Been awhile since Apple has issued an update for iTunes. Not sure if that’s a good thing or bad, but Apple has released an updated version of all our beloved app — iTunes.

This version fixes a number of issues and bugs with iTunes version 9.0.2 including:

• iTunes no longer ignores your “Remember password for purchases” setting.
• Addresses problems with syncing some Smart Playlists and Podcasts with iPod.
• Resolves a problem recognizing when iPod is connected.
• Addresses issues that affect stability and performance.

You can get the update from Software Update on either Windows or Mac OS X or if you like, you can download the update from Apple.com (source link)

- source: apple.com

Businessweek reports that Apple and Microsoft are currently in negotiations to replace Google as the default search engine on the iPhone with Microsoft’s Bing. The negotiation have reportedly been underway for weeks.

Businessweek quoted the increasing rivalry between Google and Apple as one of the reasons behind the discussions.

“Apple and Google know the other is their primary enemy,” says one of the people, who’s familiar with Apple’s thinking. “Microsoft is now a pawn in that battle.”

If the negotiations are successful, it could also mean that Bing could eventually replace Google as the default search engine for Apple’s desktop version of Safari as well.

Even if Apple and Microsoft do come to an agreement, Businessweek notes that this may just be a time-buying move on Apple’s part who is reportedly working on their own search technology.

- source: businessweek.com

AppleInsider reports some info from a source claiming that Apple is looking to acquire large quantities of LED camera flash components, initiating speculation that the company is planning to add flash capabilities to its camera on the iPhone, and possibly the iPod touch if it ever gains a camera.

People familiar with Apple’s initiative claim the electronics maker is seeking allotments of LED camera flash components in the tens of millions for delivery during the 2010 calendar year, meaning future iPhones — and possibly the iPod touch — are the most likely recipients of those parts, due to their sales volume. Those same people say that Philips’ Lumileds Lighting sector is believed to be the front-runner for Apple’s business and may have already secured the design win.

Despite the generally-decent image quality of Apple’s existing 3.2-megapixel camera in the iPhone 3GS, increasing numbers of smartphones, including the Motorola Droid and Google Nexus One, have been moving to 5-megapixel camera sensors with LED flash to assist in low-light situations.

Apple has reportedly secured orders with current camera sensor supplier OmniVision Technologies for large quantities of 5-megapixel camera sensors, likely destined for the next-generation iPhone.

- source: appleinsider.com

Today, Apple announced that users have now downloaded over three billion iPhone and iPod touch applications from AppStore since its July 2008 launch.

“Three billion applications downloaded in less than 18 months — this is like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The revolutionary App Store offers iPhone and iPod touch users an experience unlike anything else available on other mobile devices, and we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon.”

The AppStore reached 2 billion downloads just over 3 months ago. The new milestone represents continued acceleration of growth for the store as Apple’s handheld devices continue to attract significant numbers of customers. The App Store continues to be available to customers in 77 countries, offering applications in 20 categories.

- source: apple.com

All Things D claims that Apple’s rumored media event will actually take place on Wednesday, January 27th rather than the 26th as originally rumored.

Sources in a position to know tell me Apple (AAPL) is indeed planning a media event later this month at which it will announce a major new product. The gathering is to be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, a space Apple often uses for media events like these. According to other sources, it will occur on Wednesday Jan. 27, not Tuesday Jan. 26, as had been rumored.

Apple is rumored to be launching the highly expected Apple Tablet rumored to be called “iSlate” – Other rumors suggest that Apple will be announcing details about the next generation iPhone

- source: digitaldaily.allthingsd.com

Here’s a big surprise! (Sarcasm) – Media research firm, Nielsen, released its list for top U.S. mobile phones, sites, and brands for the first ten months of 2009, and not surprisingly, Apple iPhone 3G took top spot among mobile phones with 4% of the market. The Apple iPhone placed slightly ahead of RIM’s BlackBerry 8300 series at 3.7%, and well ahead of the remainder of the pack, which was led by Motorola’s RAZR V3 series at 2.3%.

In addition, Apple also made an appearance on Nielsen’s list of top ten brands accessed via mobile networks for the January-September 2009. Apple took tenth place – Yahoo! took first place and Google, sadly, took second place.

- source: blog.nielsen.com

Apple is rolling out a new look to their App Store individual app pages tonight which brings it in line with the rest of the iTunes 9 design that was revealed a few months ago. The changes will be of primary interest to App Store developers who rely on the App Store pages to drive sales.

Changes that may impact developers include:

• Much larger icon is shown
• Multiple screenshots are more obvious to viewer
• App description is truncated to the first 2 lines by default. While users can expand to see the rest of the description, many will likely not. This places much more importance on the first two lines of the App’s description
• More apps by the same developer are listed automatically

Overall, there seems to be a bigger focus on the icon/screenshots on first glance of the page. By now, all pages in the AppStore should be updated with the new look.

Apple has released an update to iTunes 9, which adds a dark theme to the Grid view, support for AppleTV firmware version 3.0, and improves support for accessibility.

iTunes 9.0.2 adds support for Apple TV software version 3.0, adds an option for a dark background for Grid View, and improves support for accessibility.

You can grab the update via Software Update or at Apple’s iTunes download page at the source link below

- source: apple.com

Today, Apple released iTunes version 9.0.1. This update offers a number of fixes and improvements to iTunes:

• Resolves issues browsing the iTunes Store.
• Addresses a performance issue where iTunes may become unresponsive.
• Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit.
• Fixes a problem syncing Podcasts in playlists to iPod or iPhone.
• Fixes a problem sorting albums with multiple discs.
• Addresses an issue with the Zoom button not switching to Mini Player.
• Improves application syncing for iPod touch and iPhone.
• Genius is now automatically updated to show Genius Mixes.

You may download iTunes version 9.0.1 on Software Update on your Mac or Windows PC or on the iTunes download site (Source link)

- source: apple.com

The iPhone Blog reports that Apple is taking steps to investigate numerous reports of reduced battery life from iPhone OS 3.1 users. The company’s AppleCare division has reportedly begun contacting users complaining about the problem in its support forums, asking users a series of questions about their battery life issues.

An undisclosed number of users who have posted on Apple’s discussion boards about poor battery life following the iPhone 3.1 software update are being contacted by AppleCare helpdesk with a hefty list of 11 follow-up questions. These questions focus primarily on the usual battery culprits, email (especially push), WiFi and Bluetooth, and App Store apps. Number 10, asking “When you notice a power drop, does it seem to be a legitimate power drop, or rather an issue with the battery icon indicator?”, is certainly interesting.

Users are also being sent a “Battery Life Logging” configuration profile for installation on their devices. The configuration profile reportedly tracks battery usage data and syncs it to iTunes, where users are asked to send the data back to Apple for analysis.