Apple chief executive Steve Jobs took the stage in California Monday to the sound of James Brown's iconic hit "I Feel Good," a rare appearance at which the cancer survivor would unveil the iCloud, Apple announced.
"If the hardware is the brain and the sinew of our products, the software is their soul. Today we're going to talk about software," Jobs told the assembled crowds, unveiling new versions of the Macintosh operating system, the iOS software that powers iPhones and iPods, and an online-only music locker iCloud.
iCloud has garnered the most attention leading up to the event. The new service will let people listen to their song collections without having to transfer individual tracks manually to a music player.
With the size of music players and music storage devices decreasing over the decades, the iCloud might eliminate the need to own a physical copy of a song or an album altogether.
And even though Apple comes late to the field, following the footsteps of Amazon and Google, some analysts feel the new service will keep the company one step ahead.
"Competitors, including RIM, Google, Amazon and Microsoft already have a hard time competing with iTunes as it is, but we believe will likely find it even tougher with iCloud enhancements," Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu told Reuters.
With iCloud, users would access songs through the Internet on their computer or Apple device. Apple's system is arguably more convenient, thanks to a "scan and match" locker service. Its system will be able to analyze all the songs stored by a person on their computer and then let them access these songs through an iPod, iPhone or other device, without having to upload tracks first.
Jobs also debuted Lion, the newest iteration of the desktop software, which comes with 250 new features, he said. Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller took the stage to show off Lion.
"We now have more than 54 million active Mac users around the world," he told the assembled crowds, debuting some tablet-like functions for the desktop operating system such as swiping and gesture controls.
Breaking with its policy of strict secrecy before product launches, the company has already said that Jobs will be unveiling iCloud, as well as new versions of its mobile and Mac operating systems, at the event.
"If the hardware is the brain and the sinew of our products, the software is their soul. Today we're going to talk about software," Jobs told the assembled crowds, unveiling new versions of the Macintosh operating system, the iOS software that powers iPhones and iPods, and an online-only music locker iCloud.
iCloud has garnered the most attention leading up to the event. The new service will let people listen to their song collections without having to transfer individual tracks manually to a music player.
With the size of music players and music storage devices decreasing over the decades, the iCloud might eliminate the need to own a physical copy of a song or an album altogether.
And even though Apple comes late to the field, following the footsteps of Amazon and Google, some analysts feel the new service will keep the company one step ahead.
With iCloud, users would access songs through the Internet on their computer or Apple device. Apple's system is arguably more convenient, thanks to a "scan and match" locker service. Its system will be able to analyze all the songs stored by a person on their computer and then let them access these songs through an iPod, iPhone or other device, without having to upload tracks first.
Jobs also debuted Lion, the newest iteration of the desktop software, which comes with 250 new features, he said. Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller took the stage to show off Lion.
"We now have more than 54 million active Mac users around the world," he told the assembled crowds, debuting some tablet-like functions for the desktop operating system such as swiping and gesture controls.
Breaking with its policy of strict secrecy before product launches, the company has already said that Jobs will be unveiling iCloud, as well as new versions of its mobile and Mac operating systems, at the event.