Xcerion
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Second source suggests Apple purchased icloud domain
Earlier this week, we reported on a circulating rumor that suggested Apple bought the icloud.com domain name. Today, All Things Digital added to that rumor with a report of its own. According to AllThingsD, "sources in position to know" have confirmed to them that Apple did buy the icloud.com domain name from Xcerion, a cloud computing company based in Sweden. The original rumor suggested Apple paid up to $4.5 million for the domain name, but AllThingsD was unable to corroborate that figure with its source. Presumably, Apple will use this domain name for the rumored iTunes in the cloud and digital locker service it is supposedly gearing up to launch. Would you be excited to use your iCloud account to sync your iPhoto and iTunes content with your iPad while you're on the iGo?
Apple's cloud streaming service to be called iCloud?
Okay, so if you had to guess a name for an Apple service that exists in the cloud it's pretty safe to say you'd pick "iCloud," right? Good, now that we're past the obvious, there are some slightly more compelling indicators out there that this may indeed be what Apple is going to call its (presumably) soon-to-launch music streaming service. We received anonymous tips about this name in the past, and now Om Malik is reporting some interesting history, that the domain iCloud.com is owned by a company called Xcerion, which recently re-branded its cloud-based storage service from iCloud to CloudMe. TechCrunch reached out to the company and got a beautifully-worded non-denial talking about how the new name better embraces the company's cross-platform approach. That it does, but the timing is interesting. Obviously nothing is confirmed, but with Warner and at least one other of the big four record labels signed on, we'd guess the real name for this service should be drifting into view any time now. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Rumor: Apple might have bought iCloud.com
GigaOm is reporting that Sweden-based cloud storage company Xcerion has just sold its iCloud.com domain name for US$4.5 million and that the likely buyer is none other than Apple. Xcerion had previously sold a cloud-based storage service called iCloud, but it's been rebranded as CloudMe after the sale of the iCloud.com domain. While GigaOm doesn't get into specifics, the site says its source is familiar with the company and that the buyer of the domain name is Apple. Currently, the WhoIs information still lists Xcerion as the owner of iCloud.com, but that could be a deliberate move until Apple reveals its new cloud-based services. Even though GigaOm doesn't name its source, it does fit in with other reports that Apple is gearing up to launch a digital locker soon. Apple does have a penchant of throwing an "i" in front of everything. If GigaOm's sources are correct, get ready to say goodbye to iDisk and hello to Apple's iCloud.
