iTunes

Apple commemorates 'Decade of iTunes' Store with swag

Apple's iTunes Store doesn't actually turn 10 years old until April 28, but Apple seems keen on getting the party started a little early.

In honor of the occasion, the company has sent journalists a digital keepsake of sorts: 100 handpicked songs and a physical copy of the digital timeline it put up on iTunes yesterday.

The package even comes with a thank you note from iTunes and iCloud chief Eddy Cue:

When Apple introduced the iTunes Store on April 28, 2003, we thought if consumers had a great, legal way to download music they would embrace it … Read more

What iTunes needs next

The iTunes Store is 10 years old -- and iTunes, even older -- and it often feels like it.

Apple has certainly gone through some efforts to make iTunes look and feel different, but it's the load that iTunes bears that's the real problem. Once upon a time, iTunes was made to work with an iPod. The setup was simple; the software was good. It held MP3s and acted as the bridge.

Then a music store was added. Then, videos. And audiobooks. Now, apps. What started as a simple software-to-hardware relationship became the necessary portal for all software … Read more

Apple's iTunes Store at 10: A visual timeline

Apple's iTunes Store turns 10 years old this weekend. A lot's happened in that time, including a jump from just music to selling nearly every type of content, short of animated GIFs.

We've rounded down some of the key moments from the past 10 years, along with links to CNET News stories that puts them all in context.

You can also take a look at Apple's own timeline, which the company put out yesterday, and requires Apple's iTunes software on computers or an iOS device.

CNET Story links:

January 2001: Apple releases iTunes software for Mac … Read more

The iTunes Store turns 10: It's Apple's empire to lose

THE SPRING OF 2003. Apple was still in the early stages of what became one of the biggest comebacks in the history of business. Steve Jobs, who had returned to the company six years earlier, had already taken bold steps: He had killed off product lines, won Apple great attention with its colorful iMacs, and begun to open retail stores that -- given the lousy, post-tech bubble economy -- seemed like a crazy idea.

Yet sales of personal computers -- and the Mac was Apple's mainstay product -- weren't budging. It was a Windows world, and it sure … Read more

Apple celebrates 10 years of iTunes

Apple on Wednesday started celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its iTunes store.

When users head to the iTunes Store, they'll find a new feature called "A Decade of iTunes." The reason? Simple: on April 28, Apple will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iTunes store.

The feature allows users to browse a timeline of stories and the events that got iTunes to its place today. Things kick off with 2003 and the events that marked that year for iTunes. Users can then move their way through subsequent years and get glimpses of the way the store looked … Read more

Apple's Q2: By the numbers

Wall Street will have to make up its mind about Apple's downbeat forecast for the next quarter. But the company came in ahead of estimates during its first second quarter. Here's how Apple fared in the quarter compared:<>uct:

iPhones: 37.4 million iPhones compared to 35.1 million year-over-year iPads: 19.5 million compared to 11.8 million year-over-year Macs: 3.95 million, compared to 4 million year-over-year iPods: 5.7 million compared to 7.7 million year-over-year iTunes revenue up 28% App Store now in 155 countries and 350,000 apps 91 million visitors … Read more

Apple iTunes makes sweet music in online video market

iTunes tops the charts in online video sales, according to market research firm The NPD Group.

Apple claimed 66 percent of all TV shows sold and 65 percent of all movies sold online last year. In second place, Amazon took home 14 percent of all TV shows sold in cyberspace. Amazon and Xbox Video each grabbed a 10 percent chunk of all feature-length films sold over the Internet in 2012.

iTunes also scored the lead in the video-on-demand market, biting off a 45 percent share of all online movie rentals. Amazon Instant Video accounted for 18 percent, leaving Vudu with … Read more

Apple iOS users hit by online access glitches

Apple iOS users bumped into some trouble with several online services today.

Updates on Apple's status page this morning revealed that users might get an error when signing into their iCloud accounts or creating new accounts.

Users may incorrectly receive an authentication error when attempting to use iCloud. Setting up a new iCloud account from an eligible device may be temporarily unavailable.

Additionally, some people were unable to create new Apple IDs or sign into the Game Center app. Some iTunes users had been unable to access the iTunes store or make purchases, but Apple's status page indicates … Read more

Apple adds 'download later' option for iTunes purchases

iTunes users seeking a full TV season or box set of music can buy now and download later.

The new option is in place for an array of different items, including movies, music box sets, and full seasons of TV shows -- as well as individual shows.

Purchasing one of the above items now asks you if you want to download it immediately or later. Choosing the download later option adds the selected item to your iTunes account where you can stream it or download it in the future. The major benefit is that you can purchase a TV series … Read more

Apple patents method to let you buy iTunes content offline

Want to buy a new song or video from iTunes even though you're offline? A new Apple patent envisions a way, at least sometime down the road.

Granted to Apple today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, the patent appropriately named "On-device offline purchases using credits" describes a system of using credits to purchase iTunes content that's stored on your device but which you don't already own. The goal is to allow you to unlock and play iTunes songs, videos, and other items without having to be online.

You would first buy credits … Read more