Palm Pre backs away from Apple iTunes
Update not in sync
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The long-running feud over the Palm Pre's ability to sync with Apple's iTunes may have come to an end. Or not.
On Monday, Palm announced its latest update to the Pre's webOS operating system. Conspicuously absent from the announcement was any mention of what the company calls "media sync" - the ability for Palm's smartphone to mimic an iPod when connected to iTunes.
On Tuesday, a Palm spokeswoman confirmed to The Reg that "webOS 1.2 did not reestablish media sync with iTunes."
Palm and Apple have been playing hide the salami with iTunes syncing since the Pre shipped in June. First syncing was in, then it was out. Then in. Then out.
Palm tried to get the USB Implementers Forum, guardian of all things Universal Serial Bus, to rule that Apple was unfairly locking the Pre out of iTunes, but that effort came to naught last week when the USB-IF took Apple's side in the syncing spat.
And now with the introduction of a webOS update that leaves iTunes syncing unsynced, Palm appears to have thrown in the towel.
But Palm won't admit that its media sync days are over. As the company spokeswoman told us, "We never comment on what might or might not be on our product roadmap." ®
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COMMENTS
Why do Microsoft allow itunes on windows
They already support windows media player as it is?
@B 9
How much kool-aid do you have to drink to make those arguments without choking?
Apple didn't have to do ANYTHING to allow iTunes to synch to the Pre - it worked just fine. Apple had to go out of their way to BREAK this functionality.
Why did Apple waste time and money to make it more difficult for ordinary, non-technical users to use a Pre with their iTunes media? Because the Pre represents competition, plain and simple. They don't give a fiddlers about the poor user, they simple want to make a competitors product less attractive to users. That's fundamentally uncompetitive.
The issue isn't whether Palm can or should write their own software, the issue is whether the actual user should be able to use the software that they are familiar with to manage their media and devices.
And by the way, these users are Apples customers too. Apple screwing Apple customers - who'd a thunk it?
@Albert
"There is no technical reason why other devices shouldn't be allowed to sync with iTunes"
- It is not Apple's job to make a synching application for all 3rd party hardware. Palm can suck it up and write their own and Apple will not have an issue with that. You know how I know that for a fact? RIM wrote their own synching software and it synchs with iTunes media and Apple does nothing to prohibit this.
"I think the time is coming when Apple's business practices need to be questioned."
- Apple has done NOTHING unethical here. Again, Palm violated the USB Implementers rules, not Apple. And, again, Apple is not required to write the synch software for 3rd party hardware.
"Locking competitors out of the iTunes store. . . is anti-competitive."
- Are you kidding me? Did you read this before you submitted? We are talking iTunes application vs. iTunes store. Please understand what you are discussing before posting.
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