Apple Computer has missed its self-imposed deadline for launching a Canadian version of its online music store.
The company had promised a November launch of iTunes in the country. But as of Wednesday morning, the service has yet to go live for Canadian customers. Apple launched its online music store in the United States more than a year ago and expanded to Britain, France and Germany in June. Last month, Apple added nine more European countries, with CEO Steve Jobs promising a Canadian store would launch as well.
In recent weeks, Apple reiterated its intentions for a November launch. Apple acknowledged the delay in a statement. "We said that we would launch the iTunes Music Store in Canada by the end of November, but we"re going to miss this deadline by a bit," Apple said. "You"ll hear from us very soon." An Apple representative declined to say what caused the delay or comment beyond the statement.
Update: It appears the Canadian iTunes Music Store is now open. Music costs $0.99 (CAD) per track and $9.99 per album, making it the cheapest priced iTunes localization thus far.