Apple has shut down one of the most compelling features on Palm's Pre smart phone, crippling the Pre's ability to run iTunes.

In a somewhat petty, and some would say Microsoftish move, Apple has updated iTunes to block Palm users. Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said the update "disables devices falsely
pretending to be iPods, including the Palm Pre."

Palm spokeswoman Leslie Letts pointed out that Apple's move hurts customers not Palm. Anyway Pre owners can stick to the older version of iTunes, move music from computers to a Pre with a USB cable or consider third-party music applications.

Analysts, such as Avian Securities analyst Matthew Thornton, said Apple's move to squash the Pre's iTunes function could turn off some people looking to buy the Pre. But he adds that it is unlikely that everyone who buys a Pre is going to use it as their main MP3 player.

But Apple has always traded on its image of being the underdog in its wars with Microsoft. All this does is confirm that when it is in the same position it will do exactly the same
things.