In March, Apple began to offer users the option to re-download movies that were already purchased on iTunes via iCloud. The service also applies to the iTunes Digital Copy format, which allows users the ability to download a digital version of a film when they buy a DVD or Blu-ray disc. At launch, Universal Studios and Fox were initially absent from iCloud due to content deals with premium cable network HBO.

Starting from this weekend, Universal Pictures’ films have become available on iCloud. Users who have previously purchased the films from iTunes can re-download them at no cost, which leaves only one major studio, Fox, that is not part of iCloud.

Even though Universal’s Films are now available via iCloud, customers wanting to re-download 20th Century Fox films still must wait for that content. Last month it was reported that HBO has already reached an agreement and The Wall Street Journal said at the time that Fox expected to have its content on iCloud “within weeks”.

TV content is now available in high-definition 1080p. Previously, content maxed out at 720p, which was the highest resolution output of the previous generation Apple TV.

Google has recently been trying to take over the world outside of search engines with its many different services. While the Android Market has been around for some time, Google recently consolidated its music, app and ebook store together into one entity, called Google Play. This rebranding move was made to counter iTunes, a similar service that also sells ebooks, apps, music and so on. Can this rebranding really work? Or, is Google unable to capture a musical audience?

Effective Rebranding
There are two big reasons why Google Play is much better than the single services. First, iTunes is a one-stop shop where you can buy media of all sorts. Music might be the biggest seller, but you can still find many other media files. Google Play has done the same thing by bringing all of its separated media services under one roof. Now people can use Google Play in the same way they would iTunes.

The second reason is that Google has not been that great with branding its own name on the Android market. Some people don’t even realize that Google is behind the Android scene. By putting its name directly on the service, people will understand the quality behind this rebranding.

Good as iTunes?
While Google is trying to brand itself as another iTunes, can it really offer the same quality as the iTunes experience? Google Play has a lot of music and really is fun to use. However, some people have noted that it lacks the polish and sheen that iTunes exudes. At this point it still feels like Google is trying to imitate iTunes rather than offering a better or unique experience.

This has turned off a lot of possible buyers. While Google is doing its best to beat iTunes, it doesn’t look like it will be able to just yet.

Conclusion
Google has been tackling a lot of projects and music is just one of them. While Google Play might have the ability to take on iTunes in a few years, it lacks the polish and power really needed to topple Apple’s current hold on the market. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a look at it to see if it fits your tastes. The Google Play is good, but not the best.

=== About the Author ===
Tom Demers writes for Zintro, a marketplace of experts in various fields that helps connect investors, lawyers, analysts, entrepreneurs, and more with experts and consultants in various niches like environmental expert witness.

Google has rebranded the Android Market as Google Play. Android Market started out offering apps and games, but had since expanded to a lot of other stuff like ebooks, music and videos as well. Apparently, Google finds the term “Android Market” too narrow, and hopes to change that with “Google Play”.

With Google Play, Google is trying to create a unified marketplace for all content, including apps, games, music, movies, books, etc.

While the core Android Market offering has been a huge success, Google’s music and ebook offerings haven’t seen much traction yet. Now, by bundling everything in a single service, Google is trying to leverage the momentum and popularity of Android Market to boost usage of its other offerings.

Google Play will compete primarily with iTunes, and will be a major part of Google’s content strategy. It will work with all Android devices and can also be accessed directly through the web. Users can purchase movies, music or ebooks without the need for an Android device, and their purchased content will be stored in the cloud.

Movies and Music don’t seem to be available currently in some countries like India, probably due to content license restrictions. Hopefully, Google will do a global rollout soon.

Check out Google Play at Google Play Store

A couple of week ago, it was reported that  Siri, the voice assistant found in Apple’s iPhone 4S, will get support for the Chinese language next month. It was also suggested that Apple would introduce support for Japanese and Russian. Then a week after, it was reported that watchful iPhone 4S users have noticed that Siri is now claiming to speak Japanese.

Now it seems that the company maybe adding Japanese support for its iTunes Match service. Mactakara has discovered that the ”iTunes in the Cloud” music component has gone live in Japan. Also, the “Purchased” tab within the desktop iTunes Store and iOS music application now allows users to access their previously-purchased iTunes Store music. Before this, iTunes in the cloud service was only limited to apps and books in Japan.

iTunes Match is a service that allows all your music, even songs you’ve imported from CDs to be stored in iCloud. The service is currently available in 37 countries, but international availability of the service has continued since it debuted in the U.S, Europe, and Australia in December. Since then, it was made available in 19 more countries across Latin America and Europe in January.

It was nearly a week ago since Apple released iOS5 for the general masses to download and update. Sadly, things did not go as Apple planned, and their servers got hammered by the iOS5 IPSW download request. Due to this, many users got an error 3200 and/or 3002 while updating their iDevice to iOS5 using iTunes.

The only way to solve this issue is to download the required IPSW file for your iDevice, and manually restore that using iTunes. Users can download the required IPSW file from here.

To manually restore the IPSW file, users need to connect their iDevice to their PC/Mac, and fire up iTunes. Once their device is detected, they need to press the Command/Shift key and then click on the Restore option. After that a new window will open, and users need to select the IPSW file they downloaded above.

A step by step guide to manually update your iDevice to iOS5 can be found here.

Earlier this week, Apple announced that they will be holding an event for the next-generation iPhone on October 4. Today, CNet’s  Greg Sandoval reports that Apple is trying to obtain international cloud-music licenses from record companies and publishers. These licenses would be similar to the ones they acquired for iCloud. Nothing is confirmed yet, but word has it that  Apple is said to be close to reaching deals.

Sandoval believes that Apple will announce an international option at next Tuesday’s press event if the company is able to “wrap up negotiations in time.” Apple has invited members of the press to a “Let’s talk iPhone” event scheduled for 10 a.m. PST on Oct. 4.

Sources familiar with the discussions between Apple, record companies, and music publishers, say Apple is seeking international music licenses for its iCloud service. The licenses would be similar to those the company has already obtained for U.S. operations, the sources said.

Apple’s iCloud offers number of different backup and syncing services over the air. If the company is able to reach a deal, iCloud could be made available in  Germany, France and the UK.  Previous  estimates  had suggested the UK support to be delayed until 2012.

iCloud is a new feature in iOS 5, which is expected to be launched “this fall. iOS 5 will be available for free to iOS device users.

Today, MacRumors  has discovered that Apple is working on a way to merge multiple Apple IDs into a single login.

Currently, using multiple Apple IDs into a single login is inconvenient for users. Switching between multiple logins while using Apple’s Automatic Downloads is, particularly, inconvenient because users can’t easily switch between logins. In addition, MobileMe users especially have found that they now have at least two Apple IDs their original one and their MobileMe account.

At present, there is not a way currently for users to combine their accounts into one unifying Apple ID. A representative from Apple reportedly said that the company is working on a solution. The representative recommends that in the meantime, users should continue using a single account and make all future purchases through it.  Apple has provided no official guidance on the issue, except to let customers know  that Apple IDs can not be consolidated at this time.

Two users who reached out to Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, via e-mail received a phone call from the company explaining they are aware of the issue. Lately, Tim Cook has been responsive to customer emails and inquiries. Anyways, as usual, Apple’s evil and doesn’t care about its customers.

The iTunes Match beta was initially opened last month, but closed to new registrations within a few hours after the initial quota of developers was reached. Today, Apple has sent out an email to registered developers notifying them that iTunes Match beta has reopened to additional developers in the United States.

iTunes Match beta testing has now been expanded to additional developers in the United States.

iTunes Match stores your music library in iCloud and allows you to enjoy your collection from anywhere, any time, on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or computer. Any of your songs, including music you’ve imported from CDs, that matches with the 18 million songs in the iTunes Store will become available in iCloud and will play back at iTunes Plus quality (256 Kbps DRM-free AAC) — even if your original was of a lower quality.

Apple says that developers must upgrade to the new iTunes 10.5 beta 8 in order to use iTunes Match, and continues to warn that all iCloud libraries will be deleted at the end of the beta testing period. So users should be sure to retain copies of their music libraries.

iTunes Match is a new service that allows users to pay for an annual subscription that will make their  entire existing music collection (including songs not purchased through iTunes) available from Apple’s cloud servers. The service is priced at $24.99 per year, and is expected to launch alongside iOS 5 this fall.

In 2007, Apple unveiled iTunes U, a service encouraging schools to offer print, audio, and video downloads of their education programs almost entirely free to the public. Today, according to Apple’s figures obtained by The Loop, the service has hit a new milestone of 600 million downloads.  Last August, Apple noted the service hit a milestone of 300 million downloads.

Apple claims that there are now over 1,000 universities actively participating in iTunes U. Prolific universities like Stanford and Open University are part of the program. Both have shared more than 30 millon downloads with users. In addition,  Yale University, MIT, University of California Berkeley and the University of South Florida have all reached 20 million downloads each, while Emory University, Harrisburg Area Community College, Ludwig Maxmillians University of Germany and Oxford University have all surpassed the ten million download mark.

Nearly 30 percent of iTunes U traffic now originates from iOS devices.  The service is a available worldwide in 123 countries, also counts 60 percent of its users as being outside the US.

Participating organizations often make their content available free to the public, although some limit access to their own members.