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APPLE DUE TO UNVEIL RENTAL SERVICE TODAY Tuesday, January 15 2008 
Apple
chief
Steve
Jobs
is
expected
to
announce
today
(Tuesday)
that
thousands
of
films
from
some
of
Hollywood's
top
studios
will
become
available
for
"rent"
via
Apple's
iTunes
store
on
the
same
day
that
their
DVDs
hit
the
shelves.
Most
analysts
expect
that
the
movies
will
be
priced
at
$3.99.
Apple
will
reportedly
employ
technology
that
will
enable
renters
to
view
the
movies
in
high
definition
via
their
video
iPods
or
iPhones,
their
computers,
or
(more)NEW ITUNES SOFTWARE TO BE RELEASED AHEAD OF MOVIE RENTALS Friday, January 11 2008 
Apple
is
expected
to
release
a
new
version
of
its
iTunes
software
next
week
that
will
allow
users
to
download
movies
to
"rent"
--
that
is,
to
be
viewed
during
a
limited
time
period.
The
software
release
is
expected
to
coincide
with
an
announcement
by
Apple
Chairman
Steve
Jobs
that
his
company
has
signed
deals
with
Warner
Bros.
and
Paramount
allowing
movie
rentals
on
Apple's
iTunes
online
store.
Apple
had
previously
indicated
that
it
had
(more) |
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Each of the major studios has agreed to provide movies for Apple's iTunes movie rental service, Apple chief Steve Jobs announced at the MacWorld conference in San Francisco Tuesday. The inclusion of Universal and Sony were major surprises since each had indicated it would launch a similar service. Moreover, Jobs said, the films could be downloaded and viewed on ordinary or high-definition TV sets via Apple's settop box -- without the use of a computer. They would rent for $2.99 for older titles, $3.99 for newer ones -- although "newer" is relative. Films will not become available on iTunes until at least 30 days after they are released on DVD. HD movies will cost $1.00 more than conventional ones to rent. Analysts pointed to other drawbacks: films can only be viewed for 24 hours -- fine for home viewing but annoying for those downloading them onto iPods and iPhones for viewing in increments during their commutes, lunch breaks, or work-outs. Moreover, only about 1,000 movies will be available when Apple's video-rental store opens online in February. Nevertheless, Apple's maneuver received mostly positive response from analysts and newspaper critics. Commented the London Times: "Apple's move into video rentals, if successful, is likely to change fundamentally the economics of the film industry, and provoke yet more arguments over the way internet royalties are paid to writers." Also on Tuesday, Jobs unveiled a new, thin laptop computer, the MacBook Air -- so thin that it does not sport a slot for playing DVDs.
