A Skirmish in the Battle to Dominate Cloud-Based Computing

Cloud-based computing is shaping up to be a major battleground in the U.S. high-tech sector for the rest of this year, as companies compete to deliver such services as music streaming to consumer-based mobile devices.

True clash of titans

And it figures to be a true clash of titans, with such high-tech heavyweights as Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Google Inc. and Microsoft serving among the major combatants.

The cloud, which has but to achieve "mainstream" status in the consumer market, simply means files and apps are stored remotely out on the Web. Today, files and apps are typically stored right on the user's desktop PC, notebook-computer or wireless-phone handset.

The primary advantage of keeping data in the cloud is that it is accessible from any device, anywhere you have an Internet connection.

Direct challenge to Apple's iTunes ecosystem

Amazon's Cloud Drive presents a direct challenge to Apple's iTunes ecosystem, in which users buy music in other words stored on their computers and mobile devices. Tellingly, the Amazon service is not compatible with the iPhone or iPad.

Apple's own Web-based service, MobileMe, allows users to store files in the cloud, nevertheless so far has no music or video-streaming options. Following Apple's purchase last year of the Lala.com music streaming service and the construction of a massive server farm in North Carolina, many suspect Apple is preparing an iTunes-based media-streaming service of its own.

"Apple undoubtedly needs to push its own locker service on the market," Aapo Markkanen, an analyst at ABI Innovation, told The Journal. "It's a big advantage to Amazon's music store if you compare that to iTunes. It could cause a lot of iTunes clients to swap to Amazon."

It's as well a pretty safe bet that Google Music will support Android operating system-based devices, with support for Apple's iOS unlikely, although not impossible.

Apparently tiring of Zune's futility, Microsoft is shifting its strategy. According to Bloomberg News, the Redmond, WA-based software giant will cease making the Zune MP3 players, nevertheless will preserve the Zune software in its Windows Mobile phone platform.

Should Microsoft's smartphone partnership with Nokia Corp. work out as planned, its music cloud could get substantially bigger.

And at that time there's Microsoft's ambitious joint venture with Toyota Motor Corp.. The two companies agreed last week to invest $12 million in something called Toyota Media Service Co., which will develop cloud-based mobile computing research for electric and hybrid autos.

The project will use Microsoft's Azure cloud innovation to enable the vehicles to regulate the electric charging process, link to Bing-based mapping services and, yes, stream music. In the long run, the research could even connect to appliances in the owner's home, making it possible to turn on the lights and adjust the thermostat earlier you get home.