Steve Jobs to debut iCloud, tout iOS 5 and Lion next week

Computerworld - Apple CEO Steve Jobs will take the stage at the company's developer conference next week to introduce iCloud -- Apple's new cloud service -- and the next version of its mobile operating system, iOS 5.

In a statement today, Apple announced that Jobs -- who remains on an indefinite medical leave -- will take part in the keynote that opens the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6.

Jobs and other company executives will highlight the next version of Mac OS X, nicknamed "Lion," during the keynote, as well as iOS 5 and iCloud, the name Apple's stuck on what it described as its "upcoming cloud services offering."

iCloud will be the star of the keynote, predicted Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research.

"That will be the splashy part of the show," said Gottheil. "They feel that they messed up on cloud stuff -- and I agree -- and will want to make it as big as they possibly can."

In April, reports surfaced claiming that Apple had paid Swedish company Xcerion $4.5 million for the icloud.com domain. Xcerion, which had used icloud.com for its online file-storage service, switched to cloudme.com earlier that month.

As of Tuesday, a WHOIS search showed that Xcerion still controlled icloud.com.

Most experts expect that iCloud will at the least replicate the online music "locker" services already launched by Apple rivals Amazon and Google, giving customers the ability to play tracks from their iTunes collection over the Internet using their iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches and Macs.

But some analysts, including Gottheil, have used the news that Apple has signed deals with major music labels to speculate that the company will up the ante by launching a music subscription service as part of iCloud.

"Apple doesn't tend to repeat their mistakes, and a music subscription service could be a part of iCloud," said Gottheil, who expects that Apple will offer a tiered service that includes a free option.

"The iPad is relatively weak in its cloud orientation," noted Gottheil. "Some iPad-specific sync stuff could be a highlight of iCloud."

Apple has been mum about iOS 5, the next version of the mobile operating system that powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. But that will change next week as the company touts new features to developers.

Traditionally, Apple has introduced the next iOS earlier in the year, then followed with a new iPhone in late June or early July. The lack of an iOS-specific event this year has led most analysts to conclude that Apple won't start selling an iPhone 5 -- or whatever name it puts on the smartphone -- until this fall, likely in September.