Apple launching movie downloads over iTunes

Another footstep for the future offering everything on the internet on payed basis has been made. Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs said Tuesday that the company will sell movies from its online music store with prices starting at $9.99. The announcement is likely to jump-start a nascent movie-downloading industry, much like Apple’s move into selling music online in 2003 popularized legal song downloads. Many analysts believed Apple would introduce a wider-screen version of the iPod to better showcase movies, and they also expect Apple to soon enter the wireless phone business with a phone that plays music, videos and handles scheduling tasks. Neither product was announced. What was announced, among other new products, was the introduction of a new iPod with 80 gigabytes of storage and a brighter screen for better movie viewing.

Selling movies from the iTunes store “is probably not a game changer” for Hollywood, said Stephen Baker, a consumer technology analyst with the NPD Group. “What is game changing about it is that it’s happening on the most popular platform.” That is significant because Apple has been a pioneer in putting digital entertainment in your pocket thanks to the continued success of the iPod. More than 75 movies are offered at iTunes from Disney and its studios, including Miramax Films, Touchstone Pictures and Pixar. Prices are $9.99 for older titles and $14.99 for new releases that are offered when the DVD versions go on sale. a key question is clearly how many people will want to watch “Pirates of the Caribbean” on a 2 1/2-inch color screen in the age of 60-inch high-definition TVs and surround-sound systems. Or even a better question, will some people change their mind and start downloading movies from internet for money, while they can get it for free now?