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Apple has issued a new beta version of its forthcoming iPhone 3.0 software to developers and, alongside the release, the company also included a pre-release version of iTunes 8.2 required to update to the latest iPhone beta software. Not much was noteworthy about the release, but looking at the “About iTunes” splash screen, some eagle-eyed users have found evidence that suggest Apple could introduce Blu-ray playback support in the final version of its media player.

This has also led to speculation that Apple might be planning to introduce Blu-ray drives into an updated computer lineup, although the company has previously dismissed this technology calling its licensing process “a bag of hurt.” Steve Jobs, however, is known for downplaying certain technologies until Apple actually releases a product for it, such as he did for years with video-playing iPods and is doing now with netbooks – whether or not Apple plans to jump into the latter segment is another story.

Before getting too excited, though, we should note that Betanews has another explanation for the Blu-ray mention. According to the site, this may just simply be a standard legal notice that comes with an updated Gracenote capability, which comes with the iTunes Store, and not necessarily an indication of a new feature.