AppAdvice International: iTunes Pass, iTunes Festival and a new retail store
iTunes Pass
First this week, Cupertino launched a new way for customers to top-up their iTunes account. Called iTunes Pass, the service has so far launched in Japan, the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom (a full list of supported regions isn’t yet available from Apple).
Concerning the move, we explained:
customers can now add an “iTunes” pass to the iOS Passbook application, and this will be linked with a particular Apple ID. In the pass, users can check on their current credit balance; however, by searching out an in-store “specialist,” users will also be able to top-up their balance via Passbook from inside an Apple Retail Store.
It looks like Apple could be moving towards that long anticipated Touch ID-based payments system, after all. We’ll keep you updated on this front.
[caption id="attachment_561855" align="aligncenter" width="642"]
Information on iTunes Pass at Apple's website. [/caption]
iTunes Festival
Also this week, Apple announced its iTunes Festival London: a 30-night series of concers including Pharrell Williams, Maroon 5, Beck, Kylie, and Blondie. This year marks the eighth consecutive iTunes Festival in the United Kingdom’s capital city, and as before, tickets for each one of the 30 nights will be made available via a free public lottery.
Apple said Maroon 5, Pharrell Williams, Beck, Sam Smith, Blondie, Kylie, David Guetta, 5 Seconds of Summer, Calvin Harris, and Chrissie Hynde, among others, will be performing during the 30-day iTunes Festival event.
Apple’s Eddy Cue, the company’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, said: “These live shows capture the heart and soul of iTunes and we love bringing them to our customers in the Roundhouse, as well as to the millions of people watching all over the world for free.”
[caption id="attachment_561854" align="aligncenter" width="642"]
The iTunes Festival London lineup. [/caption]
The festival is scheduled for September, and it’ll indeed be streamed to iOS devices, Macs, PCs, and Apple TVs around the world.
Hanover retail store
Cupertino’s retail expansion in Europe is continuing, with Apple reportedly planning on opening its in-development store in Hanover, Germany this coming September. Problems with mold and ventilation mean the launch is happening slightly later than expected, but according to a source these issues have been corrected and the store is now on-track for its launch in a couple of months.
The news came from iFun.de, which speculated that Apple could open its new Hanover store on the same day its “iPhone 6” launches. In case you forgot, the next-generation handset is rumored to reach Apple Retail Stores on Sept. 19.
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Apple's upcoming Hanover store. [/caption]
Images of the in-construction Hanover store surfaced online in April 2013. Not long ago, we also heard that the launch of Apple’s upcoming store in Edinburgh, Scotland is said to be “imminent.”
Also this week
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See also: Get ready to rumble as SNK Playmore brings The King of Fighters ’98 to iOS, Apple updates and redesigns iTunes Festival app for this year’s London show, and Apple denies new allegations that iOS provides backdoor access for forensic snooping.
