Apple Opens the Hong Kong iTunes Store: 20 Million Songs, Movies Available for Download #apple

The long awaited portal to movies and music has finally opened locally.

Yes the dream has come true – after years of only having the App Store servicing apps to our iOS devices Apple has finally opened the iTunes Store in Hong Kong and 11 other territories including our neighbors in Macau, Singapore and Taiwan.

This means YES YOU CAN:

• Buy music from not only international stars like Adele, The Beatles and Jason Mraz but also from Asian musicians like Jay Chou, Girls Generation and recent Iron Man 3-dropout Andy Lau.
• Not only pop music but CLASSICAL too – from renowned musicians like Lang Lang, Yo Yo Ma and Yuja Wang!
• There will be 20 million song available to purchase and download from today onwards!
• Major movies in HD will be available from 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros and of course Walt Disney! So yes that means you will be able to download The Avengers, Prometheus and The Dark Knight Rises in HK from the iTunes Store when they are available to home video!

But wait there’s more…

• We also get the iTunes in the Cloud deal – which means you download it once and it’s available on ALL your iOS devices – so download on your iMac? It’s also on your iPhone and iPod and iPad – for FREE!
• We also get iTunes Match – this will store your entire library on the iCloud and access it ANYTIME from your iOS device so you don’t need to stash all the music on your HD onto your mobile devices.
• iTunes 10.6.3 for Mac and Windows is available download it here as a free download – and fire up your credit cards and you’re ready to access Apple’s huge entertainment library anywhere in HK.

So other questions remains:

• Will Apple be releasing the Apple TV here?
• Will Apple offer iTunes Gift Cards for the HK iTunes/App stores?
• Does this include TV shows?
• How much local/US/UK content will be available?

We’re finding out more today and will update thus post by lunch.

In case you’re wondering; the other lucky territories getting iTunes Stores today include Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

UPDATE: 1pm, 27 June 2012

We now have more information from this mornings news:

• Virtually all the songs available on the US iTunes Store will be accessible here. That includes tons of Hong Kong music – basically if the music companies have allowed for licensing in HK you will be able to buy it – that includes Japanese and Korean music.
• No TV shows right now but they will be coming.
• No iTunes Gift Cards rights now but they are planning them.
• You cannot use your US/UK iTunes gift cards here but you can merge your account into a HK one.
• To access the HK iTunes Store all you need is a HK credit card.
• The iTunes Match service is HK$188 a year and will hold 25,000 songs which are all stored in the cloud and accessible from all your iOS devices.
• All songs will range in price form HK$5, $6 and $8 each – and the amazing Complete My Album feature is also available – meaning if you buy 2 songs from an album you can be credited money if you then want to buy the whole album!
• G.E.M.‘s new album is now available on the iTunes Store a week ahead of it’s Compact Disc release date!
• There are specially priced albums available now like the new Coldplay CD which is also iTunes Mastered for only HK$38!
• Movies: currently there are “hundreds to choose from” in standard definition, high definition and some for rental and a mix of US and HK movies – give them time to fill out the catalogue as more are coming.
• There will be Chinese subtitles on all US movies – check each movie page in iTunes to see what it comes with – some even with special features you would find on a DVD.
• Local artists also have their own pages on iTunes now – showcasing their libraries as well as their favorite albums!
• And of course the biggest news to go with this: the Apple TV is available today in Hong Kong for HK$788!