WWDC: “Stickiness” Factor Building iCloud Excitement

Until this year, Apple introduced the next generation iPhone every June at its Worldwide Developer's Conference and kept fans at ease.

By switching it up, and focusing the WWDC keynote on the iCloud instead of a new iPhone, Apple certainly bucked its own trend. The company is hoping the iCloud can change the game and make its fans forget about a new iPhone for a while. The service will allow consumers to automatically and wirelessly store content in the cloud and push it to any device without them having to do anything.

Some people think the cloud is just a big disk in the sky... We think it's way more than that, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said during the event. iCloud keeps your important information and content up to date across all your devices. All of this happens automatically and wirelessly, and because it's integrated into our apps you don't even need to think about it-it all just works.

Apple's putting everything into the cloud. This includes iTunes, documents, photos, calendars, contacts, mail, apps and much more. Everything is backed up and saved automatically.

We're going to move the digital hub, the center of your digital life, into the cloud. Everything happens automatically and there's nothing new to learn. It just all works, Jobs said.

This major announcement wasn't big enough for numerous consumers and investors who wanted to see a new piece of hardware. Analyst research firm Zacks.com said the lack of a new hardware announcement at WWDC was disappointing.

However, most analysts are singing a different tune and even though the company's stock is down $6 per share, or 1.77 percent, they are psyched about iCloud. The reason being? Stickiness.

We remain Positive on Apple as we believe the move to the iCloud improves its competitive advantage as it syncs all consumer devices including Macs and increases the utility and stickiness of its ecosystem, Jeffrey Fidacaro, Susquehanna Financial Group, said in a note.

Brian Marshall, analyst at Gleacher & Co., couldn't help but also use the word stickiness when complimenting the iCloud.

While it is unlikely to move the financial needle at Apple anytime soon, we believe iCloud is significant as it increases the stickiness of the Apple ecosystem, Marshall said in a note.

The stickiness is Apple's ability to keep people locked into its ecosystem. Since Apple devices can sync together across the iCloud, this service makes it more desirable for people to stay within that ecosystem, rather than stray outwards. Still, it seemed someone wasn't a fan of the stickiness considering the stock dip. Fidacaro has a few explanations for this drop.

In our view, Apple's shares were soft yesterday following the WWDC event as investors remain concerned with Steve Jobs's health, the lack of a hardware announcement, and timing of new product launches, he said.

Marshall also mentioned Jobs' health, saying he didn't think the fearless Apple leader looked to be in good job. He said it looks like Jobs has taken a turn for the worse. Regardless, he remains positive on Apple even with this concern, calling the Cupertino, Calif. based giant the best technology company on the planet.

Follow Gabriel Perna on Twitter at @GabrielSPerna