Apple iTunes builds onto its garden walls with Palm Pre sync shutdown

With the latest version of iTunes (8.2.1), Apple has addressed what it calls "an issue with verification of Apple devices," that is, it now verifies that the Palm Pre is not one.

It was bound to happen. Both Palm and Sprint warned Pre owners of a possible rejection, and Apple last month issued an a report saying, "Newer versions of Apple's iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players."

Now, when a user with the newest version of iTunes selects Media Sync on his Pre, the device will show up as a USB mass storage device on the desktop, but not in iTunes. For these folks, third party media sync tools like doubleTwist and The Missing Sync are the only option for iTunes syncing.

California software company Mark/Space Inc, makers of The Missing Sync, were quick to remind the public today that its software "utilizes APIs provided by Apple to properly and validly access music and pictures in iTunes and iPhoto," and can be purchased for $39.95.

For those aware of the change, simply hanging onto the last version of iTunes seems to be the immediate and most commonly employed solution.