Cloud

Apple Paid the Labels $150 Million to Make iCloud Happen

Ever wondered what it's going to cost Apple to bring your iCloud dreams to life? Well, according to the New York Post, Apple is paying the record labels a combined total of around $150 million for the rights to stream their music through the iCloud service – add that to the price of its new North Carolina data center and you have a pretty hefty sum.

Apple finalized its iCloud negotiations earlier this week after it struck a deal with Universal Music Group – the last of the four major record labels to sign up to the iCloud service. It has now also secured deals with the corresponding publishers just in time for its unveiling – and possible launch – at WWDC on Monday...

Universal Music Joins Apple’s iCloud Gang

Well, that makes four, folks! Apple has now secured a deal with Universal Music Group that grants access to the company's music through Apple's upcoming iCloud service. Universal is the last of the four major labels to sign up, with EMI, Sony and Warner joining the gang over the last few weeks.

Although it did not mention that music features would be part of the service, Apple did confirm that the iCloud service would be announced at WWDC on Monday, and if recent speculation is correct, we may soon be able to say goodbye to all the music files that take up valuable storage on our iOS devices and stream our favorite tracks from the cloud instead...

Everything You Need to Know About the Mysterious iCloud

Apple issued a very unusual press release earlier today that outlined what would be announced at the World Wide Developer's Conference next Monday, June 6th. Steve Jobs will be speaking and talking about Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5, and the newly-confirmed 'iCloud' service.

Apple's press release was unusual because it was oddly descriptive. Even though nothing was actually said about iCloud, Apple still bothered to state that iCloud, an unreleased product, would be part of the WWDC lineup.

When has Apple ever stated the name of an unreleased product in a press release? Why would the company do so?

Steve Jobs to Unveil iCloud and iOS 5 at WWDC, Still No Mention of New Hardware

Over the last few months we've heard several rumors surrounding Apple's new cloud service. Though cloud-based storage was originally thought to be part of a major MobileMe revamp, gossip has taken the service from a feature to a headline.

Between the rumblings of music industry insiders and digital evidence that Apple recently purchased the iCloud domain name, it's been pretty safe to assume Apple had something up its sleeve. But for the ever-skeptical "I'll believe it when I see it" folks, Apple has finally made the cloud service official...

Wait Until After WWDC to Renew Your MobileMe Subscription

If you've been contemplating the $99/year renewal of your MobileMe account, you should probably hold off for a little while longer. Unless you're totally reliant on MobileMe and your account is about to expire, wait until after WWDC next week.

Apple is planning on doing something big with its cloud services, and MobileMe will most definitely be a piece of the puzzle. The MobileMe features that you use now (email services, calendar sync, etc.) will most likely be free services from Apple very soon...

More Journalists Report WWDC Invitations, Speculate Something Big TBA

A few days ago, a story broke that several British journalists had been contacted by Apple's iPhone PR team in regards to WWDC. The marketing team reportedly urged the journalists to make the trip to America's west coast to attend the event.

Now tech blogs are reporting that media members from down under have just received similar last-minute invitations. While Apple has made some huge announcements at the conference in the past, this year was expected to be less spectacular...

Apple’s Cloud Server May Mirror User Libraries, no Uploading Needed

There has been a huge increase in iCloud gossip over the last month or so. The music industry has been a fairly leaky faucet throughout these final weeks of Apple's rumored negotiations. We've now heard that 3 out of the 4 major music labels have agreed to Apple's iCloud conditions.

Though these extended talks have kept the Cupertino company from being the first to market, it's reported that their choice of acquiring the proper music licenses could take them to the top. If that's the case, then what could be so special about Apple's cloud service?

iCloud Negotiations Almost Finished, June Launch Imminent

Though it isn't a secret that Apple is planning on launching their rumored "iCloud" service at WWDC next month, it still is just speculation. The Cupertino company has been fairly silent regarding the upcoming project.

But if you look at the trail of petabyte purchases and music industry leaks, it's not hard to figure out what's going on. As more details emerge on Apple's quest to acquire licenses for their new service, evidence seems stronger than ever that iCloud is WWDC-bound...

Patent Reveals Possible Upcoming iTunes Cloud Feature

Cloud-talk has become the equivalent of a tacky sitcom; it seems to be on every channel. I suppose it's for a good reason though, especially with Apple's WWDC event coming up in just a few weeks.

The Cupertino company is expected to expose its secret cloud storage service at the developer's conference next month. Though iCloud rumors have only recently began to heat up, Patently Apple is suggesting it's been a work in progress for quite some time ...

Apple Cloud Licensing Deals Almost Done

Several online news outlets have been reporting in the last 12 hours that Apple has signed a deal with EMI Music, the fourth largest music group in the world. Apple definitely seems to be putting the final pieces in place for its cloud-based music service.

Reports surfaced last month that Apple had completed their cloud service, and had reached a licensing agreement with Warner Music Group. If the above information holds true, that just leaves Sony and Universal left, which sources say could sign on as early as next week...

Seagate Introduces Wireless Storage for iOS Devices

Though the iPhone has certainly evolved into a top-notch smartphone, it's not completely perfect. In fact, one of its major downfalls (as Android-toting skeptics are quick to point out) is the lack of expandable memory.

The iPhone comes in 2 flavors, 16GB and 32GB. Chose wisely, because whatever you decide, you'll pretty much be stuck with. With no SD card slot, many users are forced into unreliable cloud solutions for extra space. Now for the alternative...

MobileMe Enters Lame Duck Status as Amazon Halts Sales

So long MobileMe, it wasn't nice knowing ya.

You were overpriced, you didn't do much, and there were many other cloud services that simply did it better. Good riddance.

If you're feeling like I'm feeling, then the revelation that Amazon has halted orders of MobileMe sales is music to your ears.

Speaking of music, the worst kept secret in the industry will likely be replacing MobileMe as an all in one service that does music, document sharing, and more. Yep, I'm talking about iCloud...