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Apple has released iTunes 11.0.3 to add new features and improvements including a new MiniPlayer which now includes a new view to showcase your album artwork, plus a progress bar is built into the player.

Old view:

New view (note the progress bar):

If you click on the album art thumbnail there is also a larger album view:

There is also a new improved Songs View so you can enjoy your album artwork in Songs view, plus multi-disc albums now appear as a single album.

Aside from these updates there are also performance improvements when searching and sorting large iTunes libraries. You can get the latest update by going launching the Mac App Store and going to the Updates tab.

iTunes 11.0.3 Download Now Available: New MiniPlayer, Improved Songs View is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog – Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

In a press release issued today, Apple announced the winner of its 50 Billion App Countdown contest, which has pushed the company beyond that app download milestone.

“Apple would like to thank our incredible customers and developers for topping 50 billion apps downloaded,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over nine billion dollars to developers. We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years.”

The 50 billionth app was Say the Same Thing by Space Inch LLC, downloaded by Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio. The lucky winner received a $10,000 App Store Gift Card “to commemorate this historic milestone”.

For the first time, Apple celebrated this moment by offering a $500 Gift Card to fifty lucky downloaders who installed applications right after the company hit the historical milestone.

Apple had similar contests for its ten billionth and twenty-five billionth app downloads. The ten billionth app was Paper Glider, downloaded by Gail Davis of Orphington, Kent, UK on January 22, 2011, who received a $10,000 worth iTunes Gift Card. The next $10,000 worth download was Where’s My Water? Free, won by Chunli Fu from China on March 5, 2012.

Apple Announces $10,000 iTunes Gift Card Winner is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog – Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

iTunes has a free Book of the Week download and this week it’s Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness #1 (normally $2.99). This 24 page comic is part one of four comics, published in both print and digital simultaneously to set the stage for the upcoming Star Trek film.

First issue in an four issue series! Each 24 page comic is published in print and digital at the same time! The countdown to the motion picture event of 2013 begins here, in this blockbuster 4-issue prequel mini-series that sets the stage for the upcoming STAR TREK film! Like the best-selling STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN in 2009, this all-new series leads directly into the next movie, with a story by STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci and Mike Johnson (STAR TREK ongoing series), and drawn by the original STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN artist, David Messina! STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN TO DARKNESS is the can’t-miss lead-in to the new adventures of the Enterprise crew!

Click here to download Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness #1 while it’s free. You will be able to read this on your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Thanks Keith!

iTunes Free Book of the Week: Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness #1 is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog – Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

Back on January 7, Apple announced that the App Store has over 500 million active accounts, which triggered over 40 billion app downloads, with nearly 20 billion in 2012 alone, recording tremendous growth. But how much are users spending on average using their Apple ID? Horace Dediu of Asymco decided to find out.

Apple’s recent reports reveal that iTunes’ quarterly revenues topped $4 billion, reaching a new high, with revenue growth being pretty steady, averaging 29% per quarter for more than six years, Dediu notes.

Now, considering that the iTunes store has a colourful palette when it comes to digital content, what seems to drive the downloads is the number of apps. Apple has recently announced a contest to celebrate 50 billion app downloads (the total has surpassed 45 billion as of writing this article), with over 800 apps downloaded each second. The result: Apple has paid $9 billion to developers through the App Store, and that includes $4.5 billion in the most recent four quarters.

Dediu also points to the Canalys study, which says the iTunes App Store accounted for 74% of all app sales across the globe (despite Google Play closing the gap in terms of app numbers), and iOS app revenues more than doubled year over year.

After putting all these numbers together, Dediu concludes:

In March Apple reported that they have 500 million iTunes so one way to think about the iTunes business is to say that iTunes users purchase content and services at the rate of about $40 per year.

That’s quite a performance for a “break-even” business.

iTunes Users Spend at the Rate of $40 Per Year [Report] is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog – Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

The weekend is fast approaching and if Spring is not your thing or you just plan on flexing only your Apple TV muscles this Sat/Sun then here are our best ideas for keeping your screen hot, your eyes peeled and your time well spent. Let’s get right to this Week’s Top Choices for the movie services available on the Apple TV.

NETFLIX

As always let’s start with the biggest gorilla in the online TV/Movie jungle, Netflix.

And this week Netflix once again has a shopping cart full of interesting choices starting with-

• 2011’s “Cabin in the Woods”,  director Drew Godard’s super fun thrill ride of subversive horror hi-jinx that will have you laughing your adult asses off as you watch all the absolutely standard Teen/Horror/Killer/Thriller clichés get twisted until they scream in this post-modern wink at the genre.  Please expect the unexpected.  And, for the Ladies, you get to see a pre-Thor, Chris Hemsworth do his best All-American, casual jock/stud imitation.  Just enjoy him while you can…
• Not for everyone but if you’re in the mood for a Southern-Gothic, murder/mystery/sex/scandal mash-up that’s heavy on the steamy southern heat then check out director Lee Daniel’s 2012 “The Paperboy”.  It stars Mathew McConaughey, John Cusack, teen heartthrob Zac Efron and Oscar Winner Nicole Kidman and they are all going for broke in this lurid fever dream of a melodrama.
• For you avid Gamers out there, you may want to take a peek at this week’s hot release of 2012’s “Halo 4- Forward Unto Dawn”.  We haven’t screened this one yet but it’s got some great customer reviews and may be worth a look even for you non-gamers.  And for you fanboys out there…hey, there’s no pleasing you guys anyway.
• Alt Pick of the Week- 2002’s “Igby goes Down”.  For some reason director Burt Steers adult drama is listed in the “comedy” section and while you will find some dark laughs in this somewhat bleak tale of young adult disillusionment it is definitely not a “feel-good” film.  Kieran Culkin (yes, Macaulay’s bro) plays the disaffected title character as he attempts to navigate his post-adolescent way through the social minefield that is adult NYC along with Claire Danes, Amanda Peet, Jeff Goldblum and Ryan Phillipe.  Deep, dark and just a little heart breaking.

HULU PLUS

Now over to Hulu Plus where this week we’ve decided to get a little Old School with our choices and take you back in time to some of our fave raves from the slightly dusty past.  So let’s kick off with-

• A perfect gem of a film, 2010’s “The Trip”.  This wry, incisive character study features two of Britain’s most brilliant wits bantering, bickering and verbally sparring (complete with dueling, hilarious Michal Caine imitations) as they ramble through the English countryside on a restaurant tour that neither seems particularly keen on.  With Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon essentially playing insider versions of themselves it is very fair to say that adult comedy ensues.  With an accent on the adult.  You’ll be glad to play fly-on-the-wall for this trip.
• One of our favorite overlooked films, director Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 “Jackie Brown”.  A funky crime thriller with an airtight plot that takes its time developing, this masterpiece is full of brilliant, understated performances from Pam Greer as the put-upon title character who’s struggling to retain her cool, Robert Forster as the world-weary, anti-hero who looks things square in the eye, Bridget Fonda as a not-so-harmless party girl and Samuel Jackson as one of his snakiest bad men ever.  Smart, sexy and filled with great music.
• If you’ve got time for a sobering history lesson – A frighteningly prescient study of insurrection, Director Gillo Pontecorvo’s 1966 “The Battle of Algiers” is practically an instructional, cinematic guidebook on the escalation of a very real world, native insurrection.  This blazing documentary-style film features every excruciating step of brutal urban combat, terrorism and the counter-terrorist tactics that result amid the mayhem.  Harsh, compelling, furious, fair and far, far ahead of its time.
• And on a much lighter note- Hulu Plus is always a great choice for the latest in TV so this week’s pick is the brand new NBC comedy series “The Mindy Project”.  Its first season is available to stream and we think that this one will definitely be a winner.  Creator/Writer Mindy Kaling plays the wacky heroine of this off-kilter 30 minute comedy that is only beginning to hit its stride.  Tune in for the next Big Comedy Thing!

iTUNES

Now let’s move over to our iTunes selections and this week, movies are the pick-

• Available to buy this week for the first time- 2012’s “Skyfall”. Director Sam Mendes’ 23^rd installment of the Bond franchise was widely acclaimed as one of the best ever (we didn’t say that, we heard it) and with Javier Bardem as the Big Baddie facing off against Daniel Craig’s 007 and Naomie Harris in the mix, all we can say is that we are ALL IN!  And it introduces a new “Q” too!
• 2010’s Sundance Grand Prize Winner “Winter’s Bone”.  This is the film that made Jennifer Laurence a star and this critically acclaimed crime thriller features a razor sharp script with incendiary performances all around.  The American countryside never looked more threatening as J-Lau weaves her way through a rural snake pit trying her best to save her home.
• Also available is Academy Award winning Director Ang Lee’s 2012 “The Life of Pi”.  Based on the celebrated novel, this feast for the eyes was widely regarded as a favorite to win all the prizes when it opened.  A visually spectacular retelling of this epic tale of survival, humanity and hope.
• This Week’s Music Pick- “El Camino”, the 2011 release from Grammy Award Winners The Black Keys.  If this wild, rave-up of a rockin’good time doesn’t get your hips moving then you should check your pulse because you may be dead!
• Finally, this Week’s Free App- Yes, this is iTunes so we thought we might bring your attention to some of the niftiest apps we could find for free and this week’s pick is the Iron Man 3 app.  We haven’t downloaded it yet but what the hell…it’s free and it’s IM3!

Until next week, that’s all Folks!

Visit What’s on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!

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With over 600,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, Boingo Wireless has connectivity available all around the world. Signing up for a new Boingo account is relatively painless but when you need Wi-Fi in a hurry, who wants to waste time jumping through registration hoops? Folks with an iOS device don’t have to any longer: Boingo now supports iTunes payments for its services.

The special iTunes plan costs $7.99 per month and is available directly through the Boingo Wi-Finder app for iOS. The software also includes a VPN service. By using the iTunes in-app purchase, users can immediately get a Wi-Fi subscription for their iPod touch, iPad or iPhone. The subscription is an auto-renewal, however: if you don’t want to continue it on a monthly basis, you’ll have to cancel it.

This is a clever move by Boingo to make it easier for paid Wi-Fi access. There are two things I’d like to see in the future though. First, offer an in-app purchase for other Boingo plans, such as an hourly or daily basis. Currently, the company does offer Boingo Credits, which provide an hour of Wi-Fi access for $1.99, for example. Second, why not extend the same simple in-app purchase on Android through Google Wallet?

Either way, potential Boingo customers using iOS devices now have one less barrier to get connectivity in airports, shopping malls, restaurants, universities and other locations around the world.

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