After months of speculation, it’s finally official. Apple Inc. has now crossed into the world of online movie rentals.

In an alliance with the six biggest movie studios, Apple will allow users to view first-run films via high-speed internet connections. Chief Executive Officer, Steve Jobs made the announcement at today’s Macworld conference in San Francisco.

The Apple movie rental service began yesterday (Jan. 15) in the United States and will go international later this year.

Warner Brothers, Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox, Paramount,
Universal and Sony have all teamed up with Apple to allow users to
access over 1,000 movies for online rental via iTunes by the end of
February. Newer releases are priced at $3.99 and older ones are
available for a dollar less at $2.99. Users can either watch the film
instantly through a broadband Internet connection or download the movie
and keep it for 30 days. With the latter option there is a 24 hour time
limit to finish the movie once it is started.

In addition to the movie rental announcement, Jobs also took time
to speak to the success of the iPhone and reveal new plans for future
models. In its first 200 days of sale 4 million of the phones were
sold. The iPhone marked the marriage of the iPod and cell phone,
offering an internet capable device with a touch screen.

According to Jobs, new models of the iPhone will allow e-mail access and perform improved mapping functions.

As of yet Steve Jobs has made no announcements on any plans of partnering with Jay-Z to create a music label. Rumors began in recent weeks,
when many tech bloggers began to predict the union between the hip hop
mogul and the tech giant for the purpose of a new label.