Apple patents OTA iTunes downloads for iPhone

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a patent filed by Apple that appears to be for over the air (OTA) downloads of iTunes songs for the iPhone. The patent looks like it was written before the iPhone launch so the general terms used make it hard to pin down, but one key line: "The computing device 102 may be a mobile telephone that is configured to also operate as a portable media player. The user may interact with the portable media player application, which then wirelessly (e.g., via a cellular or other wireless connection) interacts with the service."

The obvious conclusion is that Apple intends to allow offer over-the-air (OTA) downloads to iPhone users. But as with most things iPhone, this leads to more questions than answers. Will OTA iTunes downloads cost the same? Who will pay for the bandwidth? Will OTA downloads even be offered as an iPhone feature?

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