Apple’s iCloud.com Acquisition Confirmed

As the tech industry is still waiting for Apple to unveil new cloud-based services, people familiar with the company’s plans have confirmed the acquisition of the iCloud.com domain.

Earlier this week, a source told the folks at GigaOM that Apple had signed a deal with Sweden-based hybrid cloud computing outfit Xcerion to buy iCloud.com.

Subsequently, Xcerion changed the advertising name of its iCloud offerings to CloudMe.

Now, All Things D reports that sources in a position to know have confirmed the acquisition to the blog, though declined to provide any specifics, such as how much the deal went down for.

The original report said Apple had paid $4.5 million to secure iCloud.com, which sounds fairly possible, considering how much Apple relies on iDubbing.

Common sense will tell you that Apple will undoubtedly leverage its 500,000-square-foot North Carolina data center to offer the much-rumored media locker for anyone holding an Apple ID, or at least for those who subscribe to the current MobileMe service.

The company is said to be planning a second major transition for its customers (following the move from .Mac to MobileMe), the first clues being the discontinuation of boxed copies of the service, and moving the entire thing online.

According to the original (rumor) report, Xcerion refused to comment when queried on the matter - likely an agreement between it and the ever-secretive Apple Inc.

Although there is a fair amount of clues hinting at the existence of Apple’s iCloud, it’s not until this summer that the Cupertino-based Mac maker is likely to unveil anything pertaining to it.

WWDC 2011 has been confirmed as the time and place for Apple’s debut of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.

The Keynote presentation may, or may not include adjacent announcements, like iOS 5 (complete with the usual developer preview), and perhaps the new MobileMe / iCloud.