Web-based iTunes in the Works

No matter what age you are, if you don't have iTunes or an iPod, it's likely at least one of your friends does. But as much as most people like these products, one of the main limitations is that your media is normally stuck either on your iPod or your computer. That could change soon.

Last week, Apple bought the company Lala, which streams music online (a company we covered back in October), and at that point, Apple wasn't saying what the acquisition would necessarily mean. Now, according to VentureBeat comes word that "Apple allegedly plans to use the technology from Lala … to create a new browser-based version of iTunes." So instead of having to download the various media to your computer, you can access them on the Web. Apparently, all of these media files would be stored on Apple's servers.

The VentureBeat article includes a list of pros and cons. One of the main advantages is storage, since you'll no longer be limited by the size of your computer's hard drive. In addition, you can play your media wherever there's a Internet connection. One of the cons listed, which makes sense, is that the web-based version could be a lot slower.

When this will happen is anyone's guess, but it's safe to say that when it does launch, it will affect a lot of people. According to TheStreet, more than 8 billion songs have been purchased on iTunes since 2003.

Image courtesy of Ozh, via Flickr