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Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: May 22, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: August 29, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: March 27, 2009
Release Date: August 07, 2009

iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: August 25, 2009

Top 5 Paid Apps

Release Date: April 22, 2009
StickWars $0.99
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Genre: Games
Bloons $0.99
Release Date: April 05, 2009
Genre: Games

Discover New Music

  • The Printz

    • 8 out of 10
    • Bumblebeez 81
    • Part white rap, part alternative, part pop, and part rock, the Bumblebeez grabbed a hold of me with "Pony Ride," and didn't let go.

      This group does a marvelous job of moving seamlessly be

  • Plans

    • 8 out of 10
    • Death Cab for Cutie
    • With the introduction of Plans, Death Cab for Cutie became a new addition to many user's Artist list after the single "Soul Meets Body" became a hit on iTunes. Offering a fresh alternativ

  • King James Version

    • 4 out of 10
    • Harvey Danger
    • The sophomore effort from Harvey Danger, I was really looking forward to this followup to "Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?" Unfortunately, "King James Version" failed to deliver any of the bri

  • Music Has The Right To Children

    • 10 out of 10
    • Boards of Canada
    • This one will haunt you. From the first notes to the last, their sound surrounds you. BOC has put out a fantastic catalogue, and this album is a great starting point for a new listener. Jump straight
  • So Jealous

    • 8 out of 10
    • Tegan and Sara
    • So Jealous is the third album from these sisters, and easily the one to single out for an introduction to their music. Some people may not get on board with their vocal styles, which are slightly

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News

Arrival of the iPod Killer?

Windows Media Player 11, coupled with the new music service Urge and iRiver's new 2GB clix MP3 player, could finally make a dent in the iPod's stranglehold on digital music, according to a pair of editorials published on Tuesday. Tony Briggs, writing for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, calls Media Player 11 "a digital media Swiss Army knife, smoothly combining a raft of digital music, video and photography related functions into one elegant package."

While he acknowledges that "elegant" is "a word you rarely see associated with a Microsoft product," he believes that this one has earned it, from its impressive functionality to its automatic connection with Urge, which is a joint venture between Microsoft and MTV. However, Media Player 11 also allows access to other pre-Urge music stores.

Mike Langberg, writing for the San Jose Mercury News, echoes Mr. Briggs' comments, noting that consumers of iTunes Music Store content are locked into using those songs and videos only with an iPod, while Urge is hardware neutral. Its downloads work with any MP3 player certified through Microsoft's "PlaysForSure" program, and those players in turn work with competing online music stores from AOL, Napster, Yahoo! and Wal-Mart.

In addition, Mr. Langberg touts the merits of the iRiver clix, which sells for the same price as the 2GB iPod nano but offers a larger screen (2.2 inches versus 1.5), a built-in voice recorder, and an FM tuner.

"It's important to note that Apple did nothing underhanded in gaining its near monopoly with iTunes and the iPod," the columnist said in summary. "The company simply created a customer experience that far exceeded the competition. But Apple can't be expected to think of every bright new idea in digital music, and won't change its ways unless there's a real threat that customers will go elsewhere.

"So even the most devoted fans of iTunes and the iPod should be hoping Urge and iriver, or some other competitor, keeps Apple from insisting we all sing the same song."

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