'Radio Buy Buttons' Found In Jailbroken iPad With iOS 6.1

TagsiTunes, iPad, Apple, iphone, iPod, iOS, iOS 6.1, jailbreak, radio, Pandora, streaming radio

Does 9to5Mac's jailbroken iPad files reveal currently unused icons for an iTunes mobile streaming service? Credit:9to5Mac

Is Apple planning to roll out an iTunes-based radio feature for iOS?

While browsing its newly jailbroken (with i-FunBox) iPad running iOS 6.1, 9to5Mac discovered some peculiar files in the iPad Music.app. The files, all containing the words "radio button," feature an icon similar to the Internet radio icon, formerly in iTunes for Mac.

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The iPad version of iTunes has no radio function currently. So is Apple going to add streaming radio to iTunes for iOS? The files 9to5Mac found also include "buy" in their filenames, which the site suggests could imply a new functionality. On a related note, iPod nanos have been able to play FM stations for years, and even included a "tagging" feature, which allowed users to tag songs for later purchase in the iTunes store.

Apple has not been shy about entering the streaming-music fray. As Bloomberg reported in October of last year, the company is ready to compete with Pandora in the streaming-radio world, and we may even be seeing such a service in the coming months.