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Palm Pre To Sync Seamlessly With iTunes

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the middle-finger-included dept.

Wired is reporting that Palm's new handheld device, the Pre, will be able to sync automagically with Apple's iTunes. Thanks to a team of ex-Apple engineers the Pre will sync everything but iPhone applications and some of the older Fairplay DRM music. "It does it by faking out iTunes, making the jukebox software think that it is connected to a real iPod. Hook it up and you'll be given three options: USB mass storage device, charging only or iTunes sync. This is a ballsy move from Palm, and we totally love it: a big fat middle finger at Apple. Apple will, we are sure, be readying its legal attack dogs as I write, and don't be at all surprised if an iTunes update pops up around June 6th. This fight just got a lot more interesting."

4 of 178 comments (clear)

  1. Why is this a big deal? by Enuratique · · Score: 5, Informative

    iTunes currently supports about 20 non-iPod devices:
    Nomad II Creative Labs USB
    Nomad II MG Creative Labs USB
    Nomad II c Creative Labs USB
    Nomad Jukebox Creative Labs USB
    Nomad Jukebox 20GB Creative Labs USB
    Nomad Jukebox C Creative Labs USB
    Novad MuVo Creative Labs USB
    Rio One SONICBlue/S3 USB
    Rio 500 SONICBlue/S3 USB
    Rio 600 SONICBlue/S3 USB
    Rio 800 SONICBlue/S3 USB
    Rio 900 SONICBlue/S3 USB
    Rio S10 SONICBlue/S3 USB
    Rio S11 SONICBlue/S3 USB
    Rio S30S SONICBlue/S3 USB
    Rio S35S SONICBlue/S3 USB
    Rio S50 SONICBlue/S3 USB
    Rio Chiba SONICBlue/S3 USB
    Rio Fuse SONICBlue/S3 USB
    Rio Cali SONICBlue/S3 USB
    psa]play 60 Nike USB
    psa]play 120 Nike USB
    SoundSpace 2 Nakamichi USB

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2172

    --
    A black hole is where God divided by 0
    1. Re:Why is this a big deal? by 0xdeadbeef · · Score: 5, Informative

      Those are legacy devices, pre-dating the iPod, from the time when iTunes was just a music management application (originally called SoundJam MP) and not the lynchpin of Apple's vertical monopoly entertainment strategy.

      None of those devices are supported on iTunes for Windows.

  2. iTunes Has Always Supported Other Players by EastCoastSurfer · · Score: 5, Informative

    They are even documented on Apple's website. I'm not sure why it's a surprise that the Pre is also going to be able to sync with iTunes.

  3. Anyone can do this and many have by macslut · · Score: 5, Informative

    That list, which is old, represents the 3rd party plugins which are bundled with iTunes by default. The SDK allows anyone to develop their own plugin. As someone else mentioned, Nokia has done this a long time ago. This could not be any more of a non-story. It's really bad reporting. It would've been more interesting to me if they had said that Palm made the Pre so that it could *not* sync music with iTunes. And the headline is incredibly misleading...it won't sync DRM music people may have in their libraries, and it won't sync movies, tv shows and most importantly apps purchased from iTunes. "This fight just got a lot more interesting." (sigh)