iCloud Pricing: Free Trial, then $25 Annual Subscription Fee?

The LA Times is reporting some new details regarding Apple’s iCloud, announced earlier this week:
Dubbed iCloud, the service initially will be offered for a free period to people who buy music from Apple’s iTunes digital download store, allowing users to upload their music to Apple’s computers where they can then play from a Web browser or Internet-connected Apple device.
The company plans to eventually charge a subscription fee, about $25 a year, for the service. Apple would also sell advertising around its iCloud service.
According to the LA Times, iCloud will be offered for free, then users charged $25 annually on a subscription plan. This model is similar to Apple’s MobileMe service, as it also offered a trial but a more expensive $99/year cost. iCloud will allow users to stream their digital purchases from the cloud via Apple’s servers (we assume the $1 billion North Carolina data centre will play a major role).
Apple Has Sealed the Deal with All Four Major Music Labels
The LA Times also reports Apple has finally managed to secure deals with major record labels Warner, EMI, Sony, and Universal (the last to sign). The terms apparently have Apple sharing 30% of revenue from iCloud’s music offering with the major lablels, 12% with those holding the songwriting rights, and the remaining 58% for Apple to keep. We’ve seen patents for a buffer feature to help cache streaming on local devices, and the longstanding rumours of a streaming music service have all but become a reality. What’s going to happen to MobileMe?
Would you be interested in subscribing to Apple’s iCloud offering for $25/year?
 [via LA Times]
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Icloud not just to stream your music ota but to also see if it’s all legit and legal purchases followed by suspended accounts and lawsuits 😛
YAWN!!!!!
Why would people lay for this? Is it that difficult to load your music on an iDevice?
I concur. Well said.
Not interested at all… I wouldn’t even bother using it for free.
Not interested at all… I wouldn’t even bother using it for free.
stave job say you are going to get it.
Lol with limited data usage per month?(cell phone contracts)
HELL NO
Lol with limited data usage per month?(cell phone contracts)
HELL NO
Not really … Steve told us to use MobileMe … Not many have … He also told us to use Ping … Not many of have … I’m not too sure how well iCloud will do … It seems to be a way to not increase iPhone drive capacity but I’m not buying it – pun intended.
Not really … Steve told us to use MobileMe … Not many have … He also told us to use Ping … Not many of have … I’m not too sure how well iCloud will do … It seems to be a way to not increase iPhone drive capacity but I’m not buying it – pun intended.
I would like to see iCloud combine with Mobile Me and together be offered for $25/year. That might be a bit more reasonable (free is better). But, $100 for MM and now another $25 for this new service?? Forget it.
I would like to see iCloud combine with Mobile Me and together be offered for $25/year. That might be a bit more reasonable (free is better). But, $100 for MM and now another $25 for this new service?? Forget it.
I can think of several ways to do this from home for free, shoutcast and subsonic are a couple of them.
well actually this new iCloud service will replace mobile me and all mobile me services will be included in the new iCloud service
well actually this new iCloud service will replace mobile me and all mobile me services will be included in the new iCloud service