Apple Thoughts: iTunes 9.0, iPhone 3.1 and iPod Touch 3.1.1

Obviously it wasn't all about the iPods, they do have a vital partner in the iTunes software, as well as the iPhone software, both of which were updated. So just what did they change?

iTunes 9.0

No Beatles like I thought there might be since Rock Band was releasing their Beatles edition, but there was enough change in iTunes to make me a happy camper.

The obvious change was in the appearance, a cleaner look with black tabs across the top for navigation and I think it works really well. Granted I have only had it installed for a couple of hours but I really like the new look. They have also updated the Genius feature, sort of combining it with the DJ feature to give you some "mixes" based on analyzing over 27 million music libraries that are out there. It gives you up to 12 mixes or channels that are "endless." There was also in improvement in the sharing ability, something they now call "Home Sharing" which allows you to sync purchases from up to 5 Macs within the same household. I'm assuming they all have to be one of the 5 "authorized" macs that are allowed on your iTunes account.

Albums and video have received some attention too, with the introduction of iTunes LP and iTunes Extra. Basically it is extra content for albums, movies and TV shows. Reminds me of the days when I bought vinyl albums, they always came with liner notes, lyrics and other material that you could sift through while you listened to the music. This is basically what Apple has done, although it is now obviously digital and you sort through the material right on your screen.

Social networking wasn't left out of the mix either, as you can now easily share things via Facebook and Twitter right from iTunes. Speaking of which, if you are on Facebook, you may want to add the iTunes feature as they are offering 20 free downloads of Indie tunes until the end of September.

The best change in my opinion, and one that I have been waiting for since the iPhone debuted, is the ability to organize your programs on your iPhone from the desktop. iTunes now allows you to drag and drop your apps to multiple home screens at once, making the organization of your iphone screens a snap. The interface looks very clean, and while I haven't worked with it yet, it is going to be a huge improvement over having to do it on the iPhone itself.

And speaking of the iPhone, an software update to version 3.1 was also announced.

iPhone 3.1 and iPod Touch 3.1.1

Genius seems to have been the focus, as they now have it on the iPhone software, giving you recommendations for new apps based on what you have as well as creating Genius Mixes based on what is already in your library. You can also purchase ringtones wirelessly, at $1.29 USD each, from over 30,000 that will be available in iTunes. Some of the other new features are iTunes U content organization, option to "Save as New Clip" when you trim video on the iPhone 3GS, remote locking via MobileMe and (Thank You!) pasting phone numbers into the keypad. You can get the full list at the iPhone 3.1 page Apple has setup. And if you are an iPod Touch user, check your update page here.

This is, like iTunes 9.0, a pretty decent update with some cool features. The iPhone update is technically 3.1 while the iPod Touch version is 3.1.1. In a bit of a change from the past, if you have paid to upgrade your iPod Touch to the 3.0 version, you get this update for free. And if you haven't, Apple is giving you a discount on the upgrade to 3.1.1, charging only $4.95 USD. To me, it seems like a no brainer if you have any question of updating or not. What are your thoughts?