Apple premieres iTunes Movie Rentals

During his annual Macworld keynote today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the launch of the much-rumored iTunes Movie Rentals service, which will offer digital rentals from major studios including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, MGM, Lionsgate and New Line Cinema. Rentals are compatible with Macs or PCs as well as current-generation iPods, iPhone and Apple TV--following download, customers have up to 30 days to begin watching a film, and once viewing begins, they have 24 hours to complete it or screen it again. Apple promises the iTunes Movie Rentals catalog will expand to more than 1,000 films by the end of February--while library titles are priced at $2.99, new releases are $3.99. High-definition versions complete with 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound are also available for some features--library titles are $3.99 and new releases are $4.99.

Apple also unveiled at Macworld an iPhone software update highlighted by a redesigned Maps application enabling users to triangulate their position via nearby Wi-Fi base stations or cellular towers. The new hybrid map view combines map view and satellite view featuring major street names overlaid on satellite imagery. Additional iPhone updates enable users to text multiple recipients in one message, create web clips for their favorite websites, customize their home screen and, of course, view iTunes Movie Rentals. According to Jobs, the iPhone has sold four million units to date.

For more on iTunes Movie Rentals:
- read this release [1]

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