Navio lets companies sell iPod content outside of iTunes

Tired of having to rely on iTunes for all your iPod digital content? So is Navio.

The startup company, which is based in Cupertino, California just like Apple, is introducing software that will allow people to buy content for their iPod from someone other than Apple. That has been a crucial missing piece for content providers like movie studios and record companies. iPods dominate the PMP field, so you need to work with Apple to get access to that market. The Navio software solution will let those content providers set up their own retail sites and sell the content themselves. People who buy that content will then be able to play it on their iPod, or anywhere else you want to play it. The Navio software is in use now, and the ability to play content on iPods will be available by the end of June.

It’s early on in the introduction of the software but Navio already has some powerful clients, including Fox, BMG, Cingular and Verizon Wireless. Disney is using Navio to sell content for their latest Pixar movie, Cars. That has to be especially annoying to Steve Jobs, since he was a former CEO of Pixar.