Palm and Apple square up over Pre iTunes sync

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 18 Jun 2009 at 08:43

Palm and Apple are heading for a tense stand-off after the iPhone maker issued a thinly-veiled warning about the Pre's claims to synchronise with iTunes.

Apple is none too keen on third-party manufacturers claiming that their devices synchronise with iTunes, as is the case with the newly-launched Palm Pre.

In a support notice update on its website, Apple warns that people buying non-Apple devices could find that synchronisation suddenly stops working after an iTunes update.

"Apple is aware that some third-parties claim that their digital media players are able to sync with Apple software," the support notice states.

"However, Apple does not provide support for, or test for compatibility with, non-Apple digital media players and, because software changes over time, newer versions of Apple's iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players."

The move is a clearly designed to spook people considering buying the Palm Pre instead of an iPhone or iPod device.

Palm, however, remains bullish. "Palm's media sync works with the current version of iTunes," Palm spokesperson Lynn Fox told Digital Daily.

"If Apple chooses to disable media sync in a future version of iTunes, it will be a direct blow to their users who will be deprived of a seamless synchronisation experience.

"However, people will have options. They can stay with the iTunes version that works to sync their music on their Pre, they can transfer the music via USB, and there are other third-party applications we could consider."

Whether Pre owners would be prepared to stay put and suffer iTunes's constant upgrade nagging or move to another third-party application is debatable.

However, the argument may well have been settled one way or the other by the time the Pre arrives on these shores, with a UK release date still unconfirmed.