The rumours and speculation continue apace that MobileMe will become a free service very soon now. Macgasm.net has this article pointing at further snippets and like many is hopeful that this comes to pass.
What I would be interested to know ( if anyone out there has a pointer ) is how much income Apple actually makes from MobileMe each year. I am sure it is a healthy amount, but feel equally as sure that whatever amount this is it could generate more from increased hardware sales as a result of a comprehensive FREE MobileMe style service, perhaps extended to cover things such as proper Domain hosting, iTunes music syncing, a Flickr like social front end to Photo libraries etc.
In reality this rumour will run and run until either it becomes a fact or some other previously unforeseen use for Apples new Carolina data centre is revealed. Whichever way it goes I can’t imagine for a minute that the investment they have made in the new centre isn’t going to be very significant for the future of Apple.
I am sure it is a healthy amount, but feel equally as sure that whatever amount this is it could generate more from increased hardware sales as a result of a comprehensive FREE MobileMe style service, perhaps extended to cover things such as proper Domain hosting, iTunes music syncing, a Flickr like social front end to Photo libraries etc.