A new report on Forbes states that the Palm Pre will sync with iTunes "just as it would an iPod or iPhone", with the exception of DRM copy-protected songs. If it works as reported, this could open the door to possibly syncing album art, playlists, and other goodies to your webOS device that iPod junkies have been enjoying for years.
iTunes connectivity on the Pre would be a surprise, given the tension between the companies over multitouch that Apple has been stirring up for some time. However it was tipped off back in January, notes MyPre, when Peter Skillman, Palm VP of Design, mentioned that the device would "sync with iTunes" during a video walkthrough.
Given that Palm has several ex-Apple employees at the helm, including Jon Rubinstein (former head of Apple's iPod division) and Chuq Von Rospach, among others, could this turn some heads back at Apple headquarters? Apple has been quick to cut the cord on developers who have tried to circumvent control over their iTunes software in the past, notes CNET.
So would iTunes functionality be a big selling point for you, should it make its way onto the Pre?
In other news, a tipster at Precentral recently reported that the Pre will fully support IMAP IDLE on Gmail. This means that e-mail can get pushed to your Pre almost instantly, and could mean that all IMAP accounts (with IDLE support) will be able to push to the Pre. This functionality could provide a Pre users with a free e-mail system akin to what Blackberry and Exchange users enjoy, albeit a less robust one.
UPDATE: Palm's Jon Rubinstein confirmed today at D7 that the Pre will be able to sync with iTunes on both PC and Mac, notes Precentral. When you plug in the Pre, you get 3 options:
- Media Sync
- USB Drive
- Just Charge
And is Apple open to this? "I can't see why they wouldn't be", he replied.
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