It was admittedly quite a sneaky jab on Palm's part to add seamless compatibility for its hot new handset, the Pre, with Apple's iTunes, though its user's definitely won't be complaining.

Apple seems less enamoured with the idea, however, having issued a statement on Tuesday saying:

“Apple is aware that some third-parties claim that their digital media players are able to sync with Apple software. However, Apple does not provide support for, or test for compatibility with, non-Apple digital media players and, because software changes over time, newer versions of Apple’s iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players.”

Reading between the lines, it seems Apple is essentially dangling a carrot of doom in front of Pre owners - letting them know that it could take iTunes away from them at a whim, should it choose to do so.

Unfortunately for Apple, this really doesn't carry the weight it hoped. Pre users are hardly going to bin their expensive new smartphone because iTunes no longer works, and rush to the O2 shop with a handful of pound notes.

Apple has the opportunity here to maintain its profile with Pre - and these other third party media player - users, by providing them with the kind of excellent service that might convince them to change sides when it's time for a hardware upgrade. Take it away, and they'll immediately forget iTunes ever existed, as Palm points out in its retort:

"If Apple chooses to disable media sync in a future version of iTunes, it will be a direct blow to their users who will be deprived of a seamless synchronization experience. However, people will have options. They can stay with the iTunes version that works to sync their music on their Pre, they can transfer the music via USB, and there are other third-party applications we could consider."

Is Palm bovvered?