The Beatles’ book, which came out this summer, represents Rolling Stone’s first foray into apps, though replica versions of the magazine are available on Nook, Fire and Zinio. The Beatles app costs $9.99 — the same as the print version — and is not currently available on Android.

The app contains the same content as the print book and has 122 pages with over 60 photos. However, it was redesigned for the iPad and as such, is not considered a “digital replica.” In addition the app contains 30 second sound samples (via iTunes) for every song and the ability to purchase each song through iTunes.

It also features interviews from Jim James of My Morning Jacket, James Taylor, Stevie Nicks, Liz Phair, Steven Van Zandt, Liam Gallagher, Stephen Malkmus of Pavement, Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, Graham Nash, Bob Weir and others, as well as a guide to the best non-album tracks.

The release of the app on December 1 in the iTunes Store comes after several months of changes on Rolling Stone’s digital side. It also represents a significant embrace of the app economy several months after Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone and publisher of US Weekly and Men’s Journal told AdAge’s Nat Ives that publishers were “prematurely rushing [to create tablet versions of their titles] and showing little confidence and faith in what they’ve really got, their real asset, which is the magazine itself.”

Still, he was sure to say that he wasn’t trashing tablets, just he didn’t see digital replicas replacing the physical magazine any time soon.

The company’s renewed digital push really began in earnest in the spring of 2010, when Rolling Stone finally took control of its website back from RealNetworks (NSDQ: RNWK) last summer — now it’s finally putting the contents of the entire magazine, along with over 40 years worth of archives, online.

The decision to issue the Beatles book as an app package comes amid a flurry of deals by magazine and newspaper publishers to repurpose print content in e-book form. Earlier today, for example, Hachette Book Group said it was teaming up with Bloomberg BusinessWeek on e-singles drawn from articles that have appeared in the magazine.

The app release also reflects Wenner’s deliberative — some would say tentative and cautious — approach to digital content. Ultimately, since the revenue is still mostly derived from print, digital will provide the incremental boost in terms of attracting paying readers and advertisers. After all, as Wenner has said, what’s rush? Still, given its need to reach younger music fans in addition the baby boomers who grew up with Rolling Stone, the magazine’s digital presence is increasingly crucial to retaining its relevance.

As evidence of its new digital momentum, for October, USmagazine.com’s comScore numbers showed 10,374,000 unique visitors, or about 2 million less than Time Inc. rival People.com. It’s the second highest traffic number in USmagazine.com’s history, up 17 percent versus September, the company said. Also, total pageviews are up 9.1 percent to 214 million.

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It’s not quite time for the Apple announcement yet, so there’s no telling whether or not this is what’s going to be revealed, but a simple search finds that music by The Beatles is now available for purchase in the iTunes Store. All albums appear to be available, including the complete Beatles Box Set for $149.00.

All the albums start at $12.99, while some special editions and compilations will cost you $19.99. There’s no evidence that the Mono box set is currently available, as only one box set option appears, and it seems to be the Stereo version. All the albums also appear to be iTunes LP editions, so they come complete with additional features like mini-documentaries, liner notes and photos.

I’m sincerely hoping this isn’t the big announcement coming up this morning. Seems like too much fanfare for some new content availability. What do you think?

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According to TechCrunch, the headline made the unequivocal claim, “The whole of the Beatles back catalogue will be made available to buy on iTunes, Ono has told Sky News.”

The URL for Sky’s report is still to be found on Google, but now the web page awaiting hopeful Fab Four fans sports a rather glum “Error” message from Sky. So what happened?

9 to 5Mac reports a Sky employee told them that the order to remove the news story “came from the very top.” Meanwhile, EMI Global Catalogue President Ernesto Schmitt yesterday told The Financial Times, “Conversations between Apple and EMI are ongoing, and we look forward to the day when we can make the music available digitally. But it’s not tomorrow.”

So where does this leave us? If Ono is wrong and the story was indeed in error, a responsible (not to mention more normal) response from Sky News would be to retract the original report and explain its reasons for doing so. But talk of directives “from the top” fuels speculation that this is frantic damage control ahead of the special music-themed event Apple is holding later today. If Apple wants to announce the Beatles’ iTunes premiere with appropriate fanfare, the last thing it needs is Ono shooting her mouth off to the world’s press ahead of time.

Consider this: If Ono’s premature announcement proves true, and the Mop Tops are about to appear on the iTunes Store, should we be impressed — or deeply concerned — that Apple can exercise such influence (control?) over a major news organization? Last time I checked, Sky News and Apple are not the same company, don’t share the same board of directors, and don’t have any business dealings with one another. Getting the jump on one of Apple’s best-kept-secrets is any news publisher’s dream, particularly when it’s such big news, of interest not only to the industry but also to the general public. There’s no danger of litigation here; Sky has a source, a fairly reputable source, at that. So why not run with the story?

At this point, all we do know for sure is that 09/09/09 is a red letter day. Apple is holding a special event. The Beatles are launching their digitally remastered back catalogue in (at least) CD format. Harmonix is today launching the much-anticipated “The Beatles Rock Band” on all major console platforms.

For music fans, it’s a big day for announcements and releases. Just not if you’re Sky News — or Yoko Ono.

Stay tuned to TheAppleBlog’s live coverage of Apple’s special music event later today.

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“Since his return in late June, the 54-year-old has been pouring almost all of his attention into a new touch-screen gadget that Apple is developing, said people familiar with the situation.”

Kane adds that in an email (presumably to the WSJ, but the reporter doesn’t make it clear) Jobs says that “much of your information is incorrect” but didn’t explain which information was correct. Predictably enough, an Apple spokesperson “declined to comment.”

If there’s any truth to the rumors of a late 2009 release, it would make perfect sense that Jobs is obsessing over tiny details, such as how curvy the back of the tablet is or whether the glass touchscreen has windscreen wipers, etc.

What’s really telling about this is how easy it is to write an article that tells us nothing, yet feeds the rumor mill while further whetting our appetites for an as-yet-mythical device. And all this, despite being told by Jobs that the information is incorrect. It’s astonishing, really.

Frankly, there are other important matters requiring Steve’s close attention right now — matters that should easily consume his three days a week at the office.

First and foremost, there’s an impending formal investigation by the FCC to contend with. That’s serious business, and can see Apple in a lot of hot water. For a company that is so committed to its culture of secrecy, an investigation will expose much of Apple’s inner workings to the world. Oh, and not to mention all the legal wrangling that will ensue — and all those predictably dramatic commentaries from Arrington and Calacanis to stoke the fire. In short, it’s a very big deal. Everything else should take a backseat.

There’s also that rumored special event next month that might just see The Beatles getting into iTunes (finally!). Given the decades of law suits and expensive settlements between Apple Inc. and Apple Corps Ltd., this development, if true, would be a very big deal not only for fans of the lads from Liverpool, but also for the two companies. Getting The Beatles’ music into iTunes could be the start of a very valuable content publishing/distribution partnership. If it’s true.

Failing the above, there’s always that beleaguered team of 40 staff whose only purpose in life is to review and reject iPhone apps. Given they have only a few scant minutes to review each app (a little over six, according to Mike Ash’s calculations) they surely could use a hand. Phil Schiller would probably do it but he’s too busy writing to developers.

But yeah, it’s a crazy world. Maybe Steve’s ignoring everything else and spending his days locked in a room with Johnny Ive, debating whether the logo on the back of the tablet should be muted gray or metallic silver. Time will tell.

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The date of the event is set for Sept. 9, according to AllThingsD, and the rest of the blogosphere seems to have accepted this as solid fact, despite the deviation from the usual pattern Apple has of holding press events on a Tuesday. Sept. 9 is a Wednesday, but 9to5Mac points out that it also happens to be the day Beatles Rock Band ships. They don’t see that as a coincidence, and instead suggest that the Beatles catalog could finally come to iTunes at the event.

More definite rumors include the much-publicized iTunes 9 update, which is expected to be bringing a lot of new features to the Mac media workhorse. One of those improvements is the “Cocktail” music format, which could be poised to be the album of the digital age, and includes lyrics, photos, and video in addition to music.

On top of iTunes 9, expect to see new iPod models introduced. The iPod touch is well overdue for a refresh, and with cases, pictures and videos popping up all over the place purporting to show a new, camera-toting model, it’s unlikely this event will pass without an unveiling of at least that device and a new iPod nano with similar features.

Less than likely is the possibility that Apple will unveil its tablet device at the event. Its existence at this point is not often debated among the blogging community, but release timelines continue to be fuzzy, and seem more likely to extend into 2010.

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The selection panel: David Cole, founder and president of game industry analyst firm DFC Intelligence; David Edery, Worldwide Games Portfolio Planner for Xbox Live Arcade and co-author of “Changing the Game: How Video Games Are Transforming the Future of Business;” and K. Thor Jensen and Frank Washburn, both game developers and occasional GigaOM contributors.

The Games:

Allstate’s “Insight” Games
A series of “serious games” sponsored by Allstate that are designed to gauge reaction time and perception, the insurance company is currently testing them on older drivers, and may use them as a resource for offering discounts to successful players (who are assumed to be better insurance risks). As Dave Edery put it to me in email, the Allstate games may “change the way that auto insurance companies market their products and relate to their customers.” It’ll demonstrate ROI in spades — and encourage other major industries to begin incorporating serious games into their own products and services. (And the game industry, to begin expanding what has so far been a niche genre.)

The Beatles Video Game
The upcoming music game from Harmonix is set for a 2009 holiday season release, and will fully integrate music from the Beatles’ massive catalog, with creative input from Sir Paul McCartney himself. The enormous popularity of Harmonix’s Rock Band and Guitar Hero have already had a dramatic impact on both the video game and music industry. Harmonix is tight-lipped about the Beatles’ actual gameplay, beyond saying it’ll include “interactive performance of the music… and stuff you haven’t seen from us before,” but the consensus is that this means gamers will get to perform as John, Paul, George, and Ringo, Rock Band-style. In any case, imagine a video game showcasing pop music’s most famous group, beloved by teens and baby boomers alike, riding the crest of music games’ already huge popularity, and you have a phenomenon likely to impact the entire culture. (And in the process, become a killer app for many late adopters, convincing them to finally buy a game console.) Also look forward to more top pop bands demanding their own standalone video game.

EyePet
“EyePet uses augmented reality technology to insert a virtual pet into a live camera feed of whatever room the camera is pointed at, and advanced motion and shape detection to make it interact convincingly with its virtual environment,” notes Thor Jensen. It functions with the PlayStation Eye, a PlayStation 3 videocam peripheral that Jensen sees as Sony’s best chance to make their troubled console appeal to a casual game audience. Even if it ultimately doesn’t boost PS3 sales, enthusiasm over EyePet could encourage other developers to experiment with games using augmented reality — a technology futurists have been excited about for years, but consumers have been slow to embrace.

Free Realms
Now in beta, this is an MMORPG aimed at kids from Sony Online Entertainment, and “represents a new area both in terms of demographic and business model for SOE,” Cole said. That’s because Free Realms has a free-to-play, microtransaction revenue model, something major Western game publishers have previously been reluctant to introduce.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS
The enormously popular Nintendo DS generally skews to very young gamers or older consumers who enjoy Brain Training and the DS’s many other “eduplay” games. This game, by contrast, aims to expand these demographics to include the 18-34 hardcore gamer dudes who enjoy the GTA series. “It will be interesting to see the potential for this type of franchise on a platform like the DS,” Cole wrote me.

Killzone 2
Is the epic shooter and PS3 exclusive the last, best hope to revive Sony’s ailing console?

Washburn thinks so: “The console NEEDS a high-profile exclusive, a Halo-killer that will move consoles with its own release,” he told me via email. “And with 3 years of hype and anticipation behind it, Killzone 2 may well be that game.”

Lego Universe
Thor Jensen believes the upcoming MMORPG has the best chance to become the world’s most popular one. “The Danish toymakers at LEGO have crafted an online world centered around exploring and assembling the little plastic bricks that have a nostalgic foothold in pretty much every living human in the First World.” Considering the multigenerational appeal and name recognition of the product and the huge sales of Lego-themed computer games, yes, there’s a chance that Lego Universe, if well-executed, could become more popular than World of Warcraft.

Noby Noby Boy
A strange, nay, near indescribable game from the creator of the bizarre cult masterpiece Katamari Damacy, it’s a downloadable title for the PlayStation Network, and if it’s successful, Washburn foresees a renaissance for indie games, which usually earn far less significant profit margins than AAA mainstream games. “But if Noby Noby Boy proves to be both a gaming and a financial success,” he argued, “that could all slowly change.”

Scribblenauts
Developed for the Nintendo DS, Jensen described it as a traditional side-scrolling platform game that very cleverly incorporates the DS stylus control and word-recognition technology: write “ladder” on the touchscreen, for instance, and a realistic, usable ladder materializes in front of you. As he put it: “With a massive vocabulary (the game recognizes ‘Dialysis machine,’ for God’s sake), Scribblenauts looks set to capture a mix of gaming and creativity that so far has remained untouched.”

Wii Sports Resort
Sequel to the popular but modest Wii Sports, David Cole sees the follow-up as a consumer loyalty test for Wii’s many casual users. The first Wii Sports is generally sold bundled with the console, and a common industry belief is that it’s pretty much the only title many Wii owners buy. (Which partially explains some publishers’ reluctance to enthusiastically develop for Nintendo’s platform.) Sales of the follow-up, therefore, will gauge how accurate that assumption is.

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