Apple’s new iPod shuffle 4GB with VoiceOver comes with a little something else: the requirement for iTunes 8.1, which is yet to be released. However, in somewhat uncharacteristic style for Apple, their iTunes product page already has a teaser up for just what we can expect in the (presumably immanent?) new version:

• Speed improvements: iTunes gets a speed boost. Now when it comes to loading large libraries, browsing the iTunes Store, and syncing your devices, iTunes responds faster than before.
• Genius sidebar for movies and TV shows: In addition to music, the Genius sidebar now introduces you to movies and TV shows you might also enjoy.
• Import as iTunes Plus: Automatically import music from your CDs as higher quality, 256-Kbps iTunes Plus files. Watch a tutorial to find out how to

Looks like only tangential love at best for the iPhone — not even any Genius for Apps feature! Anyone find anything particularly compelling?

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iTunes 8.1 “Coming Soon”: Faster, More Genius-y, Rip to iTunes Plus

We mentioned this thought in passing alongside Dieter’s report on the Nokia App Ovi Store, which he says has far, far better discoverability than the iTunes App Store:

What Nokia has done is build a sophisticated relevancy engine that can sort apps based on a variety of factors that are actually relevant to you — like what you friends are using, or what kind of app you like to download, or what music you tend to prefer. It looks to be much better than your standard “top 50″ list

What if Apple merely took their own, existing discoverability process — Genius Recommendations, which debuted in iTunes 8 and iPhone OS 2.1 — and extended it to include Apps?

Sure, the automagical playlist generation part of Genius wouldn’t be necessary, but the part of Genius that scans your collection, anonymously uploads its metadata to the cloud, and then compares it with everyone else in the massive ecosystem in order to crowd source recommendations… that could help discoverability immensely. It could give us great apps that go great together, in Apple-speak.

Of course, Apple also has to crack down on short-sighted developers trying to game the search results, but Genius recommendations could go a long way towards cutting through the glut that 20,000+ apps brings with it. What think you?

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Should Apple Add Genius Recommendations to the App Store?

Joy of Tech are geniuses. Read their cartoons. Laugh. Or just smile knowingly. ‘Nuff said!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Humor: How iTunes Genius Really Works!

One of the new features in the iPhone and iPod Touch 2.1 firmware is the ability to create Genius Playlists on the fly, and right on the device. iTunes 8 introduced the concept of Genius Playlists, which like Pandora and Last.fm, use algorithms based on audio profiling, metadata matching, and (anonymously acquired) end user tastes, crunched in the Apple cloud. Basically, they take a song you like, what you typically like with it (what playlists you include it on), what others who like it also like (what playlists they include it on), and what music mathematically (tempo, tone, etc.) fits in with it. Then they try to predict other songs you might also like — in this case already on your iPhone — and whip you up a near-instant playlist on-demand.

How good is it? That depends entirely on how much music you have on your iPhone (the pool from which it can draw), how closely the metadata matches what’s in iTunes (or it won’t recognize your music — try tweaking the fields if you have trouble), and how many other users have contributed their data to the cloud (because the engine will supposedly get better and better the more information it’s fed).

Okay, so enough about what Genius Playlists are, how do we get them working on our iPhone? Full instructions after the jump!

UPDATE: In order to use Genius Playlists on your iPhone, you have to have the Genius service enabled under iTunes 8, and if you are manually managing your music, have at least one iTunes playlist you’ve dragged to your iPhone (otherwise the iPhone Genius service will not initialize). Also, as mentioned above, if you didn’t get your music via iTunes, make sure you copy iTunes’ metadata as closely as possible or Genius may not recognize your songs. For more, check out the comments below. (Thanks Matt for the tips!)

First, from your iPhone or iPod Touch home screen, tap the iPod App icon. Next, tap on the Playlist button at the bottom (if you’ve customized your layout, you may have to tap More.. first, then hit Playlists). From the top of the playlist screen, tap Genius.

The iPod App will slide up a song chooser. Flick-scroll your way through it until you find a “seed” song you want to use to generate your Genius playlist around. If you don’t have enough music on your iPhone similar to the “seed” song, iPod App will pop up a dialog box to alert you. No worries, pick another song! When you find one Genius can work with, a new, automagically generated playlist will slide up.

If you hate the playlist, just tap New and start again. If it’s okay, but not great, tap Refresh and Genius will use the same “seed” to generate a new, differently ordered playlist (and if you have tons of music, with variations in the exact songs selected). If you loves it, tap Save, and your awesome new Genius list (named after your original “seed” song) will be added to your existing playlists. Get sick of it later? Go back to Playlists, choose it, and hit Edit. From there you can Refresh for variety, or Delete for eternity.

jna from the comments points out that you can also create a Genius List on-the-fly while listening to a song. Just tap to enable the heads-up controls and then hit the Genius icon in the middle. Voila!

Give it a try, and brilliant lists or total duds, let us know just how dazzling your Genius is!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

How To: Create a Genius Playlist on the iPhone or iPod Touch