Apple's Massive Cloud Assault: Here it Comes!

A rumor recently leaked stating that Apple is likely to drop the $99/year charge for its MobileMe service, which allows users to keep their iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac and PC synchronized, and which offers online storage space for sharing media.  It is also rumored that Apple could be preparing to introduce an online version of iTunes, which would allow users to access their music collection from any connected device, and purchase streaming tunes for less than the price of a download.

This ramped up cloud strategy is further backed up by the construction of a new, massive data center located in Maiden, NC.  It is also unknown whether this new cloud initiative is in some way tied to the new iPhone which is expected to be released this summer.  The rumor regarding MobileMe simply stated that the free service will be available "sooner than later... depends on certain facilities going operational."