By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 03:00 PM EST

Over 1,000 accessories now available for iPod

Apple today announced that there are more than 1,000 accessories made specifically for iPod. "The iPod economy has flourished with over 21 million iPods sold and a wide range of companies creating products ranging from high-end fashion cases to speaker systems to automobile integration kits for iPod," the company said. 

Apple also announced that there are more than 700 products bearing the "Made for iPod" logo on the market or in development, assuring customers that an electronic accessory has been designed specifically to connect to iPod and has been certified by the developer to meet Apple performance standards. 

Harry Potter audiobooks exclusively on iTunes

The entire Harry Potter audiobook series is now available exclusively on the iTunes Music Store, Apple announced today. Customers can either download individual audiobooks or the complete Harry Potter Digital Box Set which includes a full color digital booklet as well as previously unreleased readings from author J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter fans can also purchase the complete Harry Potter Digital Box Set together with a Collector’s Edition 20GB iPod engraved with the Hogwarts crest.

The complete Harry Potter Digital Box Set is equivalent to almost 100 CDs, but customers can purchase this entire audiobook collection with just one click and then transfer all six books onto their iPod to take with them wherever they go.

Apple teams with Acura, Audi, Honda and Volkswagen to offer iPod connectivity

Apple today announced it has teamed up with Acura, Audi, Honda and Volkswagen to deliver iPod integration with their car stereos for 2006 model lines. Seamless integration of iPods in cars allows music lovers to enjoy high-quality sound through their car’s stereo system, easily access their entire music library and take their music with them everywhere they go. There are now 15 car companies around the world offering iPod integration, and more than 5 million cars will ship with iPod support in the US in 2006.   

The Honda and Acura Music Link iPod integrations will be the first to include text-to-speech capabilities or VoiceID, which is used to search for playlists, artist and album names or genre information. Acura and Honda will feature iPod integration in the majority of their lineup beginning later this year.

Beginning in November, Audi will feature iPod integration in the A3, A4 and TT models and Volkswagen will offer iPod integration for the majority of their 2006 US lineup.

iTunes Music Store No.1 in the UK with 80 % market share

Earlier today Apple also announced that the iTunes Music Store is the number one digital music service in the UK with 80 percent market share of digital sales, according to the Official Charts Company (OCC). Apple's UK iTunes catalog features over 1.7 million songs.

QuickTime 7.02 released

Apple today released QuickTime 7.02, an update to its multimedia software for playback of digital files. According to the company, QuickTime 7.0.2 delivers numerous important bug fixes and compatibility enhancements and "is highly recommended for all QuickTime 7 users."

Apple also released the final version of QuickTime 7 for Windows 2000/XP, which includes iTunes 5 for Windows.