Briefly: iTunes in the Cloud held up in UK; iPhone in space; Android messaging
The music portion of Apple's new iCloud has reportedly been delayed in the U.K. as the company negotiates with rights holders. Meanwhile, the iPhone is going to sent into space for to for a series of diagnostic experiments. Also, a new report claims Google is working on a rival messaging service to the recently announced iMessage feature in iOS 5.
iCloud U.K.
The Telegraph reported Thursday that the music storage part of Apple's iCloud, which launches in the U.S. this fall, won't arrive in the U.K. until the first quarter of 2012 at the earliest.
According to a spokesman for the Performing Right Society, negotiations with Apple have not gone far. "The licensing team at the PRS have started talks with Apple, but are a long way off from any deals being signed?It is very much the early stages of the negotiations and is similar to the launch of iTunes ? which began in the US and took a while to roll out to other countries,? he said.
A music executive at a major record label corroborated the PRS spokesman's comments, noting that "tentative talks" have begun between Apple and the labels, but "no one expects to see the cloud music service live on this side of the pond until 2012.?
Prior to Apple's formal unveiling of iCloud, a number of music industry insiders indicated that Apple was in negotiations with the major U.S. music labels. According to sources, Apple didn't finalize negotiations with Universal Music Group until last Thursday, just days before a keynote announcing the service. The Cupertino, Calif., company may have paid as much as $150 million in "advanced payments" to get the service off the ground.
Apple's iTunes in the Cloud feature stores all previously purchased iTunes music for users to download to their devices. The new iTunes Match service, which will cost $24.99 a year when it launches this fall, will scan a user's music library and mirror songs that match iTunes Store offerings in the cloud.
iPhone in orbit
Apple's iPhone will make its first trip into space aboard the final flight of the Atlantis Space Shuttle on July 8, 2011, as noted by TUAW. A set of iPhone 4s will hitch a ride on the Atlantis and spend several months on the International Space Station before returning home on the Russian Soyuz.
In total, four experiments will be performed while the iPhones are in space. Limb Tracker will measure altitude above the Earth's surface by measuring the curvature of the Earth's limb. Sensor Calibration will combine photos of a QR barcode with accelerometer and gyro measurements in order to calibrate sensors for future flights. State Acquisition will match up photos from space with a coastline model to estimate latitude and longitude. Finally, Lifecycle Flight Instrumentation will collect data on how space flight affects the iPhone hardware.
A $0.99 simulated version of the app is available on iTunes for interested users. Developed by Odyssey Space Research, the "SpaceLab for iOS" app is identical to the one loaded on the iPhones headed to space, though not all of the experiments will produce results while on the ground.\t
"I'm pretty sure this is the very first iPhone to go into space," said Odyssey Space Research CEO Brian Rishikof.
Android messages
After Apple announced a new iMessage feature in iOS 5 on Monday, several reports suggested this week that carriers were caught off guard by the revelation. iMessage will allow users of iOS devices, including the iPad and the iPod touch, to send text, photos, videos, locations and contacts to each other over Wi-Fi or 3G.
Wireless operators may have even further cause for concern, as Google is reportedly working on a competing messaging application for its Android mobile operating system, The Wall Street Journal reports.
According to wireless industry trade group CTIA, U.S. cellphone users sent 1 trillion texts in the second half of 2010, up 8.7 percent from the first half of last year. Revenue from text messages reached $25 billion in the U.S. and Canada last year, the report noted. In addition to jeopardizing SMS revenues of wireless carriers, iMessage could also pose a threat to Research in Motion, which operates a proprietary BlackBerry Messenger service for its smartphones.
Analysts were generally positive about Apple's software-related announcements on Monday and expect new features such as iCloud and iMessage to drive sales of iOS devices and increase the "stickiness" of the platform. iOS 5 includes 200 new user features and will be offered as a free update this fall.
iCloud U.K.
The Telegraph reported Thursday that the music storage part of Apple's iCloud, which launches in the U.S. this fall, won't arrive in the U.K. until the first quarter of 2012 at the earliest.
According to a spokesman for the Performing Right Society, negotiations with Apple have not gone far. "The licensing team at the PRS have started talks with Apple, but are a long way off from any deals being signed?It is very much the early stages of the negotiations and is similar to the launch of iTunes ? which began in the US and took a while to roll out to other countries,? he said.
A music executive at a major record label corroborated the PRS spokesman's comments, noting that "tentative talks" have begun between Apple and the labels, but "no one expects to see the cloud music service live on this side of the pond until 2012.?
Prior to Apple's formal unveiling of iCloud, a number of music industry insiders indicated that Apple was in negotiations with the major U.S. music labels. According to sources, Apple didn't finalize negotiations with Universal Music Group until last Thursday, just days before a keynote announcing the service. The Cupertino, Calif., company may have paid as much as $150 million in "advanced payments" to get the service off the ground.
Apple's iTunes in the Cloud feature stores all previously purchased iTunes music for users to download to their devices. The new iTunes Match service, which will cost $24.99 a year when it launches this fall, will scan a user's music library and mirror songs that match iTunes Store offerings in the cloud.
iPhone in orbit
Apple's iPhone will make its first trip into space aboard the final flight of the Atlantis Space Shuttle on July 8, 2011, as noted by TUAW. A set of iPhone 4s will hitch a ride on the Atlantis and spend several months on the International Space Station before returning home on the Russian Soyuz.
In total, four experiments will be performed while the iPhones are in space. Limb Tracker will measure altitude above the Earth's surface by measuring the curvature of the Earth's limb. Sensor Calibration will combine photos of a QR barcode with accelerometer and gyro measurements in order to calibrate sensors for future flights. State Acquisition will match up photos from space with a coastline model to estimate latitude and longitude. Finally, Lifecycle Flight Instrumentation will collect data on how space flight affects the iPhone hardware.
A $0.99 simulated version of the app is available on iTunes for interested users. Developed by Odyssey Space Research, the "SpaceLab for iOS" app is identical to the one loaded on the iPhones headed to space, though not all of the experiments will produce results while on the ground.\t
"I'm pretty sure this is the very first iPhone to go into space," said Odyssey Space Research CEO Brian Rishikof.
Android messages
After Apple announced a new iMessage feature in iOS 5 on Monday, several reports suggested this week that carriers were caught off guard by the revelation. iMessage will allow users of iOS devices, including the iPad and the iPod touch, to send text, photos, videos, locations and contacts to each other over Wi-Fi or 3G.
Wireless operators may have even further cause for concern, as Google is reportedly working on a competing messaging application for its Android mobile operating system, The Wall Street Journal reports.
According to wireless industry trade group CTIA, U.S. cellphone users sent 1 trillion texts in the second half of 2010, up 8.7 percent from the first half of last year. Revenue from text messages reached $25 billion in the U.S. and Canada last year, the report noted. In addition to jeopardizing SMS revenues of wireless carriers, iMessage could also pose a threat to Research in Motion, which operates a proprietary BlackBerry Messenger service for its smartphones.
Analysts were generally positive about Apple's software-related announcements on Monday and expect new features such as iCloud and iMessage to drive sales of iOS devices and increase the "stickiness" of the platform. iOS 5 includes 200 new user features and will be offered as a free update this fall.
Comments
2) The iPhone isn't the first smartphone in space?
3) iMessage feels pretty solid. I wonder if Apple was sitting on this app until the iCloud -and- addition of a 2nd US carrier were added. It seems like it's based used by the FaceTime servers so I hope we see it added to Lion with the next beta.
iCloud isn't going to be of much use to us in the UK until we get all the features that the US has, at least not to me.
1) ...
2) The iPhone isn't the first smartphone in space?
...
I thought any phones that get up into space is suppose to be smart? Otherwise any school dropouts can become astronauts?
Damned UK record companies! It shouldn't take another six months to negotiate this.
iCloud isn't going to be of much use to us in the UK until we get all the features that the US has, at least not to me.
Just like NFL lock-outs with issue on TV revenues, it is all about money. If the US can command $150m advance, how much can Apple pay the Brits? I'm glad it s only $25+ subscription for Match. Not too expensive for customers but importantly, with the contents that iTunes store have, if not many people actually subscribe those labels/publishers won't get much money either.
Yup... Google, fire up your photocopiers. Of course, everyone will say Apple copied this from BlackBerry to start with. More lawsuits in 3, 2, 1...
GTalk?
GTalk?
iChat?
ICQ?
IRC?
iChat?
ICQ?
IRC?
Exactly, nor Apple copied anything from RIM nor Google from Apple in this case. Both of them had messaging applications
Google is so disgusting! They always want to copy from Apple.
Yes, but Google apologists will say they've been working on theirs since 2003. Also, it will be in beta for the next five years. And no, carriers won't be able to remove it
Wireless operators may have even further cause for concern, as Google is reportedly working on a competing messaging application for its Android mobile operating system, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Great! So now we have both Apple and Google working hard on platform lock-in... and the only service that could currently offer a decent cross platform solution is being sat on by Microsoft.
How about:
1. Microsoft partner with Facebook, combine Messenger and Skype with the Facebook social graph and offer a messaging/chat/voice/video platform... then release the API for Apple, Google, HP, RIM etc to implement or
2. Apple combine Facetime/iMessage/iChat, extend Facetime to include voice, then release the specification for Google, Microsoft, HP, RIM etc to implement.
Yup... Google, fire up your photocopiers. Of course, everyone will say Apple copied this from BlackBerry to start with. More lawsuits in 3, 2, 1...
I think these days everyone is living in a glass house.
Google is so disgusting! They always want to copy from Apple.
Yes!! They'll be copying Apple's new notification system next!!
Great! So now we have both Apple and Google working hard on platform lock-in...
Google won't lock you in. If it is GoogleTalk then you can access that through Google app or loads of 3 party apps in the Appstore.. if it's GoogleTalk.
Any chance we'll see FaceTime supported on 3G like iMessages will be this year?
[...] before returning home on the Russian Soyuz.
I won't let my credit card info within 10km distance of any of those iPhones
I bet they'll make it back to earth with MacDefender installed!
Throughout the keynote and on Apple's site, they switch between 'all devices' meaning all iOS devices and other times meaning iOS plus OSX. Another example is the iBooks reader, which should be a proper app on OSX.
If they do this work, they will start to see the possibility of a more declarative language that can run universally across the systems.
1) It really sounds like iTunes Match will covert files to DRM-free 256kbps AAC based on the metadata. This seems like it can get easily abused and so after one year of usage I wonder if the usage rate will drop significantly.
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Yes, I was wondering about that. It might be possible to use a single subscription to 'clean' a music collection.
Yes!! They'll be copying Apple's new notification system next!!
1) It really sounds like iTunes Match will covert files to DRM-free 256kbps AAC based on the metadata. This seems like it can get easily abused and so after one year of usage I wonder if the usage rate will drop significantly.
No, I think (I'm pretty sure actually) they will use an algorithm similar to Shazam's to effectively recognize the music. This actually already exists on the Mac as a companion to iTunes called TuneUp, it scans your songs and corrects the ID3 tags. However I do hope Apple will do a better job cos TuneUp was (is?) really slow, not really scalable (could only process lists of 500 songs at a time, and often crashed) and did an awful job with albums, preferring multi-artist compilations over original albums...