Is this the beginning of the end for DRM?

Today EMI and Apple announced that high quality DRM-free music will be available from the iTunes store as of next month. A potentially momentous move that consumers have been waiting for ever since the iTunes store was launched 4 years ago.

Finally, you will be able to buy the music you want from iTunes and not worry that it won't work on a non-Apple device and the bonus is it will be higher quality as well.

EMI's catalogue will be available DRM-free in 256Kbps AAC format for an extra 20 pence per track. The existing 128Kbps DRM-crippled files will still be available to buy at the same 79p price point for those people that don't either know or care what any of this means.

But what does it mean? Is it quite as pivotal a moment as people are making out? Well, I think it could well be because hopefully this will spread. First, to the other big music labels, then to the indies and eventually to the big one, video. Once consumers get a taste for DRM-free digital downloads, they are going to demand it across the board.

For me, video DRM is a much worse problem than music DRM. There is a horrible trend in the UK at the moment to offer downloadable video in Windows Media Player, with DRM of course.

Unlike iTunes, Windows Media Player isn't available for anything other than PCs, so as a Mac user and regardless of the fact that it's crippled with DRM to restrict its use, I can't download and watch any content on Sky Anytime or 4oD anyway.

This really annoys me. I hate not being able to get that content on my Mac, especially in the case of Sky where I am paying through the nose for their content already and now one delivery channel is completely closed to me. So video is doubly bad. But without the need for DRM, they could distribute video content in multiple formats, for multiple platforms.

And that must be how people without iPods have felt all this time. And that is why DRM in all forms, for all content, is evil and completely unfair for consumers. DRM-free music may even lead to increased iTunes sales from non-iPod users because now they will be able to join in the fun as well.

There's a long way to go yet, this is only the beginning, but hopefully the big content owners out there, whether music or movie studios, will closely watch what happens and if successful follow suit quickly.

Especially in the music industry, it's going to be hard for anyone to hold onto DRM; now that one of the big four has gone for it, the others will have to follow to stay competitive.

So, a good day for digital consumers. Hopefully there are a lot more to come.

Apple introduces new iPods, iTunes 7 and "iTV"

Apple yesterday announced a slew of new products, pretty much in-line with the pre-event rumours that have been circulating, with the exception that there was no "true" video, 6th generation iPod announced.

So, what did we get and which are the most significant of the announcements?

2nd generation iPod nano

First there are the newly "remastered" iPod nanos. In a throw back to the iPod mini days, they now come with aluminium enclosures and in a choice of 5 colours. The range now includes an 8GB version (at last!) that is only available in black, a 4GB version available in silver, pink, green and blue and the 2GB version only available in silver.


All the new nanos have a 40% brighter screen and a whopping 24 hours of battery life, as well as managing to be a little bit thinner!

It seems to me that they have taken the best things about the mini and combined them with the best things from the nano. In my view this is what the nano should have been in the first place.

Certain to be big sellers this Christmas, they are available in the UK from £99 - £169.

New iPod shuffle

In a bit of a surprise move, Apple released incredibly tiny new shuffles.

They come with 1GB of storage and integrated clip, which you're going to need, otherwise you'll lose it! Also included with the shuffle is a new, tiny little dock.

The shuffle looks more like a remote control for a full size iPod rather than a music player in it's own right!

Available from October for £55.00.

5G iPods updated

The full size iPods also received an update, with new a higher capacity 80GB version, 60% brighter screens, increased battery life to 20 hours (on the 80GB model), the ability to play specially designed games and playback "gapless" tracks.

The latter feature is something iPod fans have been asking for for years now, so albums like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon can be played as they were meant to be, with each track flowing into the next, with no pauses.

This was perhaps the most disappointing announcement of the event, as a lot of people (including me) were expecting Apple to release a new, 6th generation iPod with a full face, widescreen display. Unfortunately that didn't happen, so we'll have to wait until next year for that.

The 30GB iPod has seen a price drop to £189 while the new 80GB version is £259.

iTunes 7

In a significant update to the iTunes software and it's associated online store, Apple announced several new features.

As expected, what was the iTunes music store, now known as just the iTunes store, has begun offering movie downloads (initially only from Disney studios). The good news is they are in near-DVD quality at 640 x 480 resolution, which is about 4-times the resolution of the video content previously available in iTunes.

Other new features in iTunes 7 are:

Cover Flow - allows you to navigate through album art to mimic browsing through your CD collection.

Free Album Art - free download of album art for CDs you import into iTunes (only with an iTunes account).

iPod Games - available to buy in the iTunes store and play on your iPod!

iPod Summary - iPod information is integrated into the application better now, so no need to go into a separate preferences pane.

This sounds like a great update to iTunes, I haven't had a chance to download it and try it out yet but as soon as I do, I'll post my thoughts here.

Sneak peek at "iTV"

In a highly unusual move, Steve Jobs decided to talk about an as-yet unreleased product.

Due in Q1 2007, it's code-named "iTV" (a little too close to Elgato's EyeTV if you ask me) and is basically a small Mac mini-like box that sits under your TV and streams content (movies, music, photos, podcasts) to your home theatre set-up so you can enjoy it on your big screen TV and nice hi-fi.

Jobs specified it would use 802.11 wireless connectivity but he didn't specify whether that was the existing 'g' flavour or not. There's a good chance that it will utilise the new, still draft, 'n' version with much higher bandwidth.

This is a significant move into the living room for Apple and as Steve Jobs said, it completes the picture for them. You'll be able to have content on your computer, iPod and now on your TV as well.

So, overall a pretty good bunch of announcements. In the short term I'm sure the most significant of them in terms of Apple's bottom-line is the nano, which will sell very well. But looking further ahead it's Apple's digital media and home entertainment strategy that perhaps looks the most exciting.

Tags: apple, itunes, mac, osx, steve jobs, ipod, opinion, analysis, review, tech, technology, gadget, schmadget, scb