iTunes 9 to Add iPhone App Organizer, Blu-Ray?
BGR reports a source saying Apple is readying iTunes 9, which will include support for visually organizing apps on the iPhone, and for playing back Blu-Ray media.
iPhone 1.1.3 introduced the ability to add icons (limited to WebClips at the time, expanded to native apps with iPhone 2.0), and to move them around by tapping and holding until they began to jiggle. While this works well enough for a few icons once and a while, it makes totally re-arranging the 11 home screens made available in iPhone 3.0 a tad laborious. Suggestions for, even concept videos of, adding a more robust solution via iTunes have been floating around the web for a while now and would be a welcome addition indeed.
Steve Jobs had famously called Blu-Ray a “bag of hurt” due to licensing, but changes in those licenses and perhaps Apple’s priorities — which previously seemed to want to promote their own download service over physical media — could make it happen. Unless there’s more expansive and integrated support for the “digital copy” feature as well — where an iPhone/iPod version of the movie is included on the disk — it’s not really an iPhone friendly addition.
Also rumored were some kind of Twitter/Facebook/Last.fm social features.
Last year Apple debuted iTunes 8 at their annual iTunes and iPod music event in September (after it was heavily leaked by Kevin Rose). If there is an iTunes 9 on the roadmap, makes sense we’d see it this September along with the rumored iPod touch 3,1.
Anyone more interested in it now?
August 9th, 2009 at 8:29 am
haha, just read this on gizmodo and was about to drop you guys a line
August 9th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Looking forward to the new release next month. Will be in Germany on a business trip. Hope is is released before I leave.
August 9th, 2009 at 9:11 am
The iTunes for Mac is a 32bit app,am I right? Maybe we’ll see a 64 bit version with Snow Leopard.
August 9th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Is iTunes still Carbon? If so, a Cocoa version would be grand…
August 9th, 2009 at 10:18 am
On the subject of iTunes…..
Throwdown! The ThinkIndie VS iTunes Debate Challenge.
The up and coming independent music download site ThinkIndie.com, (online arm of the burgeoning ThinkIndieCollective Empire), formally challenge iTunes, (online arm of the already humongous Apple Empire), to a debate over the future of indie music online, aka. “The War of the Words”.
Details here: http://digital.thinkindie.com/wp/?p=60
August 9th, 2009 at 10:23 am
I’m liking the new change itunes been needing a face lift for years
August 9th, 2009 at 10:54 am
I’m just getting to the point where this feature is really needed ! I have my music apps on one screen and my games on another but guess what ? The games needs an extra screen and all be put to the end to keep them organized. I look forward to it!!!
August 9th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
I am, would be nice to be a tad bit more organized. I’m surprised they don’t respond by saying, “just use spotlight to search for the app”.
August 9th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
The app-sorting would be a MUCH welcomed addition. The way it works now sucks. I don’t say that much about Apple’s ideas, but it’s the most annoying part of the iPhone/Touch OS. Blu-Ray? I can live without that. That’s what 46″ LED TVs are for – not laptops
August 9th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
They should get rid of icons in their current form entirely.
August 9th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
@ Truth: just what does that mean?
August 9th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
I’d be happy if iTunes ran faster. It is the slowest thing on my PC. And…since 3.0, my original iPhone (yes, I still have one) syncs at the rate of sap from a tree.
August 9th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Looks pretty sweet. Hope iTunes 9 also has some under the hood enhancements, it’s a behemoth. Even the Zune software uses fewer resources.
August 9th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
organizing apps via itunes : nice… it’d be something at least. folders : ultimate solution that i actually want.
August 9th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
@Slb
Something similar to webos. Icons make the device look cluttered and having pages assigned to games apps and whatever else is just stupid. Maybe have an icon for games that will show you a list of all your games with a little icon on the side…same for apps. Then have a quick launch more most used apps.
August 9th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
@ Truth. Gotcha. Sorta like the Dock on the Mac. Folders…when you control-click them. I like that as an option too. I think initially, Apple wanted the eye-candy to get us lured in. Now, they can work on functionality.
August 9th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
I’m really excited about the whole app moving thing, the only concern will be though, how will it be compatible with jailbreak?
August 9th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Rearranging icons is my least favorite thing about my iPhone aside from no mms, so if this is true I’ll be very pleased.
August 9th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Macs will cost about 30% more if blurayDVD player gets involved. macs are already overpriced. Good luck to the mac idiots. Enjoy HD in your small screens. Lol. I don’t think apple will bring bluray anytime soon. Unless they are idiots too. Just my two cents.
August 10th, 2009 at 9:38 am
I don’t see how you could possibly put a Blu-Ray movie on an iPhone. I mean, technically you can, but why would you want to waste so much space for such a small screen? http://www.computersncs.com/rd_p?p=186122&t=9530&a=27439-theiphoneblog&gift=29670
The App organizer is an awesome idea though!
August 10th, 2009 at 11:25 am
App Organizer??? having 8 Pages of apps right now, this would be amazing!!! I can’t wait!
August 10th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
trolls <<<<<<BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
August 10th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
@Truth & Sib:
That idea is fine as a setting or added option. But some of us only have two or three pages of apps, and having them in folders or catagories will only require more steps to find them and launch. To “get rid of icons in their current form entirely” wiould be a step backward for users who don’t buy every lousy app they see.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Can’t wait this is gonna be awesome!!!!!
August 10th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Thank God they are finally adding this feature. I think they shouldve added this back when they started allowing 4+ app screens!
With the one year anniversary of the app store having passed and having more than a million different apps out there this feature is overdue.
I actually have to delete apps because re-organizing them each time I get a new one is way too time consuming and downright annoying.
I hope this new feature is released before mms lol.
August 11th, 2009 at 2:23 am
To the guy who liked my comment soo much. Keep buying mac buddy. Buying apple products fells to me like I’m a beta tester. Let’s wait two years for copy and paste??? Let’s wait till the fix this and that and this and that until next product comes out. Here is more money for u apple. Uuups but we need this feature we need that. 1mill blogs to figure out how to search the god damn thing. And in the end we are still waiting on the next product. I bought a mac. Kept it for a week. Freeze here freeze there. Very limited on **** I can do so I said **** it. Bought a pc and saved me 700 dollars. Works flawlesly. Especially on windows 7 now. Sooooo much better than macs. Peace I didn’t mean to offend anyone thou. My iPhone is ****** up now by the way. I can’t see what I’m typing. Cheers to apple.
August 11th, 2009 at 7:30 am
@CJ
You must have gorilla fingers “Lenny” since all your stuff keeps breaking.
everyone elses mac products are fine and we all buy apple care
August 11th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Crapple care??? LOL yea they are extremely nice. My buddie sent his iPhone cause it wasn’t giving sound time. They shipped it back to him saying that the iPhone got water damage. He just got his iPhone 6 months ago. And the iPhone now does not even boot up. It was booting up when he sent it. Also, he bought apple care.
August 12th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
CJ why is it that everything around you sucks?
You have a bad story for everything don’t you? Lol. Just full of negative experiences.
It prob did have water in it.
I’m glad vista has solved all your problems.
August 13th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Funny the comment made by Dionte about Spotlight. With currently 421 apps on my iPhone, that’s exactly what I use. If you haven’t tried that method, I suggest it. I only flip between Spotlight and the first two home screens. I don’t even mess with home screens 3-11. You can set your iPhone Spotlight settings to put apps at top of the list. I usually only have to type 2-3 chars until the app I want is there. I would like to see the new voice control allow for launching apps. I’m sure we’re only seeing the beginning of what Apple has in store for vc. The current implementation seems too basic for typical Apple. Even though I use Spotlight, app icon rearrangement would still be nice in iTunes, as I can’t put new apps that are on the invisible 12th plus home screens that I deem most important on screens 1 or 2. I think a 2-3 “screen” swipe-scrolling dock would be nice too, so you could have 8-12 most important apps at the bottom regardless of home screen. They could also have dots representing which dock view you’re looking at.
August 14th, 2009 at 3:46 am
@CJ
why do you have an iPhone if you think apple sucks so much?