It appears that the Apple iTunes store couldn't handle the load of users trying to download music and video on 25 - 26 December 2006 and slowed to a practically unusable level for many users.

According to reports, songs that normally took 1 - 2 minutes to download were taking up to 20 minutes, while some users were getting error messages indicating that their request could not be completed and some could not even login to the store at all.

It has been suggested that the delays with the iTunes store could also be related to the general Internet routing problems created by the earthquake in Asia on Christmas Day. As a result of the earthquake, a lot of re-routing has been done and effectively a lot of Internet bandwidth is 'offline'.

Once again communication has been an issue with Apple not returning calls asking for comments on the problems. There was also no Apple call center open on these days, so users were left to moan about and discuss the problems in various forums.

According to analysis by Hitwise, the Apple iTunes store received 413% more traffic on Christmas day this year than on the same day of the previous year. It seems likely therefore that not even Apple was expecting such an increased load and their server / bandwidth capacity just wasn't sufficient. 

EXTERNAL LINKS TO MORE ARTICLES ON THIS STORY:

ITnews Blog - Demand surge slowed iTunes site during holiday rush

 CNN.com - Music denied -- shoppers overwhelm iTunes