RealNetworks has finally launched Unifi, its personal cloud service, which lets users store digital content -- music, photos and video -- in the cloud and access the media from any device. Customers in Vodafone Germany are the first to gain access to Unifi, but Real plans to roll it out to the U.S. this fall.

The cloud service is going up against some serious competition: Apple's forthcoming iCloud and music lockers from Amazon and Google. But Real talks up Unifi's flexibility and multi-functionality -- customers can play their iTunes collection on an Android phone, take a picture with an iPhone or Android phone and automatically save it to the cloud, and catalog and access all their digital media from a variety of platform and devices (including Facebook and Flickr).

"Customers want to be able to easily find and enjoy the media they own, no matter where it resides," said Interim CEO Mike Lunsford. "With Unifi, they have the freedom to choose the phones, computers, tablets, services and platforms that best meet their changing needs -- and still have access to all of the media they love."

Unifi has been part of Real's plan to turn the company around. The Seattle company posted a $12.3 million loss for the first quarter of 2011, but Lunsford said recently that after cutting operating expenses by $70 million and refilling the pipeline with new products and services, the company expects revenue to pick up by the third quarter of 2011.