New .Apple Top-Level Domain Could Go Live As Early As Next Year

By

This domain will be coming to the Internet in 2013
This domain will be coming to the Internet in 2013

Right now, if you want to learn more about, say, the iPhone, you go to apple.com/iPhone. Pretty soon, though, you will just type in iPhone.apple and your browser will immediately whisk you there instead.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, has just announced that they have received almost 2,000 new generic top-level domain name applications. And surprise, surprise… Apple’s applied for the .apple top-level domain.

They’re not the only major tech company to try to stake out their company name. Amazon and Google have also made applications.

Although anyone can apply for a top-level domain, they’re expensive to operate, costing $25,000 a year just to get permission. In addition, ICANN says that not everyone can run a top-level domain, but need the resources and the drive to do so.

“This is a serious technical operation to run a top-level domain, completely different from a second-level domain” a spokesperson said. “For the security of the internet, you have to do this right.”

Given its massive cash hoard and data centers, Apple certainly has the resources to run .apple, so it seems like a no-brainer that they’ll snatch .apple up… and promptly proceed to not let anyone else use an .apple domain. Somehow, that doesn’t entirely seem to be in the spirit of ICANN opening up top-level domains to, as they say, “level the playing field.”

If approved, .apple would go live in Q2 of 2013.

Source: ICANN
Via: Slashgear

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.