Today, when I launched iTunes, the software asked if I wanted to upgrade to a new version, 8.21. So I did. Turns out if I was a Palm Pre user, I'd have been in for an unpleasant surprise. A number of sites are reporting that this latest edition of Apple's all purpose media management and synchronization software breaks connectivity between itself and the smartphone.

Apple said it might do this when Palm released the Pre a few weeks ago. It appears to have followed through on the threat.

Apple's description of the iTunes update reads: "addresses an issue with verification of Apple devices." Hmmm, I don't think iTunes had any problem verifying iPods and iPhones. But it could verify some non-apple devices, which apparently did not make Apple very happy.

You'd think if other devices could use iTunes then it might mean those folks would buy some content through Apple, perhaps regularly. Wouldn't that only benefit the company and its partners?

So what are Palm Pre users to do? They can still drag and drop music and video onto the Pre or forgo the iTunes upgrade until a workaround is released.