iTunes account required for iPhone.

[symphonix]

Apple today sent out an email confirming the launch date of iPhone as June 29th. One interesting thing I spotted was this footnote:

iTunes Account - To set up your iPhone, you'll need an account with Apple's iTunes Store. If you already have an iTunes account, make sure you know your account name and password. If you don't have an account, you should set one up now to save time later. To set up an account, launch iTunes, select the iTunes Store, and click the Sign In button in the upper right corner of iTunes. Sign in and you're ready to go.

I find this surprising - its the first time that an iTunes account has been considered a "requirement" for any Apple product; including iTunes and iPod. Until now, they've always given their users the choice: sure, having the iTunes account was the best option, but you could still choose to get your music and movies from any other source and never, ever open an account.

[icemanjc]

Well, I think most people who can actually find money to buy the iPhone will have an iTunes account.

[bobw]

That's only for using iTunes on the phone, not the phone itself.

[icemanjc]

Yah, so its not actually that bad. Most things require you to be a member to get something from them.

[kebosma]

So when you don't have an I-Tunes account, you're not able to use I-Tunes on the Iphone?
That's ridiculous, because I don't want to use my creditcard on the i-net for buying music, I always buy CD's instead, so that I have a backup in means of the CD.... And then import those numbers into I-Tunes...

Is this really true? Than I would not be abe to use the I-Phone's Ipod functionality?

[bobw]

If iPhone syncs to your Mac, you should be able to transfer songs from iTunes on the Mac to the iPhone. I doubt you'll need an iTunes account for that.

[Harp]

Having an iTunes account doesn't mean that you MUST purchase something from iTunes. It's just like a registration.

I can't believe everyone doesn't already have one anyway. I can't even remember the last time I actually bought a CD. Intangible data is the best. The future is minimalism.

[fryke]

Originally Posted by bobw

If iPhone syncs to your Mac, you should be able to transfer songs from iTunes on the Mac to the iPhone. I doubt you'll need an iTunes account for that.

But they don't mean using iTunes Store _on_ the phone, because that's a no-go so far. They don't allow iPhone users to buy from iTunes directly. In that aspect it's just like an iPod. However, I find it strange, too, that they require an iTunes account. Then again, if you want an iPhone, why not get over one more hurdle.