Following recent speculation that has suggested Apple may release a “budget” iPhone at its October 4 event, that will have minimal storage and will rely on streaming content from the cloud, the Cupertino company has gone ahead and taken over the iCloudiPhone.com domain name. But does it really mean anything?
MacRumors discovered that the iCloudiPhone.com domain name was first registered by an unknown party way back on April 29 — the day Apple purchased the iCloud.com domain from its previous owners:
The party registered the domain anonymously under Go Daddy and Domains by Proxy, while Apple uses brand management firm MarkMonitor when it wishes to preserve its anonymity for such purposes.
Apple took over the iCloudiPhone.com domain name about two weeks ago, according to the report, with the WHOIS record pointing to Apple from September 14. So could this be an indication of an “iCloud iPhone” unveiling next Tuesday?
Probably not. Apple registers domain names that are associated with its products all the time in order to prevent third-parties from using them and to protect its brand. For example, earlier this month, the company acquired 16 misspelled variations of iTunes.com. Also, iCloud isn’t yet a streaming service, and so an iPhone that relies on content streamed from the cloud wouldn’t work. Unless, of course, Apple has a secret up its sleeve.
Do you think there could be an “iCloud iPhone” on its way?
