iTunes Cloud
So, "providing iTunes wirelessly over cell phone networks" could mean that all of this 'mobile me' content is sync-able over the cell phone network. Maybe it's a 'clould' storage service for iTunes content, i.e. just like your iPhone, you have a 'Mobile Me' item on the sidebar in iTunes, and you can drag media content onto it, and then stream/download/sync this content to your iPhone when out and about. Maybe it's a bit ambitious for 3G networks, so maybe it's a wifi concept. I dunno.
Hmmm... consider:
--someday, high-speed broadband Internet access in the US will be ubiquitous and inexpensive (as it apparently is in parts of Europe and Asia)
--someday, large amounts of backed-up Cloud storage will be available at low cost
When, these "somedays" converge the distinction between
local storage and
Cloud storage will begin to blur.
Here's a what if:
What if Apple changed the way iTunes (store and client) works.
-- Instead of
buying and downloading AV from iTunes, you just
buy with the ability to synch
-- The iTunes servers in the Cloud contain all the AV files and your Account would contain digital, synchable tokens for all the AV you have purchased (or rented). The tokens would contain descriptive information.
-- The iTunes client on your computer would normally just have the synchable tokens not the actual AV files.
-- You could manipulate these tokens (search, sort, favs, playlists, etc.) just as you currently do. With no large AV files to deal with, this could be done with a Widget, Web App, or iPhone App.
-- When you synch to, say, an iPod, the actual AV files can be download to the iPod.
-- Optionally, you could download or pre-synch (any or all) of the physical AV files... say, pre-building playlists for a party, or movies for a weekend "personal film festival", etc.
So, now you have all the
goodness of a large AV repository in the Cloud: unlimited storage; automatic backup/redundancy; access from anywhere; access on demand; easy to use, manipulate, manage.
But, you have none of the
badness: no expensive, failure-prone large local HDDs; no backup headaches; no migration headaches.
Likely, Apple could save lots of bandwidth by just downloading the tokens when you buy instead of downloading each and every file purchased. Then, when you synch/play a song or video Apple could multi-serve (or peer to peer) the same copy to any others accessing the same file-- I suspect that there would be a lot of potential bandwidth saving for new/popular releases, etc.
That would be pretty cool!
Now, here's the good part:
What if Apple were to offer a service that allows you to upload the non-iTunes-purchased files in your AV collection to the iTunes servers in the Cloud?
Now, your entire AV collection is accessible as above, backed-up (off site), yet synchable, playable and manageable through the iTunes client on your computer.
And, the iTunes (Store) button on the iPhone or Touch would have access to your entire private AV collection.
Then, Apple could jigger iPhoto and iMovie so they can interface/utilize the iTunes Cloud concept to store, manage, and access your photo and home video collection.
I would pay for that!
Actually, I already have about $4,000 worth of hardware just to locally store/serve/backup my AV collection, pictures, and a few home videos. And, I am looking at a $250/year service to provide Cloud storage to back this up.
I revise and extend my remark, above:
I would
gladly pay for that!
