News
Mix: Europe, Wal-Mart, HOF, iDiamond
According to a Financial Times report, Apple has signed deals with T-Mobile of Germany, Orange of France, and O2 in the UK, to be the exclusive carriers of the iPhone in those European countries. The report claims that as part of the deal, Apple will receive 10 percent of revenue from calls and data usage of iPhone customers, and that the deal will be officially announced at the IFA trade fair in Berlin at the end of August.
U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart has begun selling DRM-free MP3 music from major record labels such as Universal and EMI for $0.94 per track. As Universal announced earlier in the month, its “test” of DRM-free music sales began today through retailers such as Wal-Mart and Gbox.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been selected for induction into the California Hall of Fame. Jobs, along with notable figures such as photographer Ansel Adams, Jackie Robinson, Elizabeth Taylor, and John Wayne, will be inducted during a Dec. 5 ceremony in Sacramento, CA.
A special edition gold and diamond covered iPod shuffle, dubbed the iDiamond, has been created by jewelry designer Thomas Heyerdahl. The not-for-sale shuffle features 430 hand-set diamonds, solid 18 karat white and pink gold, and has an estimated value of $41,000.
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1
Yay. Now I know where to go for edited, DRM-free mp3s.
Posted by Tommy on August 21, 2007 at 1:33 PM (PST)
2
Just checked WalMart’s site for the DRM free mp3’s- NO Mac support! Lame…
Posted by Aaron on August 21, 2007 at 5:41 PM (PST)
3
Walmart’s music download site also doesn’t support Firefox - it forces me to use (ugh!) Internet Explorer.
That said, their mp3’s are 256 kbps and DRM-free for $0.94 each - not bad. I wonder what formats and bitrates the other stores will use (Gbox, etc.)
Posted by dodo on August 22, 2007 at 4:13 AM (PST)
4
27% discount ($1.29 v. $.94) is pretty significant. Even at 5% w/ added bonus of no DRM ($.99 v. $.94), that’s pretty good. A long term concern for Apple must be that if cheaper DRM free alternatives become the norm, the resistance to switch from an iPod to something else may slip. I know the Wal*Mart announcement yesterday makes the Zune on Woot today look like a more attractive alternative to replace my 3G 20gb iPod.
Posted by jpa2825 on August 22, 2007 at 4:28 AM (PST)
5
This isn’t a danger to the iPod, but to the iTunes store the DRM free spngs will wprk just fine on an iPod.
Posted by studogvetmed in Loveland, CO on August 22, 2007 at 8:20 AM (PST)
6
I tried the Wal-Mart downloads today. It wasn’t too hard as I already had a Wal-Mart account. I bought 6 DRM-free 256 kbps mp3 tracks. The Wal-Mart download manager applet (which unfortunately has to be installed) adds the downloaded tracks into iTunes automatically under a “Purchased Walmart music” (or something like that) playlist. In addition to $0.94 track pricing, they have a number of albums available for $7.88 or even $5.88.
Posted by dodo on August 22, 2007 at 11:27 AM (PST)