Hey Apple iTunes, Why Block The Palm Pre?

Palm Pre owners got a virtual slap in the face from Apple iTunes this week when the latest version of the music and video software put the kibosh on the Palm smartphone's software wizardry that enabled the device to sync with iTunes.

In essence, Apple iTunes told the Palm Pre to talk to the hand.

Blocking the Palm Pre from syncing with iTunes music, videos and playlists is among one of many "bug fixes" Apple released with iTunes version 8.2.1 this week. Another iTunes 8.2.1 fix "addresses an issue with verifying Apple devices," meaning if it ain't an iPhone or an iPod, it ain't syncing with iTunes, capiche? And Palm Pre, that means you.

Granted, Palm back-doored its way into wedded iTunes bliss. Before the Pre hit stores in June, Palm executives hyped the touch-screen smartphone's ability to play nice with Apple iTunes.

How'd Palm do it?

Basically, the media sync capability in the Palm Pre's webOS made iTunes think the Pre was an iPod. Simple, yet so complex. But apparently Palm didn't get the go-ahead from Apple to sync with iTunes and Apple wasn't about to get the wool pulled over its eyes.

Like all good things, it came to an end. And it looks as though Apple has had the final word, closing the iTunes door on the Palm Pre.

So why'd Apple do it?

That's an easy one: money. The ease of syncing an iPod or iPhone with iTunes is a strong selling point for Apple devices, which drive revenue. The Apple iPhone 3G S hit more than 1 million units sold in its first weekend alone, and a good number of those sales were likely due to users being able to use their phone as a portable music player too.

It's not so much that Apple doesn't want iTunes to work with other devices, it just wants those devices to be its own. Apple still gets paid the same if a Palm Pre user downloads a few songs and a couple of TV shows as it would if that user had an iPod or iPhone, but Apple wouldn't have the device dollars -- all 200 of them.

It also doesn't bode well for the Palm Pre that it hit stores just weeks, nay days, before the Apple iPhone 3G S, sparking a new clash of the touch-screen titans. The Pre is seen by many as the iPhone 3G S's strongest competitor in the summer smartphone showdown.

So where does that leave Palm Pre users?

Really, they're no worse off than before. Yes, the smartphone won't sync with iTunes 8.2.1, but a savvy Palm Pre owner could just avoid updating their iTunes software altogether and keep an older version that does work. Or, Palm Pre users can do what other non-Apple device owners do, manually drag and drop their music and video onto the device with the help of a USB cable. It takes a little longer and it's not as neat and tidy as iTunes, but you're in it for the love of the music, not the software, right?

Then there's third-party software options. It's unclear if Apple endorses those, but some of them promise to return the Palm Pre's Apple iTunes syncing power.

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