In a minefield of failed "iPhone killers" one is making some headway on fulfilling that murderous promise: the Palm Pre.

Perhaps it's no surprise: the Palm Pre was conceived by a team that includes plenty of Apple alumni, including Jon Rubenstein, who was made Palm's CEO yesterday to replace Ed Colligan. (John Gruber reminds us of one of Colligan's more famous quotes.) Rubenstein used to be the general manager of Apple's iPod division.

Not only that, but Fred Anderson, Lynn Fox, and Mike Bell are all connected (if not employed by) the re-energized Palm. Valleywag's Ryan Tate says it's no wonder, then, that the Pre syncs with iTunes right out of the box.

Competition is good, though, right? We'll see improvements to both the iPhone and the Pre because of the products' competitive relationship with each other. Look at the rivalry between Canon and Nikon: The result? Awesome cameras both. In the end, the customer wins.

This is true with carriers, too, as exclusivity agreements begin to expire. There were rumblings that the Pre would be released on the Verizon network around Christmas, but blowback from Sprint CEO Dan Hesse pushed the rumor mill's schedule back a month to January 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Watercooler talk suggests that the iPhone's exclusivity agreement with AT&T expires around the same time for U.S. customers, but the Magic 8 Ball says that we might not see an iPhone for Verizon until both they and AT&T finish their LTE networks.

If you're using a Pre with your Mac, especially if you're taking advantage of the iTunes sync capability, let us know in the comments how it's going.

Digital Chocolate has nabbed the 24 license (along with a few sounds and music bits) from Fox, and they've released an iPhone game based on my favorite TV show ever. Unfortunately, things don't get quite as good as they probably should, but the run-and-gun gameplay mixes it up with a nice variety of minigames, so if you're a 24 completist (and have an iPhone -- apparently this doesn't work for iPod touch at the moment), it might be worth spending the $5.

If not, there's a "lite" version on the App Store which will take you through the game's first few "hours" (in reality, just a few minutes per segment) of stages. The game itself features Jack Bauer backed up by Chloe doing what else but saving Los Angeles from various terrorist threats. The grid-based action gameplay is simple but fun, and the shooter stages are broken up with encryption and driving minigames. None of it is brilliant, but just like the show, watching Jack Bauer kill bad guys is usually good enough.

It's too bad they didn't do more -- 24's strengths have always been in its breakneck story pace and twists and turns, and just from playing the first few hours in the lite version, this seems like a Jack-and-Chloe story only (Bill appears in a suit on the menu screen, so apparently he shows up later, in some role at old CTU). If there are any cool story twists or turns, they take place more than four hours in -- it would be great to see Michelle or even Nina (if this is before Day 3) again, but I doubt we get that. Still, it's got Jack killing and blowing stuff up, and that's never a bad thing.

We know -- you've wanted an iPod for years, but you've always wanted one branded with your favorite TV show, and that 90210 version didn't cut it. Boy, is it your lucky day. Fox has released some "Limited Edition" X-Files iPod Classics and Nanos, ready for your purchase right now for only $329.00. You read that right -- you're paying almost $100 for pictures of Mulder and Scully. But surely if anyone's worth it, they are, right?

Unfortunately, as TUAW's resident X-Files nerd (well, one of them) Robert Palmer pointed out to me, they're branded with the latest movie's title, not the original TV show, so those who don't actually Want to Believe (y'know, after all these years, why doesn't Mulder just believe already?) will likely be disappointed. But since you can customize them with your name (or whatever else you want on there -- we recommend "Clyde Bruckman"), hopefully the movie's title won't concern true fans too much.

[via Chip Chick]

iTunes Digital Copy sort of snuck into the Keynote, but it is a pretty big deal (that we already knew about). Starting today if you buy any 20th Century Fox DVD that is labeled 'iTunes Digital Copy' you'll not only get the physical DVD, but a digital copy. Simply insert the disk into your Mac or PC, enter a unique code into iTunes, and iTunes will import a digital version of the movie onto your Mac/PC. You can view the movie on your Mac, iPod, or iPhone as many times as you like (since you own the movie) but the digital copy can only be imported into one iTunes library.

iTunes 7.6 is out, and it finally has something we've been hearing about for a long time: movie rentals. As announced at the Macworld Keynote earlier today, Apple has made deals with all of the major studios to provide streaming, downloadable flicks for you to watch on your computer, iPod or iPhone. Library titles are $2.99, and new releases will be available 30 days after DVD release and will cost $3.99. Each movie will be available to download within 30 days, and once you start watching it, you'll have 24 hours to finish.

There is good news for HD viewers-- HD rentals will be available, but they'll cost an extra buck (so $3.99 and $4.99 for library titles and new releases. There'll be 100 HD titles starting today, and more all the time. And of course, movie rentals will be sync-able with the iPhone and iPod, or have the ability to be downloaded straight on to the revamped Apple TV. Unfortunately, we haven't heard an official resolution on the HD (720p is one of the numbers being tossed around, and that's not great for serious HD viewers), but if we get to see one of these flicks, we'll let you know.

Get out the popcorn-- it's time to rent some movies from iTunes!

Following NBC's split with Apple, NewsCorp (Fox's parent) has announced their intention to keep top shows like 24 and Prison Break in the iTunes Store. According to president Peter Chernin, his company's relationship with Apple is just peachy:

"Right now we have a perfectly good relationship with Apple."

But don't get a warm fuzzy in your heart just yet. While things are good, they could be better. Cherin adds that NewsCorp wants more control over the cost of their content - an opinion other media outlets share, most notably NBC.

Most of my friends offer the media giants the same response: "If I don't get it from iTunes, I'll get it somewhere else," with "somewhere else" meaning "torrent."

[Via AppleInsider]

I woke up this morning to find that Fox and FX shows have been added to the iTunes Music Store [iTunes link]. On the Fox side, 24, Prison Break, Unan1mous, Stacked and some classic shows like Buffy and Firefly have been added. FX [iTunes link] brings The Shield, Black/White, 30 Days and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia to the store.

Conspicuous in their absence: The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad. I'm hoping that it's just a matter of time before these shows make their iTMS debut. Also new to the store this morning: Inside the NBA [iTunes link] and First Hand [iTunes link].

Just in case you haven't heard by now, there are two new sections in the iTunes Music Store, one of which I think is brilliant and the other which I am sure will be popular (but doesn't float my boat).

Commercial Success is the answer to all those situations when you heard a song on some Coke commercial and you just had to have it. At the moment there are only 27 track available, but I am sure there will be more coming.

As Heard On American Idol features songs sung by the hopeful pop stars on American Idol. You can hear the songs as they were meant to be heard, and really isn't that what it is all about?

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Last night on Fox's Family Guy, Stewie had a little fun with his Mac. While practicing for the Olympics, his brother Chris interrupted his "training" (don't ask). Stewie responded by knocking Chris unconscious with a book, and using his motionless body as a landing platform for his pole vaulting practice. Delighted, he announced, "...That was even cooler than playing with the speech function on my Macintosh."

Cut to Stewie in his high chair in front of a laptop:

Stewie: So, computer, what are you thinking about right now?
Mac: Stewie is cool.
Stewie: Yaaaay!

[Via TVSquad]

Have you ever watched The Office? Me neither -- not until it showed up on iTunes, I mean. I tried watching it once on TV, but the Siren-like seductiveness of my beautifully-curved TiVo remote took hold of my consciousness, prompting me to change the channel to something a little more...I don't know, entertaining. I don't even remember the episode I was watching. All I can recall thinking was the typical "I don't get it" -- I joined the show five minutes in, and three minutes later there was a commercial break, leaving me grasping for anything that may hint at the purpose of this slow-starting, 100%-dialogue-dependent comedy.

I never bothered watching again...that is, until my brother downloaded an episode from iTunes, nearly relapsed to his old habit of bed-wetting because of laughter (joke!), and forced me to sit down and share with the him the joy of a formerly-British sitcom starring the guy who romanticized the notion of a 40-year-old man living alone with a video game chair and wall-to-wall action figures. The flexibility of watching this show When I Wanted, Where I Wanted developed in me a newfound appreciation for its Genius -- something I can honestly say would never have happened if it was limited to the confines of TV schedule. And, as we've seen, I'm not the only one learning about this comedy-fest via iTunes -- it's gotten so popular because of online downloads, NBC bumped the once-faltering show to a primetime Thursday slot.

Which makes you think things are Going Well -- until, of course, a media exec slaps you in face, chastising you for foolishly believing that content companies are starting to "get it." This time, it's News Corp's holy founder, Rupert Murdoch, who says iTunes and its video distribution deals are "very small-time at the moment," citing the iPod's small display as a reason people may not want to shell out $2 an episode for something they could see for free on TV.

You'd think he'd look at successes like The Office and put the whole concept into perspective: FOX has little to lose by putting its shows on iTunes, and a heckuva lot to gain: revenue, ratings, interest, etc. A Fox/iTunes distribution deal could be huge for both News Corp and Apple -- and the only thing holding it back is Murdoch's RIAA-styled fear of the future (that, or he's got his own scheme in the works, which I certainly wouldn't put past him).

Whatever. I just want my Family Guy.

[via CNet]