Courtesy of OSWeekly.com

Continued...

It appears as if Amazon is ready to do battle with Apple, and their fighter is a supposed service called Amazon Unbox. A clever web surfer found the details stored away in Google's cache, and the content contained within is very telling, although it may not be complete at this time. First of all, the pages describe a service that will allow downloads of TV shows and movies, and they number the selection in the thousands, which is far more than Apple has to show for itself. By the looks of things, you'll actually have the option to download the content that you purchase for keeps instead of just renting it (movie titles are listed at $10).

One of the key things to look at, however, are the options that you'll have with watching your downloads. Amazon claims that with Unbox, you'll be able to watch your content on your PC, TV, and portable devices. This is impressive, and if you're paying money for the content, then you should be able to watch it on your own terms. Reference isn't directly made to burning the files to a DVD, but one would assume that instead of having to run a cable, you could just use the more convenient option that includes physical media.

This battle is going to heat up more and more as additional players make their entrances into the market, but at this point in time, it's kind of hard to say who would win in an Amazon vs. Apple showdown. The good thing about Amazon is that they don't have their own OS. As funny as that may sound, that fact plays into their favor. With Apple and Microsoft, there are always some loyalties towards the products that they manufacture, and of course they're going to try to get people to primarily buy what they sell. However, what do I do if I don't want to use iTunes or the iPod?

On the other hand, Amazon just wants to get the content out there, and the specific device that the content is played on doesn't really affect them. Apparently their player application only runs on Windows, and iPod support will not be a reality, so Apple's solution better satisfy the masses or else they'll be jealous of what their PC counterparts are enjoying. You don't want people switching back now, do you?

To be honest, if Amazon delivers a service that allows you to keep your downloaded files and burn them to a DVD, then they win based on features right away. There's really not even a need for a contest.