News
Apple shuffles iPhone pack
Stuart O'Brien Sep 6 2007, 10:00am
Lines between the iPhone and iPod blur as 'over-the-air' iTunes era arrives.
Apple has put wi-fi at the centre of its strategy for the iPhone and iPod brands, with both now able to access a newly created iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store.
It has also slashed the US price of its 8GB iPhone by a third to $399, canned the 4GB version and has unveiled iPod Touch, which comes in 8GB and 16GB flavours and packs wi-fi and the Safari web browser.
Apple has cut a deal with Starbucks in the US which means from October 2nd iPhone/iPod Touch owners will be able to surf the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store for free and access the coffee shop's own playlists, from which 'one click' OTA purchases can be made.
Any songs bought while on the move can be synched back to the user's desktop iTunes library when they get home.
iPod Touch isn't the first time a 'media player' device has offered such functionality, however, with Commodore's Gravel, Microsoft's Zune and Archos' new range of MP4 players offering similar functionality.
The announcements are a timely reminder of Apple's ambitions in the mobile space following Nokia's unveiling of its own music store and Ovi multimedia brand last week.
No news yet on a European launch for iPhone, though the US price drop bodes well for the wallets of Apple fans this side of the pond.
