Apple-Twitter Talks Were Strictly Regarding Product Integration

Late last week, a rumor surfaced stating Apple was ready to make a huge investment in Twitter. The investment would’ve valued Twitter at $10 billion, up from $8.4 billion.

Then later on, the Wall Street Journal chimed in noting the investment talks were from over a year ago. So albeit the talks regarding the investment were false, it turns out the two companies were talking, but not about money.

The Wall Street Journal Digits blog has the story, via “people familiar with the discussions”:

Apple and Twitter remain tight and continue to talk about future product integrations. They include more deeply melding Twitter and iTunes, according to two people briefed on the matter. Apple is preparing to phase out its own troubled social network for iTunes, called Ping, later this year. iTunes users can currently link their Twitter and Ping accounts together to do things like find people they follow on Twitter on Ping.

It sounds as if the relationship between Apple and Twitter is continuing to strengthen. It all began during June of 2011 when Apple announced Twitter integration with iOS 5. During this fall, the relationship will extend. Not only will Twitter have a larger presence within iOS 6, but also iTunes 11 this fall.

With iTunes 11 (and iOS 6), Apple is expected to kill off Ping. As a replacement to Ping, the WSJ notes Twitter integration with the iTunes store. The specifics weren’t cited, but we can at the very minimum expect easier sharing functionality.

So, what type of Twitter integration would you like to see with iTunes?