Apple Computer Inc. on Tuesday announced that Founder, a major supplier of personal computers to the Chinese market, will pre-install the Windows version of Apple’s iTunes software on all of its PCs beginning next month. With iTunes installed, users of Founder PCs will be able to copy music from their own audio CDs, create playlists, share the music of Local Area Networks (LANs) using Rendezvous, and listen to that music on the iPod, Apple’s popular digital music player.
This is the first such partnership Apple has announced with a PC maker since a deal with Hewlett-Packard was unveiled in January. Apple and HP’s deal included the installation of iTunes on certain HP consumer PCs, as well as the manufacture of an HP-branded iPod that will go on sale later this year. Apple’s announcement with Founder includes iTunes only, not the iPod.
Apple’s iTunes has exploded in popularity since its Windows introduction in 2003. In the United States, iTunes users can also access the iTunes Music Store, a commercial online music download service with over 700,000 songs available for purchase. iTunes Music Store is only available to users with U.S. credit card billing accounts, although Apple has announced plans to release the service overseas as well.