News 

The unconfirmed and unattributed report suggests that the programme will permit licensees to stream and play copy-protected music and videos through speaker systems and wireless devices similar to Apple TV.

It also claims that devices such as iPod docks will be able to display information including artwork and other track information, which is stored alongside the protected audio.

Limited licensing of FairPlay would appear to make sense for Apple, by extending the iPod 'ecosystem' without endangering the core relationship between iTunes and iPods.

'The expected announcements could signal a move on Apple's part to take some

ADVERTISEMENT

of the sting out of its Fairplay DRM which has come in for a great deal of criticism over recent months,' the report says. 'It may also be a way of keeping Made For iPod makers onside, as the draw of the Microsoft Zune becomes stronger.'

The last point is, of course, debatable given the failure of Zune to make any impact on iPod sales since its release in the US in November. According to research firm NPD, Microsoft's portable media player took just nine per cent of the US market in December, compared to 63 per cent for the iPod range. Amazon tells a similar story: Zune is ranked 13th in its list of best-selling players.

Nonetheless, Microsoft may yet achieve its stated objective of selling one million Zunes by June and according to Tech.co.uk it will take a further step towards that target with a UK release in the spring.

According to a Made for Zune partner, anonymous at their own request, Zune will arrive in the UK in 'two to three months' time'.