Brazil and 16 other Latin American countries are now offering music and movies from Apple's iTunes Store, while U.K. wireless operator O2 has come up with an iPhone leasing scheme that allow customers to rent the iPhone 4S for a year.
While consistently branded as being a "hobby" for Apple, sales of its $99 Apple TV set top box had made it the most popular device in the category, predicted to sell nearly 4 million of the the nearly 12 million TV boxes in the market.
Apple on Thursday revealed its iTunes Rewind selections for 2011, revealing the best music, applications, TV shows, movies, books and podcasts of the year.
Apple TV users in Australia, Canada and the U.K. can now purchase and stream episodes of television shows directly to Apple's set-top box without the need for a computer.
Apple is reportedly set to add music to iTunes across Latin America, with a rumored Dec. 8 launch date expected to expand available content past apps and eBooks.
Google on Wednesday is expected to announce a new online music store that will let users buy and store songs online and listen to them on multiple devices, in direct competition with Apple's iTunes.
A third-party iOS application that streamed music from Amazon's Cloud Drive service has been removed from the App Store due to legal complications with the music industry.
Apple is said to be involved in negotiations with Hollywood movie studios in an effort to give customers the ability to stream movies they own to devices like an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV.
Responding to customer backlash, Netflix on Monday announced that it will no longer spin off its DVD-by-mail business as a new operation dubbed Qwikster.
As Apple is rumored to discontinue its aging hard-drive-based iPod classic, the company has removed a section from the iTunes Store devoted to click-wheel games.
Apple on Thursday launched the iTunes Store in the 12 European Union countries that had yet to gain access to it, ending an eight year wait for what has become the world's No. 1 music store.
Apple has been hit with a new patent infringement suit accusing it of infringing three patents related to microprocessors. Also, the attorney general of Massachusetts has said that her office will look into complaints about fraudulent purchases on Apple's iTunes Store.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings sent a letter to subscribers on Monday, admitting he "messed up" and announcing that it would spin off its DVD and Blu-ray-based mailing business as a new service dubbed "Qwikster."
The new iTunes Match beta still downloads songs and saves them locally on a user's device, rather than providing an absolute true streaming service.
Apple has removed the ability to rent TV shows from both iTunes and its Apple TV, taking away what was just last year one of the major advertised selling points of the $99 streaming-centric set-top box.
Apple and Starbucks have partnered to include giveaways of paid iPhone applications in the "Pick of the Week" promotional program, which previously offered iTunes music tracks to in-store customers of the coffee chain.
Apple is not prepared to launch its in-the-works cloud-based movie streaming and re-downloading service, as licensing agreements with a number of major Hollywood studios have reportedly not yet been secured.
Apple will soon fully launch its long in-the-works "iTunes Replay" service that will allow users to re-download and potentially stream purchased content, including Hollywood movies, a new rumor claims.
When asked about the level of content available on the iTunes Store, Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer revealed that the company plans to offer "neat stuff" in the next quarter.
Apple as early as this fall may choose to test the waters for 1080p video sales through its ubiquitous iTunes service, AppleInsider has been advised.
{{ summary }}
AppleInsider Staff
Daniel Eran Dilger
Mikey Campbell
Sam Oliver
Katie Marsal
Neil Hughes
Chris Smith
Slash Lane
