Localized iTunes At Stores

We’ve all been through the scenario before. You’re sitting at a coffee shop taking a break, and you hear a nice song playing in the background and you wish that you could just buy that song. You make a mental note to go buy it when you’re next at the record store, but predictably, you forget. It’s happened to all of us before at some point in time, there’s nothing wrong with it. Apple on the other hand, looks like it’s trying to capitalize on this, as evidenced by a patent that they just filed. What it would do is to keep a local cache of the iTunes media store server at a retail location (e.g. Starbucks) and follow the music that is being played. iPhones or Macbooks that are on the local Wi-Fi network will be able to tap into information on the song that is currently being played via his iPhone or Macbok, and has the option to purchase it. It’s a simple yet smart way to generate more sales for their iTunes business, and it just might work.