The clouds of mystery are expected be lifted around Apple’s new iCloud online storage service on June 6 as Apple chief Steve Jobs will be talking about Apple’s plans for icloud.com and its iCloud service during the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Steve Jobs is expected to talk about Apple’s plans to provide online storage services for the files you want to safely store online using the services of iCloud and will be the first speaker during the conference. What services will iCloud provide users? How will iCloud impact other service providers? What will it cost to use iCloud? What kind of customer is iCloud online storage services targeted towards? What are people saying about iCloud? Firms and individuals that make use of online storage services to help protect important data will be looking for answers to these questions and others during the conference and the days following the Worldwide Developers Conference.

What Services Will iCloud Offer?

The first reports indicate users with an existing iTunes library will be able to stream music to any device using an online music locker that stores music and allows for quick and reliable access using iCloud. Apple has apparently been talking to record label Universal about plans to provide customers with this service through iCloud. Apple has to date completed deals with EMI, Sony, Warner, and Universal that will allow this ability to be included with iCloud. Apple’s iCloud is also expected to provide an online service that allows users to synchronize bookmarks, contacts and calendar events and other things.

Apple will be operating iCloud out of one of the largest data centers in the United States and rural California at 500,000 square feet of available space. This is a lot of space for servers and other equipment Apple’s iCloud service will need to store customers’ music and other files.

Apple’s iCloud online storage service is expected to replace MobileMe, once it becomes available and will start out as a free service for users of Apple’s latest operating system, Mac OS X Lion. Apple apparently also has plans to one day charge users a subscription fee of around $25 for iCloud and users can probably expect to see advertisements when using iCloud.

How will iCloud Affect Other Online Storage Service Providers?

The introduction of iCloud by Apple could be a game changer for some online data storage providers and could make competing against Apple during the weeks and months ahead difficult for some online data storage companies. Apple’s iCloud service might even make iTunes more popular with users during the months ahead, which could definitely cause problems for Research in Motion (RIM), Google, Amazon and Microsoft.

Which Demographic is iCloud Aimed Towards?

Apple is most likely targeting the younger user with iCloud, while older users will possibly be targeted later on. First reports indicate that older users find using online storage services like iCloud difficult to accept, since they have nothing to hang onto, and we can probably expect Apple to try to alleviate some of their security and emotional concerns in the months ahead.

What are People Saying About iCloud?

There is belief in some people that iCloud will be a developer API, rather than an online service that allows users to steam music to their devices and other things. People are also thinking it could be possible that iCloud could allow users to steam data over both Wi-Fi and 3G. This could allow users to purchase content from the iTunes online store and browse and steam the content over their devices, with no uploading or downloading needed. Some people believe users could even be steaming movies and television shows using iCloud over Wi-Fi in the future. If this service is included with iCloud it could be a seamless way for Apple to start charging a subscription for iCloud and even allow users access to the music they want at a fixed rate.

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