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More Details on iTunes 9's Social Media Integration? [Updated]

Boy Genius Report provides additional information on the rumored updates to iTunes 9 initially reported over the weekend, which included the addition of Blu-ray support and the ability to organize iPhone applications, as well as some form of social networking integration.

The same source who provided the initial information gave additional details on the social networking integration, describing that it "seems to be part of a bigger social networking push by Apple" and that the application would be a separate application from iTunes, merging multiple social networking services into a single interface. This social networking application would allow users to share music and update their status on multiple networks at once.

- The social networking integration that we reported iTunes 9 would have seems to be part of a bigger social networking push by Apple. We've been informed that Apple has plans to tie iTunes 9 into a "Social" application that they plan to release in the future. It was said that the application (separate from iTunes) will be similar to Yahoo's OneConnect offering and consolidate all your social networking services. (iPhone application? Desktop app? Wasn't clarified to us).

- The application will allow you to broadcast what music you're currently listening to, allow you to share your music with people on your network, connect with your friend's friends (no clue on that one), and update all of your statuses at the same time. ITunes 9 will let you broadcast music statuses as well.

Regarding iPhone application organization, multiple options will reportedly be available to let users sort applications "alphabetically, by genre, date added, and of course, custom arrangement."

Update: Tobias Bischoff claims [Google translation] to have grabbed several iTunes 9 screenshots from the forums at Chinese site WeiPhone. While the authenticity of the screenshots is unknown and they do not demonstrate the functionality of the new features, they are included here for discussion.





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33 months ago
That sounds ok. I don't really care about what song people are listening to though.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
33 months ago
As long as they don't call their sharing music with your friends "squirting". Sheesh, there's something Microsoft got wrong.
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33 months ago
The article also says, "again, this isn’t confirmed and some of it seems a little far-fetched, but let’s see what happens here. It’s going to get interesting."

I think they hit the mark on the "far-fetched" part, but that's just me. :)

Edit: PS - You can pretty much already broadcast your iTunes songs as statuses with iChat, Adium, and other programs (including some for Windows). And you can already "share" your music with yourself via library sharing, but I'm not sure that Apple would want to let you share it with friends (for legal concerns--you have to read enough "don't use this except for yourself" warnings when you share your own library as is). Far-fetched, indeed.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
33 months ago

That sounds ok. I don't really care about what song people are listening to though.


It's just like sharing pictures of your pet. Only you care.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
33 months ago
Call me a grumpy old man, but all I wanted was a bloat-free, snappier iTunes. :\
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
33 months ago

Call me a grumpy old man, but all I wanted was a bloat-free, snappier iTunes. :\


NP. It's a standalone app ...
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
33 months ago
I'd love a feature that adjusted app placement based on how frequently I opened apps. Kind like a smart app organization thing. All the apps I use the most would be on the front page all the time and it would adjust over time. Might help to determine what stays on the phone and what gets booted off.
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33 months ago
That sounds horrible :(
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33 months ago
Hopefully this doesn't spell the end of the Last.Fm app on the Iphone.....
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33 months ago
It's reasonable to conclude that your iTunes user account could become a competitor to an Open ID like service. The difference being the Open ID doesn't have credit card information associated with it. Hmmmm....
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives

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