Everything You Need To Know About iCloud.The Again

Apple is bringing together OS X, iOS, and all other device/platforms in new ways with their new iCloud service. While the most seamless experience will be found on Apple’s own platforms, the possibilities to blend in with other devices and platforms are certainly powerful.
Hop inside for everything you need to know about Apple’s new iCloud service…

iCloud, File Syncing, & Photostream

“MobileMe Reborn” — Broken down into three new apps: Contacts, Calendars, and Mail

Synced In The Cloud: All content whether it be photos, videos, documents, contacts, apps, etc. can and/or will be pushed to the cloud and synced between all devices (much like MobileMe originally promised.)

iCloud Additions 1 — Apps: Apps and app purchase history now pushed to the cloud. Quickly view iOS apps on OS X and vice versa.

iCloud Additions 2 — iBooks: Same as apps. Download to any iOS device from any iOS device. In regards to iBook specific functionality, a bookmark in a book on an iPhone will be the same bookmark on an iPad.

iCloud Additions 3 — Backup: iOS content backed up once daily to the cloud. When getting a new iOS device, simply entering your user account and password will automatically download your settings and content. **This is particularly huge for enterprise and business users

iCloud Additions 4 — Documents: A document created/edited on one iOS device will be easily found on any other iOS device with the same app. At WWDC, Apple used Pages as an example. As long as the app is installed on both iOS devices, editing a document is simple thanks to the cloud.

Developer APIs: iCloud APIs will be available for developers to include within 3rd party apps.

iCloud will also work on Mac (OS X) and Windows.

Photo Stream: Photos taken with Camera.app automatically uploaded to iCloud and synced between all attached devices. (In iOS and Mac OS X, the Photos.app and iPhotos are used. In Windows, the Pictures folder is used.) Up to 1,000 photos stored on/for mobile devices, Mac and Windows desktops store all photos, and servers store photos for last 30 days.

iTunes In The Cloud: — Synced to the cloud — Songs purchased on one device can be downloaded to multiple iOS devices and to said multiple devices at the same time. Storage Capacity — 5 GB for email, documents, and backup. (Does not include photos w/ Photostream, videos, music, apps, or books.)

Price for iCloud and all associated apps (including iTunes in the cloud): Free

Availability: Today

Supported devices: iOS 4.3+
“One More Thing” — iTunes Match

iCloud Syncing: (1) Sync via WiFi. (2) Sync via cable. (3) Sync via iTunes Match. Apple will scan your self-ripped music and give it the full benefits of multiple device, cloud-synced downloading and syncing based off of the 18 million+ tracks found in iTunes. The rest that can’t be matched will be automatically uploaded.