Our Week In Review Includes Talk Of iTunes 11, Amazon Bashing, Twinkies And More

by Bryan M. Wolfe

November 25, 2012

The relatives have left, and the Black Friday fistfights are over for another year. Before we ready our credit cards for Cyber Monday, here are some of the stories we brought you during the Thanksgiving week that was.

Finally, soon time to rock

We are likely just hours away before Apple releases iTunes 11. The huge update should be available for download sometime in the next few days. As Brent Dirks explained:

First announced during the iPhone 5 launch event in September, Apple said the new version of iTunes would be released sometime in October. But the software’s launch was then delayed until this month. The new version is highlighted by a significantly redesigned layout. It will include a new and simplified library view and an expanded view that will allow users to browse their music more easily. Along with a new miniplayer, the ubiquitous toolbar on the left side of the screen will disappear. And with Ping biting the dust, iTunes 11 will smartly feature Facebook integration instead.

While we wait for iTunes 11, which was supposed to arrive in October, how about listening to a little AC/DC? The Australian band's entire library of music is finally available in iTunes. As Aldrin Calimlim noted, AC/DC was the most prominent global holdout from iTunes since The Beatles entered Apple’s popular digital music store a couple of years ago.

What's up with Amazon?

Many of you offered strong opinions regarding my recent story, Amazon's Trade-In Program Borders On Being A Scam. In it, I explained how the online retailer handled my iPad 2 trade-in. While most of you agreed that what happened to me was best described as being a "scam," others thought that I crossed the line. Geisha put it best by explaining:

They returned your iPad to you and you're free to sell or trade it in somewhere else, so how is this a scam? How did Amazon benefit from this? If anything, it sounds like they're losing out on profits due to incorrectly assessing products and returning them to their owners instead of selling them. Incompetence perhaps, but hardly a scam.

Meanwhile, some of you posted your own Amazon trade-in horror stories. For example, GrossGreg said:

This happened to me about two years ago. They sent an iPod back under the premise that it was damaged when it was in perfect condition. I thought maybe it was a fluke and never followed up on it.

2013, please get here already

Perhaps the biggest news of the week was Apple's 2013 product launch calendar, as predicted by Piper Jaffrey's Gene Munster. As per the forecast: In March, the company will unveil a Retina display iPad mini, and some sort of iTunes radio product. Apple is also expected to unveil a slightly newer Apple TV box, that could come with actual iOS apps. In June, Apple will hold WWDC and preview iOS 7 and OS X 10.9. This will also be the month that Apple will unveil Retina display versions of the MacBook Air. September will see the arrival of the iPhone 5S, a “modest upgrade” from the iPhone 5. Additionally, the iPad mini will gain some spec updates. A fifth-generation iPad should also debut, one that will look more like the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. In November, Apple will reveal an Apple television that will be priced from $1,500-$2,000 and come in sizes from 42- to 55-inches. Sounds like another exciting year, don't you think?