Microsoft confirmed that it will not be supporting iTunes for its Windows 8 operating system any time soon as Apple is reluctant to allow it.
While Windows 8 is a cool operating system to work on, people who are used to having iTunes on their machines may not be too inclined toward this OS. In a recent report, Microsoft confirmed that as much as they would like to support iTunes apps for Windows 8, they don't see it happening any time soon as Apple won't allow it.
However, Tami Reller, chief financial officer of Microsoft's Windows division, did confirm that by the end of this year, Windows 8 would support most of the other popular apps available in the Apple store.
"You shouldn't expect an iTunes app on Windows 8 any time soon," she told CNN Money. "ITunes is in high demand. The welcome mat has been laid out. It's not for lack of trying."
But there is a bit of good news for Windows 8 users that desperately want to use iTunes on their PCs and tablets. They can use the apps on their devices by setting them to "Desktop mode."
Apart from this, Microsoft is offering Windows 8 users its own music player but admits that iTunes is still more popular and preferred by users. In the past, Apple has provided Microsoft access to its software like its Safari browser, Quicktime and even iTunes. However, with Microsoft entering the world of tablets and Apple having its own line of iPads, Apple is sure to keep things from being all too easily available for Microsoft.
Microsoft now offers 60,000 apps to its users and claims that more than 250 million of them have been downloaded. The most recent add-ons are ESPN, Twitter and MLB.TV. It recently announced a more integrated Bing social experience.
Currently, Apple still dominates the tablet market with about 72 percent of all tablet sales in 2012, market research experts NPD Display Search said. They also predicted that though Apple may lose a part of this stronghold on the market by 2017, it won't be much.
