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last week,
e27 reported that apple had invited asian music label representatives to a "launch event" scheduled for tomorrow in hong kong, with speculation centering around a launch for itunes store music offerings in a number of countries in the region. Rumors have also indicated jason mraz will be performing at the launch event as part of the celebration.
e27 now
follows up with a specific claim that the launch will include not only music but also movies and tv shows and will be going live in seven countries: Singapore, malaysia, thailand, indonesia, the philippines, taiwan and hong kong.
A review of the localized itunes stores for the various countries reveals that movie listings have already gone live, and the navigation bars also contain listings for music, although they are not yet functional. Tv shows are not listed as an option in the navigation bar, so it appears that they may not be included in the launch.
Music and movies have been available in
roughly 50 countries around the world prior to today's launch, with the most recent expansion coming
last december with the addition of 16 latin american countries.
The app store has the broadest distribution among apple's itunes store content types, with 155 countries offering apps after
last week's expansion. All seven of the asian markets receiving music and movie access today previously offered apps, podcasts, itunes u, and free books, but the new content marks substantial additions for customers in those countries.
update: Apple has
issued a press release confirming the launch. The company is launching the itunes store in 12 new countries, not 7: Hong kong, singapore, taiwan, brunei, cambodia, laos, macau, malaysia, philippines, thailand, sri lanka and vietnam.
Article link:
apple rolling out itunes store music and movies in twelve new asian countries [updated]