Since WWDC on Monday, we’ve been getting a couple of emails asking us when iCloud will be available for consumers outside of the US of A. Right after the big announcement, Apple pointed out that iCloud would only be available to people living in the US while it was still in beta. We still have no idea what Apple deems as a beta, and like we said previously, we really hope they don’t have the same beta standards as Google.
The Telegraph is reporting that people outside of the US, and in particular living in the UK, won’t be seeing iCloud, and more specifically iTunes in the Cloud, until 2012 at the earliest. According to Emma Barnett, the Telegraph reporter, “A spokesperson for the Performing Right Society, which ensures that composers, songwriters and music publishers get paid for their work, told the Telegraph that negotiations with Apple about ensuring rights in the UK had started but were at a ‘very early stage.’”
Oh boy, this might be a while.
If you recall, The iTunes music store brought with it a lot of negotiating from one country to another as Apple began rolling out the stores around the globe. Additionally, when Apple announced that television episodes were coming to the iTunes store back in 2005 – 2006, it took a very long time for countries like Canada to get access to the show catalog on iTunes, and even then selection was extremely limited. Canada didn’t get its first TV shows in iTunes until 2007, a full two years after the announcement. We may be in for the same kind of wait with iTunes in the Cloud, and other specific iCloud functionality.
Hopefully it doesn’t happen, but it could be a very long time before we see iCloud losing its beta tag, and rolling out to other countries.
Article Via The Telegraph
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I'm really getting frustrated with the Canadian limits, how can an honest person in Canada purchase music online when they have such limited choices - please whichever organization is dragging you feet wake up and give Canada the access they want.
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LikeIf you read Michael Geist's latest article in the star: http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1006529--geist-forecast-iffy-for-music-cloud-services-in-canada - it could be longer than just waiting for the beta to end. Apple pursued licenses for its cloud service where Google and Amazon did not. These licences and levies will take longer and even potentially nix the iTunes Match for Canada. I doubt this will impact the other services though.
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LikeWell, I hope it doesn't take so much time as it took for TV shows. We still don't have those (and neither do we have movies) in the portuguese iTunes store.
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LikeWhile I expect a certain delay of the music centric features of iCloud before they get to Germany (where I live), I don't see a reason for the other feature to be delayed.
We know what Apple deems a beta, look at the iWork.com beta; it works pretty well.
I still have high hopes for a fast tea release of iTunes Match in all major countries, because Apple seems to have a better deal for the music industry than Amazon does.
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LikeIt would be really sad if iCloud won't be a global launch come this fall, probably with a new model iPhone in tow. So much of the great functionality of iOS seems to be depending on the availability of iCloud, it would really be a slap in the proverbial face if it was missing anywhere except in the US. From the moment I heard it be announced by Steve Jobs himself, I assumed that the "iTunes in the cloud"-bit would be coming later. I accept that without a problem since there are a lot of national organizations to strike deals with before such a service would be given the green light. Also, lots of markets still don't have anything beyond music and apps for purchase in the iTunes store.
I do hope this delay won't be the case or Apple will have made a promise they can effectively not keep in many markets, which in turn leads to some people who might be potential iPhone buyers start eyeing an Android handset instead. A cloud is better than no iCloud, I would surmise their reasoning would be.
In all fairness I'm not all too surprised nor am I very disappointed. Many great products and services never reach my shores, sadly.
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