Apple Reveals Cloud-to-iPhone Music Streaming
Apple seems to be laying the groundwork for its upcoming cloud-based MobileMe service.
Apple has apparently added the ability to stream music to devices such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch using online storage and MobileMe iDisk. The service is said to allow for background streaming--specifically on Apple devices supporting multi-tasking--while also sharing files publicly between several devices at the same time.
For the uninitiated, MobileMe iDisk is cloud-based storage solution, allowing users to store, access, and share files online. Accessible from a web browser on any PC or Mac, users can upload and manage files using a simple drag and drop functionality. The files are then accessed on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch using an app.
The drawback is that the service isn't free. For an individual, 20GB account, consumers are required to pay $99 per year. The Family Pack costs $149 per year and includes one individual account with 20GB of storage and an email account, plus four additional Family Member accounts with individual email addresses and 5GB of storage.
According to Michael Robertson, founder and CEO of MP3tunes, the ability to stream music has been available with iDisk for quite some time, however Apple has now implemented background support and controls. "This is not "iTunes in the cloud" but it is definitely moving the Cupertino company in that direction," he said.
He also pointed out that the service allows unlimited sharing (requiring no username or password) and background streaming without a license from the record labels--a clear, defiant move against Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's largest music company which demands licenses and pay-per-stream fees.
"Apple's actions are testing the limits about what they can do without record labels protesting," he said. "If they can store files online and stream them to PCs and portable devices without a license, that is the foundation for a cloud based iTunes service."
- Samsung Files Patent for Double-sided Tablet
- Saudi Arabia Bans BlackBerrys in All of Country
- Microsoft Teases 'Flat and Touchy' Hardware
- Verizon's New ''Unlimited'' Plans for Select Users
- How to Get Froyo for your DROID Right Now
- Sharp Launching 3D Smartphone This Year
- Everyone is Spending a Lot of Time on Facebook
- GPS Enabled Detergent Boxes if You're a Winner
- Town Uses Google Earth to Look for Illegal Pools
- Google Maps on Android Gets Some Upgrades
- This Bluetooth Headset Makes You Look Suicidal
- Record Player Rips MP3s From Vinyl
- Speaker, Battery Combo Does iPhone Oldschool
- Facebook for Android Gets a Huge Upgrade
- Feds Abused Privacy by Storing Body Scan
- iPhone 4 Hacked for Jailbroken Carrier Unlock
- Halo Done As if it Were on the Atari 2600
- Your Cell Phone is Dirtier Than a Toilet Handle
- Man Tries to Frame Coworker With Child Porn
lol this means what? u pay for the music... now u have to pay again to have it stored? now i see there evil scheme to not having microSD's or other external media or connections... another way to milk the consumer to what they should have a choice to
btw i expect google to come out with something that will be free... considering they could using there existing tech and have this added feature in the next android release... i mean u pay for the music, u pay for the Internet connection now u have to pay for the virtual space? granted microSD costs far less then the service but I bet u can buy your whole family enough microSD cards that will last a lot longer then the 1 year subscription
lets not forget phone service is not this magical always on no matter were you are kind of deal, so having poor reception will not fly well... oh and how nice for the phone companies to be getting rid of unlimited data plans... wow this works out so well for everyone BUT the consumer...
This feature is more than a month old. Nothing new here. Drutort, this feature allows you to store your music in the Cloud, and then play it back from anywhere. Anywhere you have an internet connection, you can stream music from your collection. From a hotel room, a friend's house, your mobile phone, etc. My music collection is over 200 GB. I can't store the whole thing on my phone, and it's not practical to carry a 200 GB hard drive every where I go. This is a solution to that.
Although I will add that the price seems a bit high for a measly 20 GB of storage space.
The sad thing is people will pay for it...
MobileMe is an Internet service from Apple, automatically syncs your email, contacts, and calendar to your iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, and PC, also you can storage photos, music and video. All they are saying is that now you can stream to your iphone. so if you are like me, that feels that $99 is to much then get a the 32gb and store your music with you and not in a cloud. so its not like you have no choice.
100 dollars for storage, backup, and streaming music? I can VPN to my home computer and have access to a 2TB drive and it costs nothing.
Again all the Apple haters (re: idiots) are out in full force. And clearly you read the first paragraph and then started spewing the usual crap.
Did you all miss the point about the sharing being [B]unlimited[/B]? And not requiring a password? Apple is challenging the record companies, who are trying to control music with an iron fist.
People think Apple is bad? There's no worse group of people than the people who work at the record companies. Suing little old ladies for downloading music?
And yet your hatred for Apple is so strong you completely miss it when they are tackling those same record companies where the end result could be a huge victory for the rights of consumers to do what they want with their music.
My music collection is over 200 GB. I can't store the whole thing on my phone, and it's not practical to carry a 200 GB hard drive every where I go. This is a solution to that.
Sorry, but that makes you an asshole. There's no way you're going to tell me you payed for that much music, which means you're a pirate and a thief.
Rip off alert!!!
too much money for a limited small storage space, even if it's shared. Rip-off for sure. Apple does not care about your convenience, only cares about filling their pockets with your money. It may seem that they are after the record companies, but that's not so, because u have to have an account to access your collection, which means u can use it from one device at a time.
If there is no username/password, how can one access their own account? The whole concept is misguiding.
I'll wait 'til they support FLAC, until then, not getting anything from those guys.
Sorry, but that makes you an asshole. There's no way you're going to tell me you payed for that much music, which means you're a pirate and a thief.
Sorry, but your comment makes you an even larger ass hole. I have over 500 CD's. Physical music CD's that I purchased over the past 15 years. I store them all in Apple Lossless format - (I don't use lossy formats like MP3 or AAC). That makes you a dumbass, and a retard.
Sorry, but your comment makes you an even larger ass hole. I have over 500 CD's. Physical music CD's that I purchased over the past 15 years. I store them all in Apple Lossless format - (I don't use lossy formats like MP3 or AAC). That makes you a dumbass, and a retard.
Yeah you're going to need a hell of a lot more than 500 CD's to fill up a 200GB hard drive. Let's just cut the bullshit here. You don't own all the music on your HDD.
u know its very interesting it doesnt say what kind of DRM is required, which im 100% sure that it must be, in fact im willing to bet its probably very limited in the fact that it probably can only be from your current or purchased itunes... besides the ridiculous price tag there are many hidden things that are not told in this article. Like another user pointed out, how can u have a service without password? its still going to have some kind of ID one way or another, how this so much better?
when u can have a number of online storage services for a fraction of the cost... i think u can even get a website that is far cheaper then this and set it up for yourself or your family. (just an example)
besides any cloud computing service will by my guess be far cheaper then this without restrictions or any special locked into to any device/service
if the price was reasonable i would say this is great for the majority of the people but its a real ripoff
I personally would think a flex system would be far better and charge based usage and not storage, at least that would cater to family's a lot better. Of course this would have to be per GB or so.
and to the guy... (200*1024)/(500*15) = 27mb per song? (assuming i didnt mess up) what kind of format do you use then? thats being generous that each cd has an avg of 15 songs even at 12 songs on avg thats 34mb LOL at least give some more realistic numbers next time
There's no way you're going to tell me you payed for that much music, which means you're a pirate and a thief.
Why do you care where he gets his music, aside from the fact that it gives you something to whine about?
and to the guy... (200*1024)/(500*15) = 27mb per song? (assuming i didnt mess up) what kind of format do you use then? thats being generous that each cd has an avg of 15 songs even at 12 songs on avg thats 34mb LOL at least give some more realistic numbers next time
I assume I'm "that guy"? Read my post again, I told you exactly what format I use. Apple Lossless. Each album takes about 300 to 350 MB of disk space. Yes, most songs take about 30 MB *each* of disk space. This is no different from any of the other lossless formats, such as FLAC. Do a little research next time.
data:
500 CD, Apple lossless compression
simple google searches:
- a CD may contain 700 MB
- compression ratio of Apple lossless => 60%
500 (CDs) x 700 (MB/CD) x 60% (Apple lossless compression ratio) = 210 GB (even if the CDs aren't full and the compression algorithm may performs a little better 200 GB are plausible).
People that can't do simple maths, don't know a bit of consumer electronics and can't use google shouldn't LOL to other ppl on this website.
There is ONE huge drawback that i have just come up against with all this, in the UK at least. When i got my iphone 3Gs 32GB it came with an unlimited data usage plan on pay and go (not contract)
I stream music to my phone wherever i go off my own server. This generally is through 3G and not WiFi as i can never seem to get any WiFi hotspots when i am on the move or driving etc. Now the carriers in the UK have pulled unlimited data plans to all there different plans. You are now limited to 500Mb. I got a warning after day6 of my next month saying that i am over the 450Mb and close to my 500Mb limit with over 3 weeks before my next month.
I think for the streaming of anyone, including apple, to work properly the providers need to seriously consider the fact that this uses a lot of data on the network.
Seriously Flawed otherwise
The cloud is not a place you want to be, nor is it a place to put your personal stuff.
Just sayin'.
So ASUS asks us for $59,88 per year for unlimited storage space on their cloud and Apple asks $99 for 20Gb. Typical.
Meh. WP7 is gonna be 25gigs of cloud storage and FREE. Plus if you want to stream any music you want (not just music you own) then pay $14.95 for a Zunepass.
I do this for free with my iPhone. Steam all my documents music movies picture anything I want from my home server to my phone.
jailbreak FTW
LOL. $100 for streaming your own music that you paid for.
This by itself might not seem to warrant $99, but the MobileMe service itself is actually quite nice. I don't love that it has an annual payment, but if I add a contact on my pc, it automatically syns with my mac, iphone, and hackintosh (whether it's in win7 or OS X). It also does this for calendars, which is extremely useful for me. I know google has a similar service for contacts and calendars, but being able to open up an actual app on my computer (and not rely on the internet, which I think google's is web-based?) is a huge advantage for me. Also, 20GB might not be enough for many users, but for my purposes as a college instructor, posting tutorial videos for my students is invaluable -- and being able to sync them in an easy manner with iWeb, etc makes things very easy.
Oh, and lastly, MobileMe it has a "find my iphone" function, so if an iphone is ever stolen, you'll know exactly where it is.
Can you do all [or most] of these things with other applications / 3rd party software on a PC? Absolutely! But, Apple's integrated method does work surprisingly well here -- if you have need for the majority of its functions.