Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:40 pm
Palm is delivering an update to the Pre smartphone, allowing it to once again connect to iTunes a week after it was shut out -- escalating its battle with rival Apple.
The Pre, released in June, was seen by many as the chief competitor to the hugely popular iPhone. It was also the first non-Apple handset to connect directly to iTunes.
But a month later, Apple closed the loophole saying that the Pre had falsely pretended to be iPods.
Palm's new fix, an update to the Pre's WebOS software, is similar to its old workaround.
When the Pre connects to a computer through a USB cable, it sends out Apple's vendor ID code. Recognizing the Pre as an Apple product, iTunes then allows users to transfer music, photos and videos.
Palm claims Apple should not be allowed to set iTunes to respond only to devices with Apple's USB codes. But the USB Implementers Forum, an industry standards group, states that the vendor ID used by a product must match the ID code of the company producing the product.
Regardless of the rules, Apple does not seem likely to let Palm's the new solution stand.
"As we've said before, newer versions of Apple's iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with unsupported digital media players," said Tom Neumayr, an Apple spokesman.
The iTunes battle is part of a larger rivalry between the two companies. Palm's Chief Executive, Jon Rubinstein, was once was an executive at Apple -- overseeing the development of the iPod.
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