You've had your cloud, but you haven't had it like this. And sometime in “late October," Apple plans to change the music world, again. That's when the much-anticipated iTunes Match hits the streets—at least in the US, according to details disclosed today by the company (the UK is apparently next on the list). And America—and then the world—will experience a cloud like none other.
But can they pull it off this time? We've argued that the iTunesCloud—complete with scan-n-match—will trump upstarts like Spotify for a number of reasons. That includes an approach that baby-steps upon existing collections, is far cheaper, and... let's face it, comes from Apple. But this movement also involves elephants Google and Amazon, all of whom are selling variations on this collection-based theme.
iTunes Match was just one component of an announcement that included an upgraded iPhone 4S (not an iPhone 5), the induction of Sprint into the iPhone family, cheaper iPod touches and nanos, and a smoother iOS 5. And, the iCloud, which goes live ahead of Match on October 12th.
Actually, even fanboys were snoozing at the iPhone update, especially given the heated anticipation for 5 (wait til next year.) But that's another story (written about 4,000 times already).
And, most of the details on Match are also already known. This is a $24.99 a year service that scans-n-matches your entire collection, ports it into the cloud, and enables access of 256kbps AACs from any computer, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or other iOS device. It's your collection, with on-demand streaming (essentially) and anywhere access. Even content cacheing for disconnected access.
So, Apple wins again, just like it famously did with the iPod and iTunes? That's certainly one outcome, though another very plausible argument exists for a shared stage. That is, a world that includes competitors Google and Amazon, but also a very crowded blend of downloads, subscription plays, satellite radio, Pandora, YouTube, and exotic plays like Turntable.fm.
Let's see...
But can they pull it off this time? We've argued that the iTunesCloud—complete with scan-n-match—will trump upstarts like Spotify for a number of reasons. That includes an approach that baby-steps upon existing collections, is far cheaper, and... let's face it, comes from Apple. But this movement also involves elephants Google and Amazon, all of whom are selling variations on this collection-based theme.
iTunes Match was just one component of an announcement that included an upgraded iPhone 4S (not an iPhone 5), the induction of Sprint into the iPhone family, cheaper iPod touches and nanos, and a smoother iOS 5. And, the iCloud, which goes live ahead of Match on October 12th.
Actually, even fanboys were snoozing at the iPhone update, especially given the heated anticipation for 5 (wait til next year.) But that's another story (written about 4,000 times already).
And, most of the details on Match are also already known. This is a $24.99 a year service that scans-n-matches your entire collection, ports it into the cloud, and enables access of 256kbps AACs from any computer, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or other iOS device. It's your collection, with on-demand streaming (essentially) and anywhere access. Even content cacheing for disconnected access.
So, Apple wins again, just like it famously did with the iPod and iTunes? That's certainly one outcome, though another very plausible argument exists for a shared stage. That is, a world that includes competitors Google and Amazon, but also a very crowded blend of downloads, subscription plays, satellite radio, Pandora, YouTube, and exotic plays like Turntable.fm.
Let's see...
