Apple Shutting Lala; 'Cloud' Music On Horizon?

(AP)  Apple Inc. is shutting down its newly bought Lala online music service amid speculation it is creating a way for iTunes customers to listen to songs stored on distant computers.

The move comes just weeks before an annual conference for developers in San Francisco on June 7 at which the secretive company tends to announce big news. Last year, it used the conference to unveil the latest version of its popular iPhone, the 3GS.

With Apple continuing to build a $1 billion data center in Maiden, N.C., that rivals the largest such facilities in the world, some executives in the online music industry believe that Apple is poised to announce an Internet-powered version of iTunes that would do away with the need to download songs.

Such a move would pit Apple, the largest online music retailer, against smaller companies that offer ways to deliver music to mobile devices using "cloud computing," a remote-storage system that potentially challenges iTunes and its reliance on downloads and personal storage space.

"Whatever they bought Lala for, it is likely to be integrated into iTunes," said Michael Gartenberg, a partner at technology consulting firm Altimeter Group. "It's no surprise they're shutting this down."

But one factor against a big announcement soon is that Apple has not approached music executives about its plans since a few months ago, and new licenses that would be required have not been set up, according to two people at different major recording companies with knowledge of the discussions. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are meant to be confidential.

Customers of iTunes currently pay up to $1.29 per song. Because it takes several minutes to download songs to a phone over cell networks, most users download songs to their computers before transferring them to their phones with a physical cord.

A cloud system would let users access the songs right away.

And because storage space wouldn't be an issue, a user could listen to a wider variety of music on the go.

Several months before Apple bought Lala in December, Lala co-founder Bill Nguyen demonstrated for The Associated Press a working, but unapproved iPhone application that streamed songs instantly to the phone after a user spent 10 cents per song to house them in a digital locker on a distant server. The 10 cents are credited back to buyers who went on to buy a higher-quality, permanent download.

Nguyen called the technology "the end of the MP3," the dominant format for song downloads. After Apple bought Lala, that iPhone application was never launched.

Since then, several companies have launched similar streaming music functions that do away with downloads and need only be connected to the Internet via the cell phone network.

On Monday, Rhapsody unveiled an update to its iPhone application to allow users to play such music even when they lack cell phone coverage. For a $10 monthly fee, users could save any song from a catalog of 9.5 million to their device.

Although users can only play the songs for as long as they keep paying, the system still challenges the iTunes model by making it easier to get songs to the phone, without the need for cords and synching with a regular computer.

The ability to quickly save songs on a phone for offline playback was "a huge milestone," Rhapsody International Inc. President Jon Irwin said Friday. "So in a way, the battle's already begun."

Apple declined to comment Friday on its plans.

Visitors to Lala's home page have been told since late Thursday that the service isn't accepting new users and will shut down at the end of May. Songs that were bought from Lala for download are still playable, and people who bought 10-cent songs that can only be played online will get 10 cents credited to their iTunes accounts or a check in the mail, the site said. Other credits and gift cards are also transferable for a limited time. Apple has been hiring staff for its North Carolina data center, and in early April advertised on its website for a chief operating engineer.

Only about a dozen data centers in the world are larger than the 500,000-square-foot facility Apple has under construction, said Rich Miller, editor of Data Center Knowledge, a website that tracks such centers.


Other companies that have built structures of the same size are "major cloud computing players" such as Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc., he said. Apple currently has one data center in Newark, Calif. That facility covers about 150,000 square feet and is believed to power its MobileMe service of pushing e-mail and calendar events to devices.

"It certainly looks like their ambition is to house a lot of data," Miller said. That would then let Apple deliver greater amounts of content over the Internet than the company's current offerings.

___

AP Technology Writer Jessica Mintz in Seattle contributed to this report.

[rwsmith29456]

I don't suppose I'll miss Lala and Cloud. I don't know what the heck they are. Never heard of 'em.

[rwsmith29456]

Nopatriot - What you are saying is the reason that so many Americans are frustrated and angry at the direction the USA is heading. Don't tell us Japan is perfect, though.

[nopatriot]

I don't believe apple, In Japan , not only in Japan, but anywhere in the world,
if people kindly brought back their lost things, we say thank you and even give some gift.
Apple brought gizmodo search warranty instead of gift.

Is not it crazy ?

I have to think of using apple future.

And this news, of course goes around the world already.

USA is so strange, I always think.

we are Japanese and european, we fight, we argue but we don't kill each other.

we are not really Americans and we throw pillow or news papers when we get angry

but we don't kill people like USA police.

And we don't break house doors like USA's police.

USA police is not police but ....what is that?

USA is even like in Iraq.

If you are traveler, you have to be careful

You have a plan to visit USA like me, and try to spend money like me,

but they are really disrespectful like that.

I guess Gismodo 's staff is American and citizen has chinese name.

Chinese or not, this is really strange to us.

[eddom9492]

What means this?

[nopatriot]

May I say something more?
USA police is not sophisticated , so abusive and killing people often.
Police should protect people's lives , this is first thing to do.
Hurting or killing people , it is not first thing to do.
War country has strange things , many.
If you are foreigner and try to come USA, really you gonna have a heartbroken sometimes with USA people lies or racism.

And I did not think about racism in Japan, but here USA, whoever I see black people or asian, they always talk about this, and white people ? Yes they get together and talk about this too.

I think really bad country about this.

Anyway, I want to say people around me, I am good looking and really young than my real age that is not plastic but I had had in Japan for a long time , that's the reason.
I did not need to afraid of crazy authorities and crazy people too much in Japan.
I was quite happy and making money.
Eat well wear well, we are japanese don't wear like old tired women and men.
But don't have jealousy to get money from us( Yes, USA people do this , they believe they can get other people 's money with created reasons. They believe this is lawfully right but they are shameful thefts, we think so."

They think whoever USA Toyota made some mistakes with USA workers in USA, " japanese lies , they lie."
they confuse many thing with own feeling, mostly jealousy.

Even Americans go to Japan, they wear nicely and young looking , however if they don't make enough money, they live in a small place and miserable but it is not my fault.

This is all true not in japan, but all over the world, in any countries Rich and poor live together,

USA about poor Chinese or Asian too much.
Look at own country , it is even same.

Anyway, young looking and husband a little old is much better than teen ager has a baby at young age.

But anything USA people are talking about and making rumor.

they love to insult people and they don't think I feel everything when they think.

I know many Japanese have intuition and they feel like me, they read mind and distance does not affect.

Reading mind is just like using cell phone.

not really 100% clear, but especially people's bad thoughts and jealousy are fly around everywhere.

They are shameless because they believe their minds are not red by anybody.

But the reality is not.

I wrote somebody thinks of me here " writing too much."
Yes, even I feel you.

And...I am not doing a job to read people's mind.

Don't worry don't charge you but I read you as long as you think of me.

[nopatriot]

Somebody thinks of me, " writing too much" here.
I used to be said by an American " She is talking to much."
I don't know if legal immigrant in USA or traveler did not too much before me here.
But anyway, the health care reform was somehow changing the history in USA, I must write a little more about what is happiness and what is safe life for human but USA has never provided to USA people.
I read Gizmodo search warranty incident in San Mateo California, right next to San Francisco.
It surprised me, because we know previously Gizmodo bought the ipod or iphone somebody left to the seat of a bar, and the unknown man sent to Gizmodo instead of Police.
well, we must bring to police before shows on the internet, may be true.
However, if I find someone's lost iphone and even if I brought to police first, they may search me with search warranty , right?
And breaking the door.
Don't you think breaking house doors are nonsense ?
And unbelievable?
Why not use lock smith instead of break the door?
Hey, USA is really doing this , not only in the Movie. Un believable .
It seems like Iraq war, breaking door and get into the civilians houses and suspect if they are terrorist supporters or not. Appointing guns etc....
USA, Oh USA.... how could you do this way.

Everytime USA hurt our foreigners hurt and this kind of authorities activities are not really happening in Japan, at least. They ask to get into, if it is not murder cases or something emergency.
who are Apple?
I have ipod and mac powerbook, and I am using and paying for somebody break door for new generation iphone?

I heard something from chinese immigrant couple, they are smart and they have right jobs and they afford
a beautiful nice home in nice area.
And I talked about police in East bay and San mateo, They told me they had really something bad related police and reported to local TV once.
I had also un believable incident made by local police, they denied it but racism.
I flew over from Japan to USA often for sight seeing with my own earning money in Japan,
And they arrested me because my boyfriends could not sleep well.
But he asked me to come and visit.
He did not sleep too much, but it is not my fault.
He was half sleeping while he made a phone call, and why police did not ask me anything before arrest me.
And they released me, because I didnot do anything. But the police report shown I kicked him, scratched him, etc....
Hey, I was sleeping after long flight.
i think eastbay policy they don't have experience of long flight often.
it is so tired and skinny woman can not kick or scratch to a big fat american.
even Japanese does not have fist culture.
But I know people around me, somebody include police are still doubting me , because I have intuition ability but they don't think so.
When they think of me bad or imagining about me, I feel anything what they think of me.
when police approach me, I feel they would come sometimes.

I think GOD is helping me to let me know how people are selfish and love to make rumor without known anything correctly.
You doubt me, No, this is really true.

anyway, boy friend apologized to me but why police made it anything so complicated.
I have documents all of it, and police started to say the boy friend lied .

Look, why they did not both side of story, because I am asian and Japanese and he was American and not black either Asian wasn't he?

The police was white and hispanic and I don't forget about their rudeness, Oakland California,

never.

Because never happened me anywhere in the world.

I was traveling around the world from Tokyo Japan.
It is all my own money and not USA money.

You know, I am so angry about this ever.

I have tell all of people in the world, how much USA authorities are not really protecting visitors or
residents or even civilians daily lives.

this is big differences between japan and USA.

Come on, Washington post, say something about Japan again.

We know you guys make up stories about japan too much,

And writing something lies.

even USA army bases in Japan, Japanese residents really disliked it because of USA army's crimes in Japan, it is not like got iphone, but rape minors and stealing money or killing people.

Many incidents happening in japan, and USA papers don't write about this too much.

But washing tong post accuse Prime Minister in Japan, Hey, are you ignoring japanese civilians there?
USA tries to sell USA bond again to japan and China etc.

But writing about those countries politics ( But actually not politics insulting people)

too much.

I am writing this using mac, and I should shame on that.

I have PC too, if it 's faster than mac.

[ToolMangler1]

If you hate America so much, Why don't you leave??
I am sure that North Korea or China would give you the 'peace of mind' you seem to want.