New Apple Service, iCloud will let users stream music library to devices

There's an iCloud on the horizon for Apple aficionados.

The tech giant confirmed what most industry watchers have long expected: Apple will officially introduce a cloud service next week that allows users to stream their music libraries from the Inteet to their smartphones and tablets rather than downloading it to a device's hard drive.

The new service, dubbed iCloud, will be unveiled on Monday at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in Cupertino, Calif., by CEO Steve Jobs, who since January has been on a medical leave of absence for an undisclosed illness.

But one thing folks shouldn't expect to see at next week's event is the launching of a new and improved iPhone, which is typically announced at this time of year and now seems likely to be pushed back to the fall.

Jobs' keynote address will instead center on Apple software - Lion, the latest version of the company's Mac OS X computer operating system, and iOS 5, an upgrade of the mobile system that powers the iPhone and the iPad computer tablet.

\"From what we've heard, the heavy focus at this event will be mainly on software - iOS 5 and Lion - and of course iCloud,\" Dan Moren, senior associate editor of Macworld.com, told The News.

\"Apple obviously does blockbuster business with iTunes, but the ability to stream music without worrying about synching to a computer is a changeover of how the music industry works and how people consume music.\"