UPDATED: iTunes update kills Pre sync

 

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Posted on 16 Jul 2009 at 09:02

Apple has released an iTunes update that prevents Palm’s new Pre smartphone from syncing with the iTunes library.

Typically brief release notes state only that the update “provides a number of important bug fixes and addresses an issue with verification of Apple devices”, but it soon became clear that the second part was a reference to new checks that ensure that devices which attempt to sync with iTunes are Apple devices.

Apple confirmed that the Pre had deliberately been cut-off.

“It also disables devices falsely pretending to be iPods, including the Palm Pre. As we’ve said before, newer versions of Apple’s iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with unsupported digital media players,” said spokeswoman Natalie Kerris.

As Apple said, Pre users cannot complain that they weren’t warned. Indeed, a number of users on the Palm support forums laid the blame at the Pre maker’s feet, not Apple’s.

“You can’t really expect to use another companies [sic] software through a hack like this. Passing it along to users as a ‘feature’ is pretty shady,” said “jsz0”. “Palm decided to advertise this hack as a feature and now it doesn’t work. That’s on Palm, not Apple.”

Palm is offering no alternative, despite marking the relevant forum thread as “solved”, which annoyed one user.

"This is not solving it, solving it would be Palm working with Apple to allow syncing without downgrading or using two bits of software, or some other third-party application,” said “Hellweek”.

But for now that is Pre users’ only option, with DVD Jon’s own doubleTwist software probably the best alternative. The onus, however, is on Palm to develop desktop software that will provide a bridge between data on the computer and on the phone, much like the company used to do for its range of PDAs.

O2 announced last week that the Pre will be available in the UK “in time for Christmas”.

iTunes 8.2.1 is available via Software Update.

Author: Simon Aughton