iphone plus jajah by jahah @ flickr
It appears my scepticism about the rumours of the iPod to include Digital Radio was well founded. How on earth the real announcement got extrapolated to that is quite impossible to believe, but a salutary tale none-the-less.
The actual news is that the iPhone now has WiFi access to the iTunes store. (How clever not to go bunging up the tiny datafootpath of GPRS that is the iPhone’s sole contact with the real world). I’m not that impressed. Same application, different bearer, big deal.
The interesting stuff comes in the last breaths. Apple have linked up with Starbucks. A meeting of the brands – can you imagine the ponytails, chino jeans and lattés in those meetings? Starbucks, you might be aware, is also hopping on the music bandwagon by making big its policy of playing music in its stores. (I’m sure MacDonalds have done that for years?). But here’s the big revolutionary “oh my god, how clever are Apple?!” idea.
Starbucks will tell Apple the song that’s currently playing the store… and the last ten songs played. You can download them (using the WiFi in all Starbucks) with just a couple of clicks.
Wow. Wish I’d thought of that.
(Actually – wish I’d thought of taking the idea to Apple).
Now I wonder if Apple is interested in doing the same with radio stations, or if we’re just simply not cool enough for them? (Note to self – buy new Chinos, grow ponytail, drink more latté).