X

Apple goes on WWDC-related domain buying spree

While Apple was showing off the new features in iOS 5, iCloud, and OS X Lion, it was quietly buying up at least 50 domain names with mentions of the features from those products.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn
domains

The same day Apple kicked off its Worldwide Developers Conference, the company staked its claim on domain names that include keywords of features in iCloud, iOS 5, and Mac OS X Lion.

Whois records dug up by TechCrunch show the company purchased at least 50 domain names. Some go directly to feature pages on Apple's Web site, while others dead end or show up as not yet being hosted.

Included are mentions of iTunes Match, Launchpad, Photo Stream, and Lion's resume feature. Some features even get their very own domain name, like iOS' airplaymirroring.com and conversationview.com.

One of the standouts is "PC-free," with Apple picking out various domain names that use the phrase including: Applepcfree.com, iOSpcfree.com, iPadpcfree.com, iPhonepcfree.com, Pcfreeipad.com and Pcfreeiphone.com. Missing from that reference is any mention of Apple's iPod line with so-called PC-free functionality, despite the fact that Apple is bringing iOS 5 to the two most recent iterations of the iPod Touch.

Notably, Apple bought iCloud.com more than a month ahead of actually announcing the name of the service. That domain name was purchased from Sweden-based "hybrid cloud computing" provider Xcerion for a rumored $4.5 million. Included in this list of domain names are numerous iCloud mentions, including Appleicloudphotos.com and Appleicloudphotostream.com, along with two variants of icloudstorageapi.com.