The quiet renovation of iTune

In many little ways, Apple has been improving the iTunes experience in recent months.

... "For iPhoners the new ringtone feature is actually pretty cool. While too few tracks offer ringtones, you can buy the ringtone for select purchases and a very simple interface lets you locate and create a tone out of any 15 to 30 second patch of a song. Unlike polyphonic tones, these are real clips from the full song.

And both iPhone and iPod Touch users now get access to the WiFi store. If you are in a hot spot, the devices can access the iTunes store directly on the handset to browse, sample and buy.

[via e-gear]

Rule Jostles Runners Who Race to Their Own Tune

Before the up-coming New York Marathon race this Sunday, The New York Times reports on the banning of portable audio devices for runners in competitive races . [via Smart Mobs]

"USA Track & Field, the national governing body for running, this year banned the use of headphones and portable audio players like iPods at its official races. The new rule was created to ensure safety and to prevent runners from having a competitive edge.

... With technological advances leading to smaller and smaller audio players that are easier to carry and conceal during races, the rift in the sport and the debate over the issue seems to be here to stay."

Scots firm tunes into Japanese MP3 boom

Millions of Japanese mobile phone users will soon be able to download music and video ringtones from some of the world's biggest names in rock and pop. [via The Herald]

"Irvine-based Alchemedia Interactive yesterday said it was set to sign a major deal with Index Holdings, one of the largest mobile content providers in Japan, during a visit to that country next week.

The deal means Alchemedia will sell through a catalogue of MP3 quality music and video mobile phone ringtones, full songs and full music videos to a network of popular ringtone companies connected to Index.

... The Japanese music download market is the biggest in the world and was worth around £225m ($470m) in 2006."

Warner Music withholds content from Nokia

Warner Music Group Corp is withholding its content from Nokia Corp's new music Web site over concerns about illegal downloads, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday in its online edition, via Reuters.

"Warner has chosen not to sell its music through the Nokia Music Store Web site in part because another Nokia service -- a file-sharing Web site called Mosh -- is being used to distribute copyrighted material, the Journal said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

... Nokia is the first handset maker to move strongly into the content space with services like Mosh, which is designed primarily for mobile usage, even though it can be accessed from a PC."

Nokia Music Store Opens in UK Today

Nokia has announced that its Music Store will go live in the United Kingdom today (November 1st). Mobileburn reports.

"Launched at the Go Play event in London recently, the Nokia Music Store allows consumers to download music tracks via PC or directly to their handsets. Tracks can be synchronized between PCs and mobile device easily."

Horntones - Ringtones for your car

A start-up company called Horntones is giving drivers the opportunity to customize their own car horn's output by using any MP3 file as their honk of choice. [via Crave]

Related: - From ring tones to car horns? Only in the Philippines