Earlier today Apple.com put up a huge teaser for iTunes news, scheduled for 10am ET tomorrow. No media event. No keynote. No time to launch major new product initiatives before the keynote. So while rumors swirled it might be the launch of iTunes.com cloud media streaming or a similarly cloud-based subscription service, the intransigent recording labels and absurd international licensing deals being what they are, those never seemed likely. Sure, iTunes 10.1 and iOS 4.2 could have something hidden in the code, but Apple can’t even get the jerks over at NBC and CBS to let them rent TV shows, so all that potential seems destined to stay hidden, at least for now.

What did seem more likely is what I tweeted about earlier today:

Are they really crazy enough to take over the Apple.com front page just to tease a Beatles announcements?

And the answer it seems, courtesy of some confirmation by way the Wall Street Journal, is yes.

Or more precisely Steve Jobs is.

My guess is the Beatles are a big part of the reason he took Apple into music and built iTunes and the iTunes Store to begin with, and his inability to get them sooner has no doubt been a source of considerable frustration.

So now, if it really is a done deal, Jobs and Apple could very well want to make some noise about it. Not keynote level, but Apple.com level.

Will the surviving Beatles will be a part of the announcement, and will they be getting an iTunes LP? Heck, will iPad finally get iTunes LP so we, and Steve Jobs, can kick back and relive our youth flipping through gorgeous album art and liner notes? Who knows.

Sure, maybe the Beatles is just part of what’s coming tomorrow. Maybe we’ll get iTunes Live Streaming. Maybe we’ll get subscriptions. Maybe we’ll get something more. (Not a special Beatles-edition White iPhone with iOS 4.2 release on Verizon, however. Not. Going. To. Happen.) But right now all signs point to the Beatles, and that’s why.

Why would Apple make such a big deal about the Beatles coming to iTunes? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is set to announce that they’ve worked out an agreement to offer the entire Beatles catalog on its iTunes Store — something Apple has been negotiating for what seems like the better half of a decade. WSJ reports:

Apple Inc. is preparing to announce that its iTunes Store will soon start carrying music by the Beatles, according to people familiar with the situation, a move that would fill in a glaring gap in the collection of the world’s largest music retailer.

iTunes launched almost 8 years ago, and The Beatles have been regrettably absent since day one. Spokesmen for Apple, BMI and The Beatles of course declined to comment on the matter. We have a feeling that, if there’s any truth to these new rumors, there should be a lot of happy iTunes users out there who are also fans of The Beatles (and who isn’t, right?).

So will you be purchasing any Beatles music once they’re finally available through iTunes? Let us know in the comments!

[WSJ]

Apple’s surprise for tomorrow is Beatles finally coming to iTunes? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Wondering how to connect with more friends on Apple’s new iTunes Ping social music network? Well Apple’s iTunes News has put up a short post telling you how their new Twitter integration works. Check it out after the break!

[iTunes News]

You can now automatically tweet your Ping activity to your Twitter followers, and easily discover which of them has also connected their Ping accounts to Twitter. If you’re new to Ping, use the Connect to Twitter link that will appear when you create your Ping account. If you’re already part of Ping, use the Twitter link in the Find People area on the right side of the main Ping page. In either case you’ll have the opportunity to sign in with your Twitter account and begin automatically tweeting your Ping posts and activity to your followers for as long as you choose to keep the connection active.

Just be aware that once you turn Twitter on, everything you “like” in Ping will automatically be tweeted from your account. That’s a huge downside for people who would rather selectively tweet their music rather than flood their feed with every little song. If you do get tired of it, you can turn the whole thing off again inside iTunes.

If you try it out, let us know how it works for you!

How to integrate Ping and Twitter to better share your musical tastes is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

If you are a fan of anything Harry Potter then you should be happy to know that LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 for iPhone and iPad will be hitting the App Store soon.

Unless you’re a true Muggle, you already know this game will focus on Harry’s first four years at Hogwarts and his struggle against you-know-who, but here are the details:

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 will bring the world of LEGO Harry Potter to life on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, giving gamers the power to play with LEGO characters and models in a brand new way. Based on the first four Harry Potter books and movies, LEGO Harry Potter builds on the foundations of previous LEGO videogames by offering a mix of fun, accessible gameplay and light-hearted humour – which appeals to all ages. Players will explore and feel as though they are 'at Hogwarts'.

Are you excited to see not only a LEGO game but a LEGO Harry Potter game hit the App Store? Tell us if you will soon have a new addicting game that you will be practicing your magic on in the comments below!

Check out a few sneak peek screenshots after the break!

Muggles and Wizards Rejoice: LEGO Harry Potter Coming Soon to iPhone and iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Facebook held a press conference earlier today to announce their new messaging system. Many believed this would be an email killer to compete with the likes of Gmail and Yahoo! Instead, Facebook is launching a revamped messaging system that unifies all communication through email, IM or SMS into an aggregated messaging stream. “It’s not e-mail” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the press event this morning.

The new messaging system is composed of three parts: seamless messaging, cross-platform conversation history and the social inbox. The latter is an inbox for filtering the messages you want, organized by the people you care about. It's designed to highlight conversations with your real friends and be spam free.

Facebook will also be assigning individual email addresses under the facebook.com email domain which correlates to the Facebook username in question. The new messaging system will be rolling out to select users over the next couple of months.

What we’re curious about is if the update to Facebook Mobile for iPhone late last night had anything to do with the announcement this morning, or will we be getting another yet another update shortly to enable it? And most importantly, will you be using it?

[Facebook via Mashable]

New Facebook Messages isn’t an email killer, but will you use it? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Wondering how to protect your privacy and stop iPhone SMS popups from revealing the contents of your text message? It’s not set that way by default, which is pretty annoying, but it can be changed. We’ll show you how, after the break!

Special thanks to Freiteez from the forums for this tip!

Here’s how to make your iPhone text messages more discreet:

• From the home screen, tap on the Settings app
• Tap on Messages
• Find where it says “show preview”
• Switch to off.

Now when you get a text message, instead of showing the actual contents of the message, it will only say “text message”. (Note: the name of the sender will still be displayed.)

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward…)

Beginner tip: How to make text messages more private is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

The 2010 TiPb Awards are underway and it’s time to vote on all your favorite social iPhone/iPad game of the year. You know what we’re talking about. The ones where you pwn — er, share with — your friends. Where you try to oust them, out grow them, out shoot them, out build them, or just out spell them.

iPhone or iPad, regular, HD version, or universal binary, there are tons of candidates but there can only be one 2010 TiPb Award winner, so vote up in the pole above and then let us know why you chose the favorite you did in comments below. (And if you don’t see your favorite here, add it as a write-in as well!)

• Farmville [iTunes link]
• Foursquare [iTunes link]
• NOVA [iTunes link]
• We Rule [iTunes link]
• Words with Friends [iTunes link]

Ready, set, vote!

Vote now for your favorite social iPhone/iPad game! – TiPb Awards is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Boxcar for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad received a rather significant update over the weekend, adding Retina Display support and a slew of other great new features:

• Awesome new icons!
• Retina display support
• Centralized inbox
• Google Buzz, Google Voice, Github, App Recommendations, and more!
• More alert settings
• Reply and Retweet right from Boxcar
• Bug fixes

I’ve been using Boxcar for a few months for managing any notifications that come through on my iPhone and iPad, and have enjoyed it immensely. Keeping track of notifications on iOS is a dismal process, and Boxcar corrects that.

With this update, we’re wondering how you’ll be integrating the new features into your usage patterns?

[Free (in-app purchase to remove ads) - iTunes link]

Boxcar takes iPhone, iPad notifications to the next level is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Apple TV is currently ranked in the number 12 position on Amazon’s best-selling gadget list. What makes this so interesting is that Apple TV wasn’t even listed at all until now, despite its sales numbers. When that was discovered and began to be questioned on several prominent online sites, the Apple TV magically showed up. (Amazon has yet to respond to questions on why Apple TV was originally excluded from their list.)

Also an interesting bit is that the competing Roku XDS and Boxee Box are also on the list, though below Apple TV’s position.

Given that the Apple TV has only been out for a very short period of time and has managed to beat out 88 other gadgets on Amazon’s Top 100 devices list, does this bode well for Apple TV and its owners?

[ Yahoo! Finance ]

Apple TV magically appears on Amazon’s best-selling gadget list is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

If you head to the Apple website right now, you will be greeted by a huge teaser for a big iTunes announcement coming our way tomorrow.

Tomorrow is just another day, that you’ll never forget Check back here tomorrow for an exciting announcement from iTunes

The event will take place at 7AM PST/10AM EST/3PM GMT/12AM JST

What could we be expecting? Will Apple finally pull the trigger on an iTunes.com Cloud streaming music/media? Will they finally offer a subscription service?

Comment below with your ideas, and then tune in tomorrow for the announcement.

Apple

Apple teases big iTunes announcement for tomorrow is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog