Steve Jobs will take to the stage at Apple’s developer conference next week to reveal more information about the company’s cloud service, it was announced today
This won’t come as much of a surprise, there have been increasing suggestions that Apple wants to position itself as a cloud music provider since it was discovered in April that the company had purchased the iCloud.com domain. Although we know little about what the service will actually do.
Will iTunes be part of Apple's iCloud. Credit:Apple
The Financial Times reports that Apple will launch with Sony, Warner and EMI on board; negotiations with Universal Music are coming to a close.
Apple will be one of the last big tech companies to enter the cloud music game but its arrival is likely to be the most significant. Although Amazon and Google have already announced their products these have been launched with no support from major US or international music labels.
Like Amazon and Google’s cloud music services Apple’s iCloud application may allow users to sync their music files online but unlike Amazon and Google users iCloud users will not have to upload their tracks to Apple’ servers. Apple will be able to match users’ tracks with those in its database. Apple’s efforts may also be tied to iTunes, possibly allowing users to purchase music on the go.
Mac rumors suggest that iCloud could also be used to store and manage files as well as music, this would be a major blow to the cloud file storing application Dropbox. Indeed, in its press release today Apple ambiguously described iCloud as its “upcoming cloud services offering.”
Other announcements expected at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) include the latest version of the iPhone/iPad operating system, iOS5, although we don’t know if they will also announce details of the iPhone 5 expected out this year. The company will announce details of Lion, the eight iteration of its desktop/laptop operating system.
Online music deals have been in vogue lately; Euro-startup Spotify, which is attempting to break into the United States, has signed a deal with Facebook to offer music through the omnipresent social network.
