I’ve been thinking recently about investing in Pandora. It’s reliable, easy to use, and it has the capability to become really powerful. Especially if picked up by the big four Google’s Schmidt listed: Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google. But Apple has its own tricks up its sleeve and everyone’s waiting till next business week to see what they will be.

Business blogs are buzzing about Apple’s expected launch of a music streaming service. But the big news is that the iCloud will hold all of the data you need. Web hosting, photo galleries, and data syncing are some of the benefits, and Apple has suggested that for those who switch to Lion, their most up-to-date software, the service will be free. The lack of price point and a low cost for Lion (Snow Leopard was only $29 upon its debut in 2009) may be just the thing for people to make the transition in droves.

Does it beat a new iPhone? Mmmm. Rumors are that when the new iPhone appears, likely in September, it probably won’t be much different from the 4. Sans SIM-card and an 8 megapixel camera will be the major upgrades. Lighter and thinner, likely too. So yes, the iCloud points to a new direction of cloud based computing. And that’s a lot more useful than a few extra pixels on my phone camera.

So I’ll hold off on Pandora, at least until Monday. After all, Apple does have the rights to the Beatles.