Apple to build more iCloud apps

Based on a recent job posting on Apple's corporate Web site, Apple is looking to expand its iCloud offerings with new and innovative applications to better utilize the server-based technologies it offers iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users.

The post, originally uncovered by AppleInsider, shows that Apple is looking for "proactive, creative-minded engineers to build the next generation of cocoa-based client applications that integrate tightly with a set of cloud based services."

The responsibilities of the position are to develop new and existing applications for iCloud services, help define and implement user interfaces, and build products that people want to use every day.

The last responsibility is perhaps the most important one. The free iCloud already offers e-mail services and syncing for contacts, calendars, and documents as well as the capability to find your devices. By leveraging Apple's existing user base and technologies, iCloud could prove to be one of Apple's most valuable services when enticing potential customers to buy an iPhone.

Any number of applications could be built on top of iCloud. As we look around some popular apps for iPhone and iPad, social networking giants like Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and Foursquare could all see competition from Apple in the near future.

One feature that existed in the pre-iCloud world of MobileMe that I would love to see return is Web publishing. Combined with the desktop app iWeb, Apple made it easy to create and publish your own Web site in the cloud. Is there an app that Apple should add to iCloud? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!