For what is probably years now, yes years, its been rumored that Apple would offer an ‘all you can eat service’.  Ostensibly, this would mean streaming, not downloading content, like Napster or Rhapsody.  Soon, the streaming part might just come to fruition, however it won’t be predicated on a flat monthly price for unlimited access, at least according to Apple Insider.

Sources close to the project say that Apple is planning to roll out a new iTunes 8 feature called ‘iTunes Replay’.  The feature would let iTunes’ users stream previously purchased movies and TV shows to any compatible device.  Providing a service like this would address or quell a number of issues: the duplication of copyrighted content and the limited storage issues found on the iPhone or iPod Touch.  With that said, there are of course dependencies that might prove too much a frustration for consumers to tolerate, such as the requirement to have a consistently high bandwidth through put, something AT&T’s 3G network doesn’t even touch.

Regardless, I find the prospect of iTunes Replay an interesting one and believe that a hybrid of the current setup (you can download content to a limited number of devices) with iTunes Replay would be a welcome feature by most consumers.

[AppleInsider]