iTunes

Apple could soon take on Pandora and Spotify directly, market-research firm BTIG Research writes in a new report.

The firm today predicts that Apple will launch a streaming-music service at some point in 2013. The research outfit, which says that it came to the conclusion after holding interviews with industry executives, said Apple's iTunes 11 launch yesterday is only further proof the service is coming.

BTIG pointed to the addition of a "Radio" option in the horizontal bar in iTunes 11, saying that while the current offering of stations "is unappealing to most consumers today, we … Read more

One unadvertised feature in Apple's just-released iTunes 11 lets users tap into their built-in video camera to redeem gift cards and other promotional codes.

The feature, which Apple did not demonstrate at the software's unveiling in September or in subsequent marketing materials, can pull out the alphanumeric codes and submit them. This means you can redeem a code without having to type it in, though that option remains if the software is unable to pick it up.

In order to use the feature, the promotional code must be from gift cards that place the code within a square … Read more

Apple today released iTunes 11, the latest version of its popular music software following a monthlong delay.

The program was originally slated for a release sometime last month. Just ahead of a self-imposed October deadline, an Apple spokesman told CNET the company "wanted to take a little extra time to get it right."

Users now get the chance to put that claim to the test. The software went out as a free update to current iTunes users on Mac and Windows this morning, and later as a download from Apple's iTunes site.

iTunes 11's headlining feature … Read more

After a month-long delay, the next generation of Apple's popular iTunes music software could launch as early as tomorrow.

iTunes 11 could make its long-awaited debut Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported this evening in a profile of Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue. While not exactly offered as the definitive release date, Thursday is the second to last day before Apple's self-imposed deadline for releasing the new software.

Originally slated for release in October, the program was delayed, a company spokesman told CNET earlier, because Apple "wanted to take a little extra time to get it … Read more

NEW YORK -- "Apple should double-down on Jony Ive." That's what Gene Munster, managing director and senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray, counseled during a state of Apple presentation at the Business Insider Ignition conference.

"The concept of the Apple's operating system has basically been copied by competitors... The real substance is the hardware side, where Jony Ive plays into it," Munster said. "The difference is in the hardware, and isn't fully appreciated."

In October, Ive was given the leadership role in developing the user interface for … Read more

Facebook and Apple are joining their massive forces again, this time encouraging Facebook users to send iTunes gifts to their friends directly within the social network.

Facebook added iTunes digital gifts to Facebook Gifts gifting service today, letting users send iTunes recommendations along with cash credit for purchases.

A user can search for a specific song, album, movie, game, or apps to recommend along with gifts in denominations of $10, $15, $25, or $50.

The social network's move to add Apple to its retail partner list for Facebook Gifts comes shortly after it announced the inclusion of more than… Read more

Apple may be gearing up to launch the next-generation iTunes 11 software "within the next days," according to a report by MacRumors, citing a German music distribution service.

Germany-based Feiyr emailed artists to submit high-resolution imagery for the music player's new layout, saying Apple will release iTunes 11 in the coming days. "Users have the possibility to view picture and galleries to every artist in iTunes," says the email.

While the email isn't a direct communiqué from Apple, it's possible that Apple is warning music distribution firms and … Read more

Twelve years ago Apple was lagging.

Consumers with PCs were ripping music to their hard drives and creating mixes. They were even taking those mixes and burning them onto CDs for listening to in the car, or on the go. The same experience could not be had easily on a Mac.

Apple's solution was iTunes. A piece of software that promised to do all those things, but with more simplicity than rivals, and only on a Mac.

iTunes quickly became a case study in the benefits of tightly integrated hardware and software. You had to own a Mac to … Read more

AC/DC, known for such heavy metal hits as "Back in Black," "Thunderstruck," and Highway to Hell" will finally be rocking iTunes.

Apple announced today that the band has made its entire catalog available for download. Fans can buy the whole albums or individual songs. AC/DC was one of the high-profile acts, a group that once included The Beatles and Kid Rock, choosing not to distribute their music at online stores.

The partnership is a stark reversal from 2008, when AC/DC refused to sell individual songs. Brian Johnson, the group's lead singer … Read more