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With the new iTunes 8.2.1 update the (very unofficial) ability to sync the Palm Pre with iTunes is now broken. I don’t think this move really surprised any. As always, this move has brought out all of the Apple fanboys and all of the Apple haters (who in my opinion are worse that the Apple fanboys… and far more numerous) so they can get together debate flame each other on forums, discussion boards and article/blog comments through the wide and vast internets.

For those of you who don’t really know me (basically all of you), I am a huge fan of Apple products. Not so big of a fan of Apple the company at times though. I have a love/hate relationship with Steve Jobs; if I ever met him I’d probably punch him in the face… and then give him a big hug. At first I was hoping Apple would continue to allow the Pre to sync with iTunes. The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized that Apple probably should do it.

Let’s not kid ourselves, Apple is a hardware company. Sure they make a lot of kickass software, have by far the world’s largest online music store (and the awesome app store associated with it), and make my OS X, but I still feel that all of this is done to push sales of apple hardware. OS X and all of the software is made so you can have an awesome experience… while using your Mac. iTunes, the music store and the app store are there so you can download and manage cool content… for your iPod and iPhone. Allow a competitor’s product, specifically one that is probably one of the bigger threats to the iPhone, is just bad for business.

And it’s not like Palm is the poor victim in all of this. The only reason the Pre was able to sync with iTunes was because of a hack that fool iTunes into thinking the Pre was an iPod. iTunes offers a free API that allows you to access it’s database and pull it’s information into your own software. RIM built their own software for Blackberries that does this. Rather than take the time and effort to invest in proper software that would enhance their user’s experience they just decided to piggy back into iTunes.

I’m curious to see what Palm does in response to this. Hopefully they’ll do things properly and make an awesome music management program of their own. I was very interested in the Pre when it was first announced, and it still looks like a very cool device. However, without good software supporting it (an app store with lots of quality apps and a media/app manager) I don’t think they’ll come close to being a true rival for Apple and the iPhone.

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