A company co-founded by famed hacker DVD Jon has introduced a service making it easy to transfer copy protected iTunes songs to non-Apple music players. The company, known as DoubleTwist, produced software that rewrites the protected files into formats used by other devices, including the Sony PSP, Nokia’s N-series phones, and Windows Mobile smart phones such as the Treo and HTC models. One hundred songs can be converted in the space of an hour with a five percent sound degradation, which is similar to duplicating a CD.
Though DoubleTwist could be construed as Napster-like file sharing, the company defends its product as making purchased music accessible in the form that listeners want. They go on to say that with the advent of DRM-free downloads, their service is one more aspect of what the music industry is already doing to boost sales. DoubleTwist says that it did not inform Apple of its plans, but that it expects no pushback from the music giant. Though the idea of finally being able to buy a brown Zune is intriguing, I’m not going to hold my breath. [Reuters]
