It's a sign of the digital age. America's libraries, in an attempt to keep with the times and draw back readers, have greatly expanded its selection of digital titles, from e-books, to movies, to music, that can be downloaded by library patrons for use on their gadgets.

Better still, all of the media they're putting up is free, so long as you've got a library card. More after the jump!

With the popularity of Apple's iPod product line, it's no wonder that the online music and video store, iTunes, would rank as the second largest music retailer, next only to Wal-mart. The sales count provided by the NPD Group also revealed another interesting fact: about a million music consumers in the U.S. stopped buying audio CDs. This and more in the full article.

A Reuters report reveals that Apple Computer will join the Standard and Poor (S&P) list of companies whose stocks are listed in the S&P 100 index. This is expected to result in an even better stock performance for the Cupertino-based company.

The S&P index is the most watched index of its kind in relation to American stock trading floors. The inclusion of Apple marks its entry as a marquee blue-chip company which commands a stable and profitable holding.

Along with Apple, Oregon-based engine maker Precision Castparts was included in the list. The index is dominated by American enterprises though European firms have exhibited a steady rise in the last few years.

When the iPhone hits next month, companies other than Apple might be able to ride on its popularity. According to reports from Reuters, executives at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit said that it could also "draw consumer attention to other pricier, high-end handsets."

"One of the great advantages of iPhone for us is that it will heat up the music (phone) market," said Denny Strigl, chief operating officer at Verizon Communications Inc. "We're already seeing an interest in music on cell phones we didn't see just a quarter ago, and the gearing up the industry is doing in preparation for it."

Reuters notes that mobile phones that combine media management and playback features with the usual data and talk functions have been around for years, but their sales account for only a fraction of the market. One of the main reasons is the oftentimes high price tags of these phones.

At an estimated price of US$ 500 to US$ 600, the iPhone certainly fits this description, but consumers who want an all-in-one, multipurpose gadget may overlook that.

"People are not uncomfortable plopping down a couple of hundred bucks for a music player or an iPod (and) $100 for a voice phone or a PDA," said AT&T's group president for operations support, John Stankey. "If you think about what a customer invests to solve a problem...I might suggest that the price isn't as substantial as it might look."

Reuters reports that British Home Secretary John Reid is planning to approach Apple and Sony to join a summit that will focus on fighting crime in Britain. Reid wants mobile phone and mp3 player manufacturers to focus as much on security features for their devices as on other design features.

"New technology, lifestyle changes, new commodities and new gadgets mean that the criminals continually move on," Reid told the BBC's Sunday AM program. "So when we defeat them on mobile phones, they move on to Sat-Navs and then on to iPods." Reuters noted that crime figures released last week showed an 8% increase in the number of street robberies in Britain.

"We already have a close working relationship with mobile phone manufacturers," a Home Office spokesman said on Sunday. "John Reid is likely to approach Apple and Sony in the coming weeks to join this summit." The spokesman also added that during the coming week, they will be drawing up a list of other manufacturers to include for the summit.

Steve Jobs, Apple's Chief Executive and all-around company big man, says that despite calls from the music industry, a subscription-based model for Apple's iTunes service won't be coming any time soon. For now, the company will be sticking to their tried and tested iTunes business model.

"Never say never, but customers don't seem to be interested in it," Jobs told Reuters in an interview. "The subscription model has failed so far." Jobs also added that "people want to own their music." A lot of folks in the music industry are pushing for the subscription service so record companies can make more money from recurring income.

Jobs' comments come at a time when Apple is getting ready to renegotiate contract renewals with major record labels next month. Aside from the subscription service, one of the topics that will be sure to come up is the DRM issue. "There are a lot of people in the other music companies who are very intrigued by it," said Jobs, referring to Apple's call for selling songs without DRM. "They're thinking very hard about it right now."

 

On to some non-iPhone related news, for a change - although it could be because of all that lavish attention being, well, lavished on Apple's newest darling. Reuters reports that the launch of the Apple TV streaming box has been delayed from end-of-the-month expectations to mid-March.

We don't know what slipped. "Wrapping up Apple TV is taking a few weeks longer than we projected, and we now expect to begin shipments mid-March," an Apple spokesperson replied by email to queries from Reuters (Obviously the reply doesn't refer to wrapping the product up in shipping boxes...).

On the other hand, the delay is only a couple of weeks, so it's probably a so-not-the-drama reason. Unless there's another, unforeseen delay.