Various Sources Confirm Apple Already Runs The iCloud Internally

Just days after rumors began surfacing that Apple had purchased the domain icloud.com, we’ve got something close to a confirmation. According to All Things Digital, “sources in position to know confirm” the purchase. However, we do not know if Apple actually paid the site’s original owners $4.5 million for the domain, as originally reported by Gigaom. As we discussed, until earlier this month, iCloud.com was owned by Linkoping, Sweden-based, Xcerion, which is a desktop-as-a-service company. However, on April 5, Xcerion rebranded its service, CloudMe and setup shop on a new website, Cloudme.com. Currently, a visit to iCloud.com automatically takes you to the Cloudme.com address. Plus, the Whois database still shows Xcerion as the owner of iCloud.com. Apple is largely expected to unveil a cloud-based music service sometime soon to compete with Amazon’s Cloud locker. Although nothing is official, Apple could announce its service at the WWDC in June. It is largely expected to tie-in with the company's existing MobileMe service or replace it altogether. Meanwhile, Apple Insider is reporting Apple "begun adopting the "iCloud" name within several products currently under development." They state:

But evidence seen by AppleInsider suggests the service will go beyond music, and could be the central component of a revamped Apple's existing MobileMe service. To this end, reports dating back to February characterized Apple's plans future internet service plans as including a digital "locker" that would hold all of a users personal memorabilia, including photos, music and videos. That would negate the need for future Apple mobile devices like an iPhone to have a great deal of internal and costly flash memory storage.

This is a changing story, which we will update as necessary. What do you think? Leave your comments below. Note: All Things Digital is owned by The Wall Street Journal.

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