itune

When the iPhone arrived six years ago, it was the hot commodity. It didn't take long for Apple's sleek, powerful smartphone to dominate the mobile phone market -- and one of its greatest draws was a rapidly growing software marketplace, curated and quality controlled, bringing extraordinarily useful features to what was essentially a pocket-size computer.

However, competitors weren't far behind. Some have continued on, others have failed, but by far the biggest is Internet giant Google's mobile operating system, Android. In fact, the number of Android devices activated outnumbers iOS devices by a mile -- 750 million Android to 600 million iOS.

Nevertheless, as we and many of you well know, the iTunes app marketplace seems vastly superior in quality of content, in spite of Apple's barriers to entry, such as a registration fee for app sellers, and the fact that Google Play is rapidly catching up in terms of quantity and downloads. Apple has pipped 50 billion downloads across over 900,000 apps, while Google Play is currently counting down to that number across 750,000 apps. But there's an even greater discrepancy in app revenue. A massive 76 percent of the entire revenue generated by apps goes to iOS -- leaving the other 24 percent of the pie to all other operating systems.… Read more

The iTunes Store holds thousands of free podcasts, but what if you're an Android kind of person? That Apple is tempting, but don't bite; adapt! Androids who are also Pod People can simply download and play iTunes podcasts on their alien devices. It's easy, thanks to apps like Wagachat's iTunes Podcast Search. The name describes this free iTunes browser for Android: It searches iTunes for free podcasts that you can download and play or share on your little green robo-phone. Like the podcasts, themselves, Podcast Search is free, though it displays banner ads in your notification … Read more

Apple's iTunes Store doesn't actually turn 10 years old until April 28, but Apple seems keen on getting the party started a little early.

In honor of the occasion, the company has sent journalists a digital keepsake of sorts: 100 handpicked songs and a physical copy of the digital timeline it put up on iTunes yesterday.

The package even comes with a thank you note from iTunes and iCloud chief Eddy Cue:

When Apple introduced the iTunes Store on April 28, 2003, we thought if consumers had a great, legal way to download music they would embrace it … Read more

One of the big perks of using an iPhone is wireless syncing from iTunes. iTunes to Android Wireless brings the same effect to your Android phone, but it can be a huge pain to set up. Once you have it working properly, you have to pay to make the most of the app. You're better off breaking out the USB cable and syncing things yourself.

This app actually calls itself Synctunes once you've downloaded it. It requires an app on your computer and iTunes to work properly, too. Since most of the work is done on your computer, … Read more

The number of video conversion programs available makes choosing a good one difficult. Though it's basically functional, the lack of features and problematic setup make VidConvert for Mac a less desirable option.

VidConvert is available as a free trial version with a three-minute conversion time limit; the full, unrestricted program requires payment of $7.99. The program installs quickly. Unfortunately, after initiating the program, the user must complete an additional download from a separate site before conversion can take place. This second download requires Terminal operations, which is a lot to ask of all but the most experienced Mac … Read more

That old college try seems to be working. Content downloads from iTunes U have surpassed 1 billion.

Apple today announced the passing of the milestone for the repository of free educational content from schools, libraries, museums, and other sources. iTunes U hosts more than 2,500 public and thousands of private courses from over 1,200 universities and colleges, and 1,200 K-12 schools and districts.

"There are now iTunes U courses with more than 250,000 students enrolled in them, which is a phenomenal shift in the way we teach and learn," Eddy Cue, Apple's senior … Read more

Nearly a dozen European countries now have access to a key iTunes feature that lets users re-download purchased video content.

iTunes users in 11 countries, including France, Sweden, and Belgium, can now view and re-download movies they bought from Apple. Previously, users in those countries would have needed to back up that file in the event that the device it was on was damaged or stolen.

The full list of countries in this latest batch (per The Next Web) includes Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. France was reportedly the only one to … Read more

It sounds ideal. Take all those DVDs and Blu-rays you own and, from the comfort of your own home, effortlessly gain digital copies for a low price. That's the promise of Vudu's new "In-Home Disc to Digital" service. Vudu delivers on that promise in some cases but disappoints in other ways.

Last year, Walmart-owned Vudu launched its Disc to Digital service that required people to go into Walmart stores for the conversion. Who wants to do that? This is where the "In-Home" version of Disc to Digital comes … Read more