Here are your Apple rumors and news items for Friday:
iTunes Sits on Cloud Fence: Since closing down acquired website last year, it’s been expected that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been expected to announce plans for a cloud-based streaming version of its iTunes music business. After almost a year, we’re still waiting. A Thursday report from the Financial Times says the company has been intentionally holding back as it does not “want to undermine the market that it dominates for paid downloads.” The FT says that the cloud-based music service being planned is “insurance” of its music business, rather than a replacement for the current iTunes model. iTunes controls nearly 70% of digital music sales in the U.S., but the industry is moving toward streaming-only models. Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is expected to open its own music store this year following the same business model as the Google eBookstore, allowing users to both download music and access cloud-stored music purchases via the Web.
Strike These From iPad 2: Two features rumored to be in the second-generation iPad will reportedly not be seen when the tablet makes its debut at an Apple event next week. The tech blog Engadget said Friday that the iPad 2 would not feature an SD Card slot for expanded memory storage nor will it have the retina display screen seen in its sibling device, the iPhone 4. Although they were initially planned for the device, these features have reportedly been left out of the iPad 2 due to “engineering issues.” Third-party accessory makers showed off bumper cases with SD Card slot access for the iPad 2 as early as November 2010. The iPad 2’s screen, meanwhile, has been a point of contention in the press, with some sources claiming that the device would feature a retina display with twice the resolution of the original iPad, and others saying the technology wouldn’t be ready until the third-generation of tablet was released. It would seem that some of the confusion may have been rooted in Apple’s own issues incorporating a retina display in the iPad 2.
New Lion Look: The preview version of Lion, the next major revision of the Mac OS X operating system, has revealed the new look coming to user interfaces in the software. Apple Insider reported on Thursday that organizational and office tools including Mail and iCal have gotten an iTunes-like makeover for OS X 10.7, as has the layout of Finder windows. iCal and Address Book have also taken on the appearance of their counterparts on the iPad.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here.
