iTunes hosts first album sale, new iPod game spotted

iTunes albums for $7.99

Just as the recording industry reported that a drop in sales of compact discs accelerated to nearly 13 percent in 2006, Apple has reportedly made a move to leverage the one bright spot in that report — a doubling in sales of digital albumns.

The Apple 2.0 blog notes that on Wednesday, Apple's iTunes Store launched its first known album sale (though it is actually the second), offering nearly 100 albums for just $7.99 each. (An image link is accessible off the iTunes Store main page).

You won't find any current chart-toppers in the mix, but there are a number of albums listed from well known artists such as U2, Nirvana, Mary J. Blige, Smashing Pumpkins, Nas, Oasis, Prince, The Police, Beastie Boys, R.E.M., Guns N' Roses, and Jane's Addiction.

Slight older albums are available from the likes of Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, Jonny Cash, The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel and Pink Floyd (Dark Side).

iQuiz for iPod: Coming Soon

Meanwhile, Apple appears ripe to deliver at least one new game to the iPod in the short term, according to Electronista. The gadget site cites visitors to France's iTunes Store, who saw a game titled iQuiz briefly appear but then mysteriously disappear from their local iTunes Store.

The internally developed Apple game will reportedly expand on the basic Music Quiz program included with the fifth-generation iPod and the iPod nano. Its interface will be enhanced and the game itself will be the first to let players actively share information between each other through custom question lists, according to the report.

While Apple hasn't officially announced iQuiz, a description that briefly appeared stated the game will require iTunes 7.1 or later, quashing the possibility that it could be attached to a software update.