Should Apple bring iTunes to Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone? [Poll]

Should Apple bring iTunes to Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone? [Poll]

Yesterday on Talk Mobile we talked all about cross-platform apps and while almost everyone from Google to Microsoft -- and soon, BlackBerry -- makes apps for iOS, Apple doesn't make anything for Android, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone. Steve Jobs once famously said iTunes was a glass of water for Windows users stuck in hell, so what about a few shots of H2O for those languishing in the mobile versions?

Apple doesn't run iTunes as a primary business, but rather as a way to add value and encourage their primary business -- selling iPhones, iPads, and Macs. However, it still generates an enormous sum of money by any standards other than Apple's. Moreover, similar services from Google, Amazon, and others are already cross-platform, and that may add significantly greater value for them than Apple's iOS- and OS X-only services. If you use multiple devices, if your desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile are all run different operating systems, iTunes simply isn't everywhere you are.

Should it be? Should Apple make the iTunes Store app for Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone? Should they make a pure web version that "just works" anywhere? And should iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match "just work" from any device -- DRM permitting -- as well?

Market leaders typically don't have to go chasing after customers, but no one's a market leader forever. Is the platform lock-in still valuable enough to Apple that they should keep iTunes exclusive to iOS on mobile, or could it provide even more value to customers -- and potential customers -- by being truly ubiquitous?

You know the drill: vote in the poll up top, and then let me know how you really feel in the comments below!

Yesterday on Talk Mobile we talked all about cross-platform apps and while almost everyone from Google to Microsoft -- and soon, BlackBerry -- makes apps for iOS, Apple doesn't make anything for Android, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone. Steve Jobs once famously said iTunes was a glass of water for Windows users stuck in hell, so what about a few shots of H2O for those languishing in the mobile versions?

Apple doesn't run iTunes as a primary business, but rather as a way to add value and encourage their primary business -- selling iPhones, iPads, and Macs. However, it still generates an enormous sum of money by any standards other than Apple's. Moreover, similar services from Google, Amazon, and others are already cross-platform, and that may add significantly greater value for them than Apple's iOS- and OS X-only services. If you use multiple devices, if your desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile are all run different operating systems, iTunes simply isn't everywhere you are.

Should it be? Should Apple make the iTunes Store app for Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone? Should they make a pure web version that "just works" anywhere? And should iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match "just work" from any device -- DRM permitting -- as well?

Market leaders typically don't have to go chasing after customers, but no one's a market leader forever. Is the platform lock-in still valuable enough to Apple that they should keep iTunes exclusive to iOS on mobile, or could it provide even more value to customers -- and potential customers -- by being truly ubiquitous?

You know the drill: vote in the poll up top, and then let me know how you really feel in the comments below!

����

Olivia Wilde
Megan Fox