MacDailyNews recently reported a rumor that Apple intends to soon begin making its MobileMe service completely free.  MobileMe is Apple’s very own mini Google in a way, keeping information such as data, calendars, photos, contacts, and the like synchronized across all of your Apple mobile devices and Macs.  Personally, the only real alluring feature for me in considering this was to use the remote location and wipe features for the iPhone.  It sure would’ve been nice if those features could’ve been made free through iTunes, but alas, for now you’re stuck paying $99 for the privilege.

If this does prove to be true, I’d imagine there will be some seriously upset current subscribers that already paid $99 this year.  However, I can definitely see the business perspective merits of such a move.  If Apple really does want to continue ramping up the competition against Microsoft and Google, this would certainly make some waves.  Microsoft recently made another play as well by offering Office 2010 for free online a la Google Docs.

Further adding weight to this latest rumor is the continued silence surrounding Apple’s mysterious, massive data center that has yet to come operational in North Carolina.  It stands to reason that if MobileMe is made free that we can expect a significant increase in the number of subscribers and it’s likely the server farms housed within Apple’s Area 51 would have the power ready to adapt to the influx of new users.  Either way we’ll have to wait and see.