At Future Workshops we are huge fans of cloud based services and storage. We use Dropbox as a distributed file system, Basecamp to manage projects, Beanstalk as a code repository, and most importantly Google Apps to manage our email, calendar and contacts.

With the assumption that Apple expects people to own both a Tablet, an iPhone and a desktop or laptop computer, we assert that moving iTunes to the cloud is now an urgent necessity.

Currently, iTunes requires you to physically connect your device to your computer in order to syncronise content. This is a broken model - something that is obvious just as soon as you a) purchase a new device, b) purchase a new computer, or c) dare to own more than one computer. All of the best content services that exist for the iPhone today syncronise between a web interface/thick client/native app via the cloud.

With Apple's purchase of Lala, it now possesses the brains, and the IP to make this happen. As reported by Micheal Roberts, an overlooked part of the Lala service was the music locker - in essence cloud based storage and streaming for your music collection. Lets imagine the music locker concept applied to iTunes. It would also have to store and provide instant access to:-

Apps
Data and Settings for Apps
Mail, Contacts and Calendar Settings (not hosting)
Photos
Video

The public at large will expect an album created in iPhoto on your desktop be available for browsing on Tablet, and settings for your email App on iPhone to match with those on a Tablet, just as long as the iTunes account used is the same on both.

Given the way Google integrates the cloud into Chrome O/S and Android, Apple need to move quickly on this or risk falling behind. Although we expect Apple's vertical integration strategy to keep the iPhone ecosystem ahead on devices and O/S, the seamless experience offered by cloud services cannot be ignored.

...and we're not talking about Mobile Me!

Photo Credit notsogoodphotography via Creative Commons