iTunes9-Genius

Lumosity Brain Trainer

2010-06-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

Open iTunes to buy and download apps.

Description

The best of online brain training is coming to the iPhone and iPod touch!

For years, Lumosity has worked closely with the world's leading neuroscientists from top universities -- including Stanford, UCSF and Berkeley -- to create the best cognitive enhancement program. It has over 2 million members.

IN THE NEWS
New York Times:
"There is a gradual growing awareness that challenging your brain can have positive effects," Dr. Cohen said.... "Every time you challenge your brain it will actually modify the brain," he said. "We can indeed form new brain cells, despite a century of being told it is impossible."

Scientific American:
"Lumosity was the program I was most eager to play each day."

LA Times:
"Lumosity presents a wide range of exercises that target different mental processes that decline with age, including working memory, speed of processing and attention."

Women's Health:
"Surprisingly fun games using real neuroscience research to improve your attention, memory, and even peripheral vision."

Movie Entertainment Magazine:
"These enjoyable games are addictive and rewarding."

BRAIN GAMES
Lumosity Brain Trainer includes 7 brain games designed to enhance your cognitive abilities, including memory, processing speed, attention, flexibility, and problem solving. Playing our brain games a few minutes every day will help you achieve the best results.

Our users have reported the following benefits:
• Improved memory
• Enhanced mood
• Better problem solving skills
• Ability to think more quickly

Start improving your brain NOW!

35 SESSION COURSE
Play one session per day. Each session has 3 games and has been designed to improve different brain functions. The first 5 sessions are free! Lumosity subscribers get full access.

TRACK YOUR PROGRESS
Brain Performance Index (BPI) is a measure of your performance in a given cognitive function.
By using Brain Trainer, you should see your BPI improve over time.

LEARN ABOUT SCIENCE
Learn about neuroscience and how technology can improve cognitive abilities.

REQUIREMENTS
Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.

**** TESTIMONIAL ****
Chris Burriss, 25 years old
Baton Rouge, LA

"With Lumosity, I progressed rapidly and found that my thinking was much clearer, my short-term working memory had improved, and that I was able solve problems and come up with creative solutions much faster. I'm wholeheartedly convinced that these mental exercises are effective! They do work! People of all walks of life can benefit from Lumosity.com... I guarantee it!"

VISIT US: http://www.lumosity.com
FOLLOW US: http://twitter.com/lumosity
FAN US: http://facebook.com/lumosity

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iPhone How To: Joining a Wi-Fi Network

2010-05-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

Joining a Wi-Fi Network

The Wi-Fi settings let you turn on Wi-Fi and join Wi-Fi networks.

Turn on Wi-Fi:

Choose Settings > Wi-Fi and turn Wi-Fi on.

Join a Wi-Fi network:

Choose Settings > Wi-Fi, wait a moment as iPhone detects networks in range, then select a network (fees may apply to join some Wi-Fi networks). If necessary, enter a password and tap Join (networks that require a password appear with a lock icon).
Once you’ve joined a Wi-Fi network manually, iPhone automatically connects to it whenever the network is in range. If more than one previously used network is in range, iPhone joins the one last used.
When iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network, the Wi-Fi icon in the status bar at the top of the screen shows the connection strength. The more bars you see, the stronger the connection.
For information about configuring Wi-Fi settings, see Wi-Fi.

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iPhone How To: Opening Webpages

2010-05-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

Opening Webpages

Open a webpage:

Tap the address field (on the left side of the title bar), then type the web address and tap Go. If the address field isn’t visible, tap the status bar at the top of the screen to quickly scroll to the address field at the top of the webpage.

Erase the text in the address field:

Tap the address field, then tap .
As you type, web addresses that start with those letters appear. These are bookmarked pages or recent pages you’ve opened. Tap an address to go to that page. Keep typing if you want to enter a web address that’s not in the list.

iPhone How To: Email Organization

2010-05-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

Organizing Email

You can delete messages one at a time, or select a group to delete all at once. You can also move messages from one mailbox or folder to another.

Delete a message:

Open the message and tap .
You can also delete a message directly from the mailbox message list by swiping left or right over the message title, then tapping Delete.

Delete multiple messages:

When viewing a list of messages, tap Edit, select the messages you want to delete, then tap Delete.

Move a message to another mailbox or folder:

When viewing a message, tap , then choose a mailbox or folder.

Move multiple messages:

When viewing a list of messages, tap Edit, select the messages you want to move, then tap Move and select a mailbox or folder.

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Managing Contacts on iPhone

2010-05-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

Managing Contacts on iPhone

Add a contact on iPhone:

Tap Contacts and tap .

Delete a contact:

In Contacts, choose a contact, than tap Edit. Scroll down and tap Delete Contact.

Add a contact from the keypad:

Tap Keypad, enter a number, then tap . Tap Create New Contact and enter the caller’s information, or tap “Add to Existing Contact” and choose a contact.

Edit contact information:

In Contacts, choose a contact, then tap Edit. To add an item, tap . To delete an item, tap .

Enter a pause in a number:

Tap , then tap Pause. One or more pauses may be required by a phone system before dialing an extension, for example. Pauses appear as commas when the number is saved.

Add a recent caller’s phone number to your contacts:

Tap Recents and tap next to the number. Then tap Create New Contact, or tap “Add to Existing Contact” and choose a contact.

Assign a photo to a contact:

Tap Contacts and choose a contact.
Tap Edit and tap Add Photo, or tap the existing photo.
Tap Take Photo to use the camera. Or tap Choose Existing Photo and choose a photo.
Drag and scale the photo as desired.
Tap Set Photo.

Use a contact’s info screen:

Tap Contacts and choose a contact. Then tap an item.

NOTE: The Contacts screen shown here includes the buttons across the bottom that are available when you view Contacts from within the Phone application. These buttons don’t appear if you open Contacts directly from the Home screen.

A star next to a phone number means the number is in your favorites list.

See your own phone number:

Tap Contacts and scroll to the top of the list. (Not available in all regions.)

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iPhone How To: While On a Call

2010-04-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

While On a Call

When you’re on a call, the screen shows call options.

Mute your line:

Tap Mute. You can still hear the caller, but the caller can’t hear you.

Use the keypad to enter information:

Tap Keypad.

Use the speakerphone or a Bluetooth device:

Tap Speaker. The Button is labeled Audio Source when a Bluetooth device is available, which lets you select the Bluetooth device, iPhone, or Speaker Phone.

See contact information:

Tap Contacts.

Put a call on hold:

Tap Hold. Neither party can hear the other.

Make another call:

Tap Add Call.

Use other applications during a call:

Press the Home button, then tap an application icon.

End a call:

Tap End Call. Or press the center button on your iPhone headset (or the equivalent button on your Bluetooth headset).

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iPhone How To: Checking Voicemail

2010-04-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Checking Voicemail

When you tap Phone, iPhone shows the number of missed calls and unheard voicemail messages.
Tap Voicemail to see a list of your messages.

Listen to a message:

Tap the message. (If you’ve already heard the message, tap the message again to replay it.) Use and to pause and resume playback.
Once you listen to a message, it’s saved until your carrier automatically erases it.

Check voicemail from another phone:

Dial your own number or your carrier’s remote access number.

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iPhone How To: Setting Up Voicemail

2010-04-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

Setting Up Voicemail

On iPhone, visual voicemail lets you see a list of your messages and choose which ones to listen to or delete, without having to listen to instructions or prior messages.

NOTE: Visual voicemail may not be available in all regions, or may be an optional service. Contact your carrier for more information. If visual voicemail isn’t available, tap Voicemail and follow the voice prompts to retrieve your messages.

The first time you tap Voicemail, iPhone prompts you to create a voicemail password and record your voicemail greeting.

Change your greeting:

Tap Voicemail, tap Greeting, then tap Custom.
Tap Record when you’re ready to start.
When you finish, tap Stop. To review, tap Play.
To rerecord, repeat steps 2 and 3.
Tap Save.

Use your carrier’s default greeting:

Tap Voicemail, tap Greeting, then tap Default.

Set an alert sound for new voicemail:

In Settings, choose Sounds and turn New Voicemail on. The alert sounds once for each new voicemail. If the Ring/Silent switch is off, iPhone won’t sound alerts.

Change the voicemail password:

In Settings, choose Phone > Change Voicemail Password.

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iPhone How To: Pairing a Device with iPhone

2010-04-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

Pairing a Device with iPhone

You must first pair a Bluetooth device with iPhone before you can use it.

Pair with iPhone:

Follow the instructions that came with the device to make it discoverable or to set it to search for other Bluetooth devices.
In Settings, choose General > Bluetooth and turn Bluetooth on.
Choose the device on iPhone and enter its passkey or PIN number. See the instructions about the passkey or PIN that came with the device.
After you pair a Bluetooth device to work with iPhone, you must make a connection to have iPhone use the device for your calls.

Connect with iPhone:

See the documentation that came with the headset or car kit.
When iPhone is connected to a Bluetooth device, outgoing calls are routed through the device. Incoming calls are routed through the device if you answer using the device, and through iPhone if you answer using iPhone.
For important information about avoiding hearing loss and about driving safely, see the Important Product Information Guide.

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iPhone How To: Setting Ringtones

2010-04-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

You can set the default ringtone for calls and Clock alarms and timers. You can also assign individual ringtones to contacts so you know who’s calling.

Set the default ringtone:

In Settings, choose Sounds > Ringtone, then choose a ringtone.

Assign a ringtone to a contact:

From Phone, tap Contacts and choose a contact. Then tap Ringtone and choose a ringtone.

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iPhone How To: Ring/Silent Switch and Vibrate Modes

2010-03-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ring/Silent Switch and Vibrate Modes

A switch on the side of iPhone makes it easy to turn the ringer on or off.

Turn the ringer on or off:

Flip the switch on the side of iPhone.

IMPORTANT: Clock alarms still sound even if you set the Ring/Silent switch to silent.

Set iPhone to vibrate:

In Settings, choose Sounds. Separate controls let you set vibrate for both ring mode and silent mode.
For more information, see Settings.

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iPhone How To: Favorite Calls Using iPhone

2010-03-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

Favorites

Favorites gives you quick access to your most-used phone numbers.

Add a contact’s number to your favorites list:

Tap Contacts and choose a contact. Then tap “Add to Favorites” and choose the number you want to add.

Add a recent caller’s number to your favorites list:

Tap Recents and tap next to a caller, then tap “Add to Favorites.”

Go to favorites:

Double-click the Home button. See Home.

Call a contact from your favorites:

Tap Favorites and choose a contact.

Delete a contact from your favorites:

Tap Favorites and tap Edit. Then tap next to a contact or number and tap Remove.

Reorder your favorites list:

Tap Favorites and tap Edit. Then drag next to a contact to a new place in the list.

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iPhone How To: Using iPhone Abroad

2010-03-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

International

Use International settings to set the language for iPhone, turn keyboards for different languages on or off, and set the date, time, and telephone number formats for your region.

Set the language for iPhone:

Choose General > International > Language, choose the language you want to use, then tap Done.

Set the Voice Control language for iPhone:

Choose General > International > Voice Control, then choose the language you want to use (available only on iPhone 3GS).

Turn international keyboards on or off:

Choose General > International > Keyboards, and turn on the keyboards you want.
If more than one keyboard is turned on, tap to switch keyboards when you’re typing. When you tap the symbol, the name of the newly active keyboard appears briefly. See International Keyboards.

Set date, time, and telephone number formats:

Choose General > International > Region Format, and choose your region.
The Region Format also determines the language used for the days and months that appear in native iPhone applications.

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How To Make Conference Calls Using iPhone

2010-03-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

Conference Calls

You can talk to more than one person at a time, and merge up to five calls, depending on your carrier.

NOTE: Conference calling may be an optional service in some countries. Contact your carrier for more information.

Create a conference call:

Make a call.
Tap Add Call and make another call. The first call is put on hold.
Tap Merge Calls. The calls are merged on one line and everyone can hear each other.
Repeat steps two and three to add up to five calls.

Drop one call:

Tap Conference and tap next to a call. Then tap End Call.

Talk privately with a call:

Tap Conference, then tap Private next to a call. Tap Merge Calls to resume the conference.

Add an incoming call:

Tap Hold Call + Answer, then tap Merge Calls.
If your service includes conference calling, iPhone always has a second line available in addition to the conference call.

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Why you’ll love iPhone

2010-02-26T09:57:00.000-08:00

It’s three devices in one.

iPhone is more than just a phone. It combines three devices in one: a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough Internet device. All that and more makes it the best phone you’ll ever use.

Revolutionary Phone

With the Multi-Touch interface on iPhone, you can make a call simply by tapping a name or number in your contacts or favorites list, your call log, or just about anywhere. Visual Voicemail lets you select and listen to messages in whatever order you want — just like email.

Widescreen iPod

iPhone shows off your content — music, movies, TV shows, and more — on a beautiful 3.5-inch display. Add to your collection by downloading music and video wirelessly from the iTunes Store. Scroll
through songs and playlists with the touch of a finger. Even browse your album artwork using Cover Flow.

Breakthrough Internet Device

iPhone uses fast 3G and Wi-Fi wireless connections to deliver rich HTML email, Maps with GPS, and Safari — the most advanced web browser on a mobile device. It has Google and Yahoo! search built in. And since iPhone multitasks, you can make a phone call while emailing a photo or surfing the web over a Wi-Fi or 3G connection.

It opens a whole new world of applications.

iPhone comes with some amazing applications. And you can choose from thousands more on the App Store and download them with a tap. Your iPhone gets even better with every new app. Play games. Be more productive. Keep yourself entertained. No matter what you want to do on iPhone, there’s an app for that.

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iPhone App for Autos

2009-10-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

The iPhone can do many things. Now it can even lock and unlock a car and start the engine.

Cambridge, Mass.-based car-sharing service Zipcar launched an app that lets you locate and reserve one of its vehicles, unlock it using the iPhone's touch-screen and drive it off the lot.

"The iPhone is a pipeline for almost one-third of our members," says Luke Schneider, Zipcar's chief technology officer. "This is something they have been asking for."

While there are many iPhone apps for autos, most are focused on directions, traffic, roadside assistance and games. Zipcar's app is the first to control the operation of a car, which is why David Cole, chairman of the Ann Arbor, Mich.- based Center for Auto Research, calls it a "breakthrough."

"Once you have this kind of electronic ability in a cellphone, there's no end to the type of technology you could bring to cars," he says.

How it works

Zipcar operates mostly in big urban areas, in 13 major cities and 120 university campuses. Members pay a $50 annual fee plus around $7 an hour to rent a car for a few hours, including gas and insurance.

To reserve a car, Zipcar offers telephone or Web-based tools. Now, a reservation can also begin from the iPhone. The transaction is completed with a map and directions to the nearest Zipcar parking lot.

Once there, Zipcar members find their car by using the iPhone to honk a virtual horn, which in turns triggers the real horn on the reserved Zipcar.

Next: Swipe the membership card over the dash to get access to the car keys, which are left in the car but are powerless without the authorization.

Once the member card has been swiped, Zipcar members can use the virtual iPhone to unlock the car doors and drive away for the duration of their trip.

"When you look at the app, it looks just like a car key," says Jim McDowell, vice president of BMW's Mini division, whose vehicles are used by Zipcar. "To give you the ability to get into a car with one touch on an iPhone is really cool."

Schneider made this work with basic cellular technology.

"The app uses the same wireless network that keeps the Zipcar fleet connected," he says.

A little black box Schneider calls the Zipcar M200 — the "brains" of the car — sits in all vehicles in a hidden location, controlling the use of the car. It prevents, for instance, the driving of the car — even with the keys — if a windshield is smashed by thieves.

Sharing a key, via iPhone

There are a lot of upper-end vehicles on the market that offer "keyless" ways to start an engine, using radio signals.

You get assigned a key and a fob for new models of the Mini, for instance. As long as it is in your pocket or purse, you can start the car by pressing the start button.

"If I'm going to the gym with a gym bag in one hand, and briefcase in the other, I really don't want to have to fumble for my keys," McDowell says.

Getting the average family to share a key is easy, he adds. "But in this case, it's thousands of people sharing a key, via the iPhone."

Now that Schneider has shown how to open and start a car with a cellphone, will manufacturers jump aboard?

It could happen in five to 10 years, says Tim Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies. "I wouldn't be surprised if all the next-generation cars have electronic locks tied to smartphones."

Schneider first demonstrated the iPhone Zipcar app at a June gathering of Apple software developers, expecting it to be available over the summer.

It's taken longer than expected, mainly to test it on many vehicles.

Security was vital.

"We had to make sure the information was as secure as if we accessed it in the traditional way," Schneider says.

Meanwhile, while technology is great — it's not always foolproof.

What happens if your iPhone runs out of juice? (Better reach for your old-fashioned Zipcar membership card to start the car.)

Or worse: What if you lose the iPhone midway through the trip?

"Use a friend's cellphone and call us," Schneider says. "We'll take care of it."

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iPhone App for Car 2.0

2009-10-02T01:30:00.000-07:00

The connected car, or Car 2.0 — a vehicle that’s linked to both the power grid and communication networks — may have a serious need on the iPhone. Major car manufacturers, startups building connected vehicle software, and car-sharing companies, are embracing Apple’s handset as the first mobile platform for managing connected vehicle services on the go. ZipCar, the country’s largest car-sharing network, said its iPhone app is now available. The application, which was announced back in June, will enable customers to find and reserve cars in its network and even unlock vehicle doors.

The iPhone has emerged as the mobile platform for development for Car 2.0 for a couple of reasons. Apple has created a wildly popular development program, which makes it easy for third parties like ZipCar to build applications. In addition, the iPhone itself is the mobile device of choice for the type of early adopters that have embraced car sharing and will likely embrace other new Car 2.0 technologies like electric vehicles.

ZipCar has built a company off of using digital intelligence and the web to enable customers to “share” cars, creating a new and more energy-efficient form of transportation. Customers can go online to find and book cars close to them, and the company manages car usage and services via digital and GPS technology embedded in the cars. So developing an iPhone app that can do all that is a wireless extension of its broadband roots.

ZipCar and iPhone customers also clearly have a lot of crossover: The main users of ZipCar are city-dwelling professionals with a decent income who are constantly on the go. That’s the same profile for the first rabid iPhone users. ZipCar says that “more than 25 percent of Zipcar members live their life from their iPhones.”

ZipCar’s iPhone app launch comes on the heels of car manufacturers and vehicle software startups also embracing Apple’s mobile device. Back in July Nissan announced that it would develop an iPhone application that will enable customers that buy its plug-in vehicles to manage a variety of connected car services.

ZipCar CEO Scott Griffith even thinks that cars themselves should be designed to function more like smartphones and the iPhone — with GPS, an intuitive user interface, a web connection, and a set of standard applications to help drivers, say, manage their fuel consumption, plus an open platform that would allow third-party developers to provide software that could be customized for each driver.

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AT&T Brings MMS To Apple iPhone

2009-09-25T23:18:00.000-07:00

The first hint that MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) had gone into general availability for iPhone users seemed to have come very soon. Apple iTunes is offering to update the carrier settings for the iPhone by clicking download on that message, the magic of MMS lands on the iPhone after just three repetitions of the smartphone.

In order to update the iPhone to handle MMS, the device must be plugged into iTunes. If a dialog box doesn't appear immediately, click "check for update." A dialog box will then appear with the message: "An update to the carrier settings for your iPhone is available. Would you like to download it now?" Clicking "download and update" will bring the software updates to the smartphone.

Once the download is complete, the Apple iPhone needs to be rebooted. Once the reboot is complete, MMS functionality has been enabled and users can start sending those picture messages.

Now that MMS functionality is available on the iPhone, all eyes are turning toward the telecom's network. According to reports that recently emerged, AT&T was worried that the influx of picture messages would bring its network to its knees.

AT&T has likely had since June of this year to upgrade its infrastructure to support MMS on the iPhone -- something it already does for nearly every other phone in its portfolio. Realistically, however, it doesn't seem out of line to speculate that the carrier was aware of Apple's plans to bring MMS to the iPhone well ahead of its official launch. After all, AT&T is the exclusive carrier of the device.

Depending on how AT&T handles the increase in network traffic, it could bode well for the telecom's long-term relationship with Apple. The iPhone has been a bright spot for AT&T's earnings and a successful rollout could help the company make its case to extend the exclusive agreement it has in place with Apple, which is due to expire at the end of 2010.

Today could be an important day for AT&T to keep Apple from ditching it for Verizon Wireless.

How To Get the wikiHow iPhone Application

2009-09-21T03:44:00.000-07:00

How To Get The Wiki How I Phone Application

View more presentations from Muriel Rivera.

What's New In iTunes?

2009-09-14T12:07:00.000-07:00

Home Sharing
A better way to share.

iTunes makes it easier to share music, movies, TV shows, and more. With Home Sharing, you can browse the iTunes libraries of up to five authorized computers in your house, import what you like, and automatically add new purchases made on any of the computers to your own library.

The Redesigned iTunes Store
Check out the new venue.

The world’s #1 music store is even better. With a beautiful redesign and refined navigation, the new iTunes Store makes it easy to explore songs, movies, TV shows, and more.

iTunes LP
The best thing to happen to fandom.

The visual experience of the record album returns with iTunes LP. Download select albums and experience a beautifully designed, interactive world right in your iTunes library on a Mac or PC — many are created by the artists. While you listen to your favorite songs, you can dive into animated lyrics and liner notes, watch performance videos, view artist and band photos, and enjoy other bonus materials. And become an even bigger fan.

iTunes Extras
Now featuring: Special features.

When you buy select movies from the iTunes Store, you won’t get just a movie. You’ll get iTunes Extras — a world of special features you can experience right in your iTunes library. Watch interviews and trailers, view photos, and more on your Mac or PC.

Genius Mixes
Perfect mixes come automatically.

Meet Genius Mixes. This new feature searches your iTunes library, finds songs that go great together, and creates multiple mixes you’ll love. All automatically. These mixes are like channels programmed entirely with your music. You may discover songs you never knew you had — and rediscover forgotten favorites.

Improved Syncing
A simpler way to sync.

iTunes brings new, more flexible ways to sync your media from your computer to your iPhone or iPod. And it’s easier to organize all the apps on your iPhone or iPod touch, because now you can do it right in iTunes, right from your computer. Shop the App Store on your computer, iPhone, or iPod touch. Then go to your iTunes library to arrange (and rearrange) your apps and add (or delete) Home screens. iTunes automatically syncs your new Home screens with your iPhone or iPod touch.

Many Other Improvements
Refinements that rock.

iTunes brings you even better ways to manage and share everything in your library. You can make your Smart Playlists even smarter. You can save iTunes Store items you want to purchase later in a new wish list. You can buy ringtones of your favorite songs directly from the iTunes Store on your iPhone and assign a specific song to a contact. And if you’re an avid social networker, it’s easy to tout your favorite music, movies, and TV shows on Facebook and Twitter right from the iTunes Store.

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Changes Coming to the iTunes Store

2009-09-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

* All Songs DRM-Free
* Users Can Download Songs Directly Onto iPhone 3G Over Their 3G Network
for the Same Price
* In April 2009, Songs on iTunes Will be Available at Three Price Points

SAN FRANCISCO—January 6, 2009—Apple® today announced several changes to the iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com). Beginning today, all four major music labels—Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and EMI, along with thousands of independent labels, are now offering their music in iTunes Plus, Apple’s DRM-free format with higher-quality 256 kbps AAC encoding for audio quality virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings. iTunes customers can also choose to download their favorite songs from the world’s largest music catalog directly onto their iPhone™ 3G over their 3G network just as they do with Wi-Fi today, for the same price as downloading to their computer. And beginning in April, based on what the music labels charge Apple, songs on iTunes will be available at one of three price points: 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29, with most albums still priced at $9.99.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer our iTunes customers DRM-free iTunes Plus songs in high quality audio and our iPhone 3G customers the ability to download music from iTunes anytime, anywhere over their 3G network at the same price as downloading to your computer or via Wi-Fi,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “And in April, based on what the music labels charge Apple, songs on iTunes will be available at one of three price points—69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29—with many more songs priced at 69 cents than $1.29.”

iTunes offers customers a simple, one-click option to easily upgrade their entire library of previously purchased songs to the higher quality DRM-free iTunes Plus format for just 30 cents per song or 30 percent of the album price. The iTunes Store will begin offering eight million of its 10 million songs in Apple’s DRM-free format, iTunes Plus, today with the remaining two million songs offered in iTunes Plus by the end of March.

iPhone 3G users can now preview and purchase the entire iTunes Store music catalog on their iPhone 3G over their 3G network, just as they do with Wi-Fi today, for the same price and in the same high quality format. Songs purchased on an iPhone will automatically sync to a user’s computer the next time they sync their iPhone.

The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 10 million songs, over 30,000 TV episodes and over 2,500 films including over 600 in stunning high definition video. With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as iTunes Movie Rentals, integrated podcasting support, the ability to turn previously purchased tracks into complete albums at a reduced price, and seamless integration with iPod® and iPhone, the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac® and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Press Contacts:
Tom Neumayr
Apple
tneumayr@apple.com
(408) 974-1972

Jason Roth
Apple
jroth@apple.com
(408) 862-2633

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website, or call Apple's Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iTunes, iPhone and iPod are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Source

iTunes going primarily DRM free? (Update: yes, it is! 3G downloads, too)

2009-09-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

While Phil hasn't mentioned it in the keynote just yet, it looks like iTunes might be getting a big catalog overhaul, with most major labels finally offering up DRM free tunes. Our tipster mentioned DRM free goodies from Virgin, Sony BMG, American Recording and more (iTunes Plus has mainly been limited to EMI and some independents so far), and that most previously purchased songs are now upgradable for the same old price of $0.30 a song. We're still digging around on the iTunes Store trying to figure this out -- it's offering to upgrade our library, but the transaction won't go through yet -- and we'll obviously know more if it gets a keynote mention. Let us know if you have any luck picking up those non-EMI MP3s on your end.
[Thanks, Greg]

Update: As you've you probably noticed in the liveblog, Apple just made this very much official, and announced that some 8 million songs from all the major labels will indeed be DRM free, with a full ten million planned by the end of the quarter. As if that wasn't enough, it's also announced a new pricing structure for tracks, including a new $0.69 tier and a $1.29 one, which music companies will apparently be able to use at their own discretion. And, to keep things really spicy, the company has also announced that music store downloads are now finally available over 3G, and at the same price and the same quality.

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iTunes 9 Tips and Tricks - Solve The Mysteries Of the New iTunes

2009-09-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

by Roberto Baldwin

Arrange Your iPhone Apps

You can now arrange your iPhone apps from within iTunes. Woo-hoo! Not so fast there, buddy, It's still a bit of a pain. You can't drag apps from, lets say, Screen 2 to Screen 10. The navigation doesn't scroll automatically as you attempt to drag and drop. The best method to move items from Screen 2 to Screen 10 is to click on Screen 2. Then scroll to Screen 10. Drag and drop your app from Screen 2 to Screen 10. You'll have to navigate back to Screen 2 in order to grab other apps, unless you Command-click to select more than one in the first place.

UPDATE: Commenter woolyninja points out that you can indeed drag apps to screens and have the screen list scroll as your drag. My two test machines with iTunes 9 wouldn't allow this, no matter how hard I tried. I just tried it on a third machine and it works like a charm. Thanks catching this Mr. Woolyninja, may all your throwing stars hit their mark.

Navigate the iTunes Store

All categories now have a menubar item at the top of the store window, and those menubar items have contextual menus. To move forward and back, you use the arrows in the upper-left corner. This may seem like "duh!" but a few folks have missed the drop-down menus entirely while navigating the new store layout.

Hold Me Closer, Tiny Player

Clicking the green radio button no longer shrinks your iTunes window to the Mini Player we've come to know and love. To do that, press Command-Shift-M, or choose View > Show Mini Player. Once the Mini Player is on your screen, you can click its green radio button to go back to a regular-sized window.

UPDATE: Option-Clicking on the green button will minimize the iTunes window to the Mini Player. Thanks Ryan Schaaf via Twitter!

Where are Genius Mixes?

To get the Genius Mixes feature to appear, you have to update Genius.

Navigate to Store > Update Genius. Genius Mixes will appear under the regular Genius playlist option.

On the iPhone and iPod touch, you need to have Genius Mixes turned on within iTunes. Plug your iPhone or iPod touch into your computer. Select your iPhone in the left panel and then navigate to the Music tab. There you can check the Genius Mixes under playlists. Those mixes will be synced to your iPhone. Careful, since you can't tell how many songs are in the Genius Mixes, the mix could be more than your device can handle if you have a large music library.

Once you've found the Genius Mixes, it can be a let-down. Genius Mixes doesn't allow you to see what songs are in the mix. You just have to trust it.

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Apple iTunes 9

2009-09-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

By Jamie Lendino

Apple's free iTunes app is the default music software choice for just about anyone with an Apple-branded iPod or iPhone. It turns out that also goes for buying music; the iTunes Store is now responsible for one-quarter of all music sales in the U.S. But Apple isn't known for letting the competition catch up. Along with new iPod nano, touch, and shuffle models, the company has just unveiled iTunes 9, a significant update that includes a thoroughly revamped iTunes Store, proper library synchronization across multiple computers (finally), more sophisticated Genius recommendations, and more flexible app management for iPhone and iPod touch users. It's a solid update that cements its status as our Editors' Choice for music software.

Apple's free iTunes app is the default music software choice for just about anyone with an Apple-branded iPod or iPhone. It turns out that also goes for buying music; the iTunes Store is now responsible for one-quarter of all music sales in the U.S. But Apple isn't known for letting the competition catch up. Along with new iPod nano, touch, and shuffle models, the company has just unveiled iTunes 9, a significant update that includes a thoroughly revamped iTunes Store, proper library synchronization across multiple computers (finally), more sophisticated Genius recommendations, and more flexible app management for iPhone and iPod touch users. It's a solid update that cements its status as our Editors' Choice for music software.

Because iTunes 9 is a huge app, I'll focus this review on the new features. (For more on the app's main capabilities, check out my review of iTunes 8.) To begin, I installed iTunes 9 on a 24-inch Core 2 Duo aluminum iMac with 4GB RAM and OS X 10.5.8. Compared with its predecessor, iTunes 9 doesn't look all that different on first boot-up. The one obvious new feature is a pop-up welcome screen that offers a selection of videos explaining how the app works; useful if you're new to the iTunes universe. The top part of the main window shows a little more reflection, and, in a minor bit of graphical polish, the title of the song currently playing is now in a stronger bold type.

Psyched for Sync
As with Apple OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), most of the big improvements in iTunes 9 are under the hood. One of the best is Home Sharing, which finally fixes the media synchronization process across different computers. For years, you could share an iTunes library across a home network and access it from different computers. The problem was in trying to keep actual copies of the same media files in sync on multiple machines, which was essential if you owned a laptop—and essentially impossible with iTunes. Most people gave up and just dealt with having different libraries on different machines. The new Home Sharing feature fixes that by letting you sync all music, movies, TV shows, audiobooks, and apps between different machines. You can authorize up to five computers, and set them to automatically sync new purchases.

In my tests, I set up the 24-inch iMac with a master library, a second MacBook Pro with 4GB RAM and iTunes 9, and a third install on the PC side under Windows XP SP3. I launched the app and logged into Home Sharing on the iMac and MacBook Pro using my iTunes account. I then configured the app to automatically transfer new purchases to the laptop (using the Settings button at the bottom right when viewing the shared library). Finally, I selected some music and clicked Import; the app immediately began copying the files to the laptop.

I didn't want to sync the entire 60GB master library, as my MacBook only had 49GB of free space. That proved to be no problem; by changing the "Show" option to read "Items not in my library," I could see which songs and videos were missing, and then only select and import the ones I wanted. It also worked exactly as expected in the other direction, letting me see the (smaller) library on the laptop and move any files it had over to the main machine. The same went for the XP laptop; I was able to transfer music back and forth, synchronize the two libraries, and even sync and play DRM'ed iTunes Store M4P files from the iMac on the XP machine. This is a huge improvement.

One downside: There's no way to just set and forget the three machines to automatically sync everything; that only works for new iTunes purchases. So if you import a CD on one machine, you'll have to view that library on another machine, select the tracks, and click Import to move them over. (You'll be able to see them right away by choosing the "Items not in my library" option from the other machines.) There's also no easy way to make your music collection available online from a Web browser, a feature Napster and Lala both offer. Still, home sharing is something I've wanted for years; I almost felt like cheering.

The Genius of iTunes
The app's new Genius Mixes create miniature radio stations out of your library. When I first clicked the Genius Mixes option in the left pane, 12 new mixes appeared in an attractive icon-based interface separated into genres, with examples of artists for each one showing whenever I highlighted them with the mouse cursor. For example, the Alternative Rock Mix was "based on The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, & others." Clicking the Play button cued up the first track of an unlimited playlist. Over the course of several hours, it cycled through lots of other relevant artists, including interesting but less-often-heard tracks from specific albums I owned. Automatic playlists are by no means a huge innovation, but Genius Mixes is still a solid addition to Apple's app.

App management is also improved. Hook up an iPhone or iPod touch updated with OS 3.1 and you'll be able to manage your software collection much more easily from within iTunes. Apple iTunes 9 now displays each of your device's home screens, and it lets you drag around apps to arrange as you see fit. You can also change the order in which the different home screens appear by sliding around the menu icons on the right.

On the device side, iTunes 9 continues to sync with all manner of iPods and iPhone models. But Apple has once again broken the Palm Pre's ability to sync directly with the app—a cat-and-mouse game that's likely to continue for some time. You can buy new music over Wi-Fi or 3G from an iPhone, but you can't choose from millions of new tracks to listen to without buying some first, the way you could with a Zune Marketplace subscription, Rhapsody's new iPhone app (stay tuned for our full review) or Napster To Go.

The iTunes Store Remodels
The most visible improvement in iTunes 9 appears when you fire up the iTunes Store (which, incidentally, requires Safari 4.0.3 to be installed on the Mac, but not on the PC). Apple has completely revamped the store's main view. A new navigation bar sits permanently on the right side of the screen. Several animated highlights featuring new content are front and center. There's plenty of extra white space all around, giving the store a fresh, organic look. Across the top, you can drop down several main categories for music, movies, audiobooks, and other content. To compensate for the lost real estate, the home page scrolls down further. You can still browse by individual media subcategory (such as alternative music). To do so, you now click and hold the mouse button over the main category buttons. Overall, it all looks good, and—I can't believe I'm about to write this—seems as if Apple took a cue from the minimalist Zune Marketplace to simplify the iTunes Store's design.

Previewing and buying tracks is also easier. Pass the cursor over a given track and several things happen. A blue preview icon appears to the left—useful for hearing multiple tracks without having to navigate down to each one anymore. In addition, a Buy button containing the price appears on the right, along with a down arrow that contains a hidden drop-down menu for gifting a track, adding it to a wish list, or sharing it on Facebook or Twitter. The social networking features worked fine in testing. In Facebook, a song showed up with an album cover graphic and a link to the iTunes Store item, and a Twitter share just showed the artist and title, plus a bit.ly link to the store. Again it's not a shocking innovation, but it lets iTunes catch up with social networking trends a bit.
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Individual artist, track, and album pages are also different, with simpler designs, larger graphics, and larger fonts in music track lists. The latter take up much more of the screen now, and are no longer crammed into a tiny frame at the bottom of the iTunes window. As before, 256-Kbps DRM-free AAC tracks cost anywhere from 69 cents to $1.29, with most at 99 cents and many new releases at $1.29. This is still more expensive than Amazon MP3, which trails iTunes in other features (particularly music discovery and online video) but remains a killer destination for bargain-priced music in the ubiquitous MP3 format. Movies, TV shows, and audiobooks are also very well represented, along with the nifty, upgraded iTunes U section for taking free classes. I'd still like to see more movie rentals and HD content in the store, but at this point it's up to the studios and Apple to negotiate the right deals.

A Few Disappointments
Other new features in the iTunes Store include iTunes Extras, which show up as additional content for certain movies (14 at the time of this writing). The content can range from exclusive video clips to behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with cast members, commentaries, "making of" videos, and photo galleries. You get a quick summary in the beginning, but you can also click "More" several times and see additional text and credits when available. Unfortunately, iTunes 9 doesn't tell you what the extras actually are before you make a purchase, however.

Another gripe is that many movies—including prominently featured Pixar favorites like Wall-E—still aren't available in HD. (Note: I also tried viewing an iTunes Extra movie on a computer that still had iTunes 8.2.1 installed; it displayed a message at that top that said "Some items on this page may require an upgrade to the latest version of iTunes.") The same goes for the new iTunes LPs. The idea is nice, as it features animated lyrics and liner notes along with videos and interviews. But the selection is currently sparse (just 11 albums), and you don't know exactly what each LP includes.

One perennial con to iTunes is the lack of a subscription option for unlimited music listening. That's for a narrower but loyal market that Rhapsody and Napster still serve well—particularly Napster, with its revamped UI and blowout $5-per-month price that includes five downloaded MP3s. And there's still no easy way to manage recorded video content with iTunes 9. Apple knows its game and sticks to it; it would rather you bought lots of high-profit individual pieces of media a la carte in the iTunes Store than record your own. (That said, Cupertino just shoehorned an FM radio into the iPod nano, after dozens of competitors so equipped came and went over the years, so anything is possible.)

With iTunes 9, Apple is pulling further and further away from the pack. Even as standalone iPod sales crest and begin to stabilize as the music-playing cell phone market grows, Apple's ecosystem remains the most sophisticated and well integrated for organizing and managing your media.

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