they connect their iPod touch or iPhone back to their PC or Mac, downloaded music will automatically sync back into their iTunes library.
If users have only partially downloaded a song or album onto their iPod touch or iPhone, their computer will complete the download automatically. Prices and selection on the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store are the same as on the regular iTunes Store.
"The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store is really fun?you can browse, search, freely preview, buy and instantly download music right onto your iPod touch or iPhone," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. "Innovative products like this keep iTunes at the forefront of the digital music revolution."
iPhone Ringtones
In addition, iTunes customers will now be able to create custom ringtones by selecting up to a 30-second segment from over a million participating songs on iTunes and easily sync them onto their iPhone.
Once a customer has purchased a participating song from iTunes, including previously purchased participating songs, it will only cost 99 cents to make up to a 30-second segment of that song into a ringtone and easily sync it onto their iPhone.
Customers can personalize their ringtones by choosing which portion of the song they want to use, and setting custom fade in and fade out points. iPhone users can assign a custom ringtone to be their default ringtone and they can also assign them to individual callers in their address book.
iTunes 7.4
In support of its new iPod, iPhone and music features, Apple also has released the next generation of its popular music and video jukebox, iTunes 7.4, now available as a free download at the company's website.
iTunes 7.4 includes a larger viewing area for movies and TV, filling the entire iTunes window for a richer, seamless video playback experience. Users of iTunes 7.4 will also be able rate entire albums as well as individual songs, Apple said.
iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store
With the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, music fans can start enjoying their music purchases immediately on their iPod touch or iPhone with no computer required, Apple said. Once they connect their iPod touch or iPhone back to their PC or Mac, downloaded music will automatically sync back into their iTunes library.
If users have only partially downloaded a song or album onto their iPod touch or iPhone, their computer will complete the download automatically. Prices and selection on the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store are the same as on the regular iTunes Store.
"The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store is really fun?you can browse, search, freely preview, buy and instantly download music right onto your iPod touch or iPhone," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. "Innovative products like this keep iTunes at the forefront of the digital music revolution."
iPhone Ringtones
In addition, iTunes customers will now be able to create custom ringtones by selecting up to a 30-second segment from over a million participating songs on iTunes and easily sync them onto their iPhone.
Once a customer has purchased a participating song from iTunes, including previously purchased participating songs, it will only cost 99 cents to make up to a 30-second segment of that song into a ringtone and easily sync it onto their iPhone.
Customers can personalize their ringtones by choosing which portion of the song they want to use, and setting custom fade in and fade out points. iPhone users can assign a custom ringtone to be their default ringtone and they can also assign them to individual callers in their address book.
iTunes 7.4
In support of its new iPod, iPhone and music features, Apple also has released the next generation of its popular music and video jukebox, iTunes 7.4, now available as a free download at the company's website.
iTunes 7.4 includes a larger viewing area for movies and TV, filling the entire iTunes window for a richer, seamless video playback experience. Users of iTunes 7.4 will also be able rate entire albums as well as individual songs, Apple said.
Comments
Dave
iTunes 7.4 has still not been released.
Yeah, I was wondering about that. Software update didn't show anything, so I tried directly through iTunes and nothing there either. Just checked the website and it still says 7.3.2 but they did get the new iPods up there.
Once a customer has purchased a participating song from iTunes, including previously purchased participating songs, it will only cost 99 cents to make up to a 30-second segment of that song into a ringtone and easily sync it onto their iPhone.
Perhaps they're waiting for HD content?
Why is that funny? Ringtone songs are $5 here in Denmark.
I personally find the use of songs (or any long sound for that matter) as a ringtone to be up there with turning on a bright screen in a dark movie theater as the most annoying artifact of our time.
But I'd like to convert small sound files (sound effects mainly) into iTunes and convert to ringtones. Sounds like that's not going to happen (at least without 3rd party tools).
Why is that funny? Ringtone songs are $5 here in Denmark.
It's funny because we're paying for the privilege of cropping a file that we already have on our hard drive, and then putting a copy of it in a folder that already exists in the iPhone.
And we're even limited in which files we're allowed to start with.
You've got a recording of yourself performing a song which you wrote? Too bad, it's off-limits.
That's hilarious.
If other providers would charge you even more for that sort of task, then that's not even funny anymore - it's disgusting.
Users of iTunes 7.4 will also be able [to] rate entire albums as well as individual songs
Hurrah!
iPhone Ringtones
In addition, iTunes customers will now be able to create custom ringtones by selecting up to a 30-second segment from over a million participating songs on iTunes and easily sync them onto their iPhone.
Once a customer has purchased a participating song from iTunes, including previously purchased participating songs, it will only cost 99 cents to make up to a 30-second segment of that song into a ringtone and easily sync it onto their iPhone.
Customers can personalize their ringtones by choosing which portion of the song they want to use, and setting custom fade in and fade out points. iPhone users can assign a custom ringtone to be their default ringtone and they can also assign them to individual callers in their address book.
This, along with the QuickTime Pro costing $20, is one thing I will never understand: 99c for a _30_ second ringtone? You have to be effing kidding! Plus, you STILL can't create your own ringtones, meaning you can't just record something and use it as your ringtone, it has to be purchased from iTunes.
One would imagine that Apple would not be such a dumbass as to charge for the ringtones, but turns out to be just as screwed up as any other vendor.
I guess it is an obligation for every user of an iPhone to break this and upload ANY ringtone you like, not just those "blessed" by Apple.
Ring tones are lame but I can see why labels probably demanded this from apple. Bastards.
I think it's unfortunate that the EULA for iTunes purchases prohibits it. I checked several CDs of mine and none of them say anything about ring tones in any of the packaging.
And why is your signature showing up? It's not in your post, and I have signature display disabled.
I checked several CDs of mine and none of them say anything about ring tones in any of the packaging.
I betcha those CD cases don't say anything about transferring their contents to cassette tapes or iPods either. But you're perfectly within your rights to do that.
It's very possible (and legitimate) that the contract agreement between the distributors and Apple (and thus by extension through the EULA, the iTunes Store customer) excludes using songs purchased through the store from being used as a ring tone, and that ringtones are thus treated under a different license which must be purchased separately.
But those restrictions are meaningless in terms of content that wasn't acquired through the iTunes Store in the first place. Referring back to my previous example, what about original content for which I am the sole copyright holder? By definition, it is impossible for me to refuse myself a license to do whatever I want with my own copyrighted material.
Not being allowed to use original content as a ringtone amounts to an arbitrary lockout by somebody - be that Apple or AT&T, I don't know.
But those restrictions are meaningless in terms of content that wasn't acquired through the iTunes Store in the first place. Referring back to my previous example, what about original content for which I am the sole copyright holder? By definition, it is impossible for me to refuse myself a license to do whatever I want with my own copyrighted material.
I think you could refuse, but you'd be upset about the refusal if you did that.
And why is your signature showing up? It's not in your post, and I have signature display disabled.
I have no idea.