Author: dsellers

Apple has acquired Siri (http://siri.com), a mobile “assistant” app maker, heating up the Apple-Google competition. According to a pre-merger notification released by the Federal Trade Commission, and first noticed by Robert Scoble (http://twitter.com/Scobleizer/status/13015365163), the transaction apparently won’t be held up by any antitrust reviews.

Here’s how Siri describes itself: “Just like a real assistant, Siri understands what you say, accomplishes tasks for you and adapts to your preferences over time.

Overall music sales declined by US$1.3 billion in 2009, but digital downloads grew $363 million to $4.3 billion. And Apple’s iTunes represented more than a quarter of total digital and retail U.S. sales, notes “AppleInsider” (http://www.appleinsider.com)

The figures come from a new Recording Industry in Numbers report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. As reported by paidcontent.co.uk, global digital music sales grew 9.2% in 2009, and now make up over a quarter of total music income. This as the worldwide market decreased by 7.2%o $17 billion.

Needham & Company analyst Charles Wolf told clients in a note today that Apple’s retail stores have attracted lots of users from the Windows world and play a pivotal role in the Apple-Microsoft competition.

“[The Apple Stores] have become a magnet in attracting Windows users to the Mac platform,” says Wolf.