Apple tops 5 billion mark in iTunes sales

When the iTunes Store was first introduced (hey, remember when it was called the iTunes Music Store and all you could buy were DRMed music tracks? Those were the days) I thought people wouldn’t spend much money there. Sure, it was pretty and easy to use but people don’t want DRM laced music, thought I. Clearly, as with many things in my life, I was totally wrong. Apple just announced that people have downloaded over 5 billion songs from iTunes (notice they say ‘downloaded,’ and not ‘bought.’ This number includes all those freebies we list, as well as any promotional freebies Apple hands out with partners). Any way you slice it, that’s a lot of songs.

Apple also said that people are renting and downloading over 50,000 movies a day. Not too shabby, given the greater expense and file sizes involved with movie transactions on iTunes.

Thanks, Cameron! Read

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New execs join Apple core team

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is keeping a close eye on iPhone development as the importance of its strategy for mobile computing continues to unfurl. Jobs is taking Apple’s future so seriously he’s effectively handed over more control to fellow exec, Tim Cook, who now oversees the work of the Mac engineering teams.

Well, not exactly - Apple has added two new faces to its executive team, Scott Forstall (pictured, now senior vice president, iPhone software) and Bob Mansfield (now senior vice president, Mac hardware engineering).

Forstall reports directly to Jobs, and is responsible for the development of iPhone software, “including the user interface, applications, frameworks and the operating system,” according to Apple, at least.

Mac engineering leader Bon Mansfield will be reporting instead to Tim Cook, (who himself answers to Jobs). Mansfield’s the man who led the teams building the MacBook Air and the all-in-one iMac. Read the rest of this entry

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iTunes movies come to Canada as well

UK readers aren’t the only ones who can now purchase and rent movies via iTunes, Canadian readers will be happy to note they can get in on the fun as well. Interestingly the viewing period for rentals in Canada also lasts for 48 hours, which leads me to believe that the US window will also increase (though we have no information to confirm that).

The Canadian store has over 1,200 movies to buy, 200 of which you can rent. The pricing is as follows:

• CAN$9.99 to purchase catalog titles
• CAN$14.99 to get recently released movies
• CAN$19.99 to purchase new movies
• CAN$3.99 for renting a library title (a dollar more for HD)
• CAN$4.99 for new release rental (a dollar more for HD)

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Update: I assumed you all knew I meant ‘UK reader’s when I said ‘Japanese readers’ in the first sentence. I blame the overwhelming excitement of this news. The error has been corrected.

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iTunes UK gets rentals

Apple fans across the pond have long complained about their inability to purchase or rent movies from within iTunes. Those users now have reason to celebrate (and maybe give that Apple TV some use), as movies are now available in the UK iTunes Store!

According to the press release, 700 titles are available to purchase or rent, with over 100 titles available in high-definition. Some films will be available to purchase the same day as the DVD release.

When it comes to rentals, the policy seems to be pretty much the same as the US store, with one notable exception: the rental period is 48 hours. That should make LOTS of UK users happy.

Pricing is as follows:

• £6.99 for library titles
• £10.99 for new releases
• £2.49 for library rentals
• £3.49 for new release rentals
• High definition rentals will be £1 more

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

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Radiohead returns to iTunes

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