Palm Pre works with iTunes

Jake Widman
Friday, 29 May 2009 00:27

Your IT - Mobility

Palm's new smartphone reportedly syncs music from Apple's iTunes application, a function previously only built into iPods.

The eagerly awaited device, due June 6, automatically syncs songs from iTunes when it's connected to a Mac, according to a report from Fortune.

The capability had been alluded to in passing by a Palm representative at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, and the Fortune writer was able to confirm the feature on an advance unit of the smartphone.

Other phones, such as the Nokia 95, have been able to sync with iTunes before, but only through additional software and only to a dedicated iTunes playlist.

Not only does the Pre sync with tunes already on the computer without requiring any special preparation, but it also works with the iTunes store.

It won't play songs with Apple's FairPlay copy protection. But Apple recently abandoned DRM on the iTunes store, so that limitation will only be a problem for users who haven't upgraded their old library.

Whether Apple will regard this as an affront to their intellectual property remains to be seen -- the Fortune reporter just got a typical lack of comment.

But this news certainly adds an interesting twist to the upcoming Pre vs. iPhone v3 battle in the marketplace.