Jobs unveils icloud service, free storage

Steve Jobs today took the stage at his company's annual developers conference. He spoke about the new iOS 5, the upcoming Lion edition of Mac OS X and the firm's new cloud service, iCloud.

As expected, the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote focused on software, and unlike the last several years, did not introduce a new iPhone.

"If the hardware is the brain and the sinew of the product, the software in the middle is the soul," Jobs said at the beginning of the two-hour presentation.

Instead, iCloud serves as a music, photo, app, document and other data sync service that keeps multiple devices up-to-date with user-purchased or created content.

Jobs said several times during his time on stage that iCloud will be free for iOS/MAC owners.

In iCloud, the tracks are not streamed from such a server, but are instead quickly downloaded at user request to up to 10 iOS devices or Macs, where they can then be played.

All musics purchased through Apple's iTunes are available for downloading for free, but if anyone wants to do the same with other music, he will need to subscribe to "iTunes Match" for $24.99 annually.

Other features of iCloud include contact, calendar and mail synchronization across multiple devices, as well as syncing purchased apps, photos and iBook-bought books; storing email messages and documents; and backing up selected data.


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