Apple in talks to create custom Net music service, says report

Apple may be looking to expand its dominance of the online music landscape with a Pandora-like service. The company is in talks with record companies to license music for a custom music service that would create "virtual" music stations based on a song or artist of choice, sources familiar with the matter tell The Wall Street Journal. The service would reportedly operate on the family of Apple devices, including the iPhone, iPad, and Macs, and possibly on Microsoft's Windows. However, Google's Android operating system would be cut off, one source said, as a result of the growing fight for dominance of the mobile sector between the two tech giants.CNET has contacted Apple for comment and will update this report when we learn more.Apple would be competing against Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Pandora, which uses an algorithm to create custom radio stations based on a single song or artist and offers paid subscriptions as well as a free, ad-supported version and a suite of popular mobile apps. However, Apple is negotiating different licenses to offer greater interactivity than that offered by Pandora, which limits how users choose and skip songs, the Journal reported.

Apple in talks to acquire company behind Microsoft's Kinect

Apple could be treading on Microsoft's territory before long.Apple has offered $280 million to acquire Primesense, an Israel-based 3D-sensor company, the newspaper Calcalist reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the negotiations. According to that report, Apple has designs on including the sensor technology in some of its products and would rather acquire the company than license its services.That stands in stark contrast to Microsoft, which used Primesense's technology to help bring its Kinect sensor to the market. The technology is also available in 3D scanners, iRobot's Ava, and the Asus Xtion. It's not clear how those products would be affected if Apple ends up acquiring Primesense.Apple has found Israel to be a veritable treasure trove: last year, the company confirmed that it acquired Israel-based flash storage maker Anobit for $400 million.(Via The Verge)