Beatles Songs On Apple USB

The Beatles are set for a digital release of their remastered back catalogue. What's more, this release is coming in an apple-shaped packaging. Shock horror...could it be...iTunes?

Nope...

A limited-edition apple-shaped USB drive is set for release on December 7 in the U.K. and a day later in North America. Quantities will be limited to 30,000 and the unit is available for pre-order via the store on the official Beatles website, priced at US$279.

Image from TheBeatles.com store

The USB will feature remastered digital versions of 14 Beatles albums. The 16GB USB drive will also include original U.K. album art, liner notes, rare photos and 13 mini-documentary films.

It remains unknown whether the songs on the USB will be available for straight copying/sharing. A custom designed Flash interface will allow playback of the audio and visual content of the album.

The apple shape of the device is an obvious nod to The Beatles label Apple Corps and Apple Records, but it also seems like some goading by EMI towards Apple Inc, owners of iTunes.